Landale after signing four-year, $32 million deal with Rockets: 'It has been a whirlwind'

Houston Rockets free agency acquisition Jock Landale said “it has been a whirlwind” since he purportedly signed a four-year, $32 million deal with the team, according to a report from ESPN. Landale, who last suited up for the Phoenix Suns, told ESPN his phone couldn’t stop buzzing since Monday.

“It's obviously something I've been dreaming of doing for a long time: Being able to earn my way up to something like that,” the 6-foot-11, 255-pound Australian center said in the report.

ESPN reported that the 27-year-old Landale inked what’s considered the largest agreement of his professional hardwood career, a career that took him across three continents in the previous half-decade. According to the national sports media outlet, he boosted his profile for potential suitors during the most recent National Basketball Association (NBA) Playoffs by helping man the paint for the Suns against the eventual champion Denver Nuggets. He supposedly sought a contract that fully guaranteed the first full season, per ESPN.

Joining a roster that boasts many players not old enough to drink legally, ESPN reported, Landale is expected – along with Houston’s highly publicized signees, point guard Fred VanVleet and small forward Dillon Brooks – to provide a veteran presence as the Rockets embark on the so-called second step of their arduous rebuilding process. The Rockets stumbled to a 22-60 record last season, becoming a lottery team for the third straight year. While Houston shockingly missed out on the No. 1 overall pick, Houston Daily reported, it was one of the most-talked stories of last month’s draft when it nabbed ex-Overtime Elite (OTE) star Amen Thompson with the fourth selection and Villanova University big Cam Whitmore 16 picks later.

According to a report from USA Today, Landale is projected to be second on the Rockets’ depth chart to center Alperen Şengün, who is entering his third season. Landale said in the report new Rockets head coach Ime Udoka told him he has to earn his keep to which the St. Mary’s College of California alum agreed. Per Basketball Reference, the soon-to-be third-year veteran logged 69 games for Phoenix and averaged 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds.