Atlanta Nabs N'Faly Dante After Houston Rockets Decline to Match Offer Sheet

The Atlanta Hawks have officially signed center N'Faly Dante to a free agent deal after the Houston Rockets declined to match the offer. 

The news was reported by Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype, who wrote this weekend: 

"The Atlanta Hawks have agreed to a two-year, $4.5 million offer sheet with Houston Rockets two-way restricted free agent N'Faly Dante, league sources told Hoops Hype He averaged 15.1 points on 74.3% shooting, 9.8 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, and 1.0 steals in the G League."

Scotto then followed up on that news writing on Monday: 

"Update: N’Faly Dante will officially join the Atlanta Hawks after the Houston Rockets declined to match Atlanta’s two-year, $4.5 million offer sheet, league sources told Hoops Hype." 

Dante was originally born in Mali before moving to the United States as a child. He began playing basketball at a young age and developed into a five-star prospect for Sunrise Christian Academy. He chose to play his college ball at the University of Oregon after he originally committed to Kansas. 

The center had an injury plagued career as a Duck, but had a tremendous final season where he averaged 17 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. He was also a forced on the defensive side of the ball, with 1.7 steals and 1.9 blocks per game. 

Dante signed with Houston after going undrafted and showed some serious signs of development while playing in the G League. He then made it onto Houston's roster for three games, avergaing more than 7 points and 5 rebounds in around 15 minutes a game. This is a shrewd move by the Hawks at a low cost.