The Rockets had to cut a player because they didn’t know the NBA office was closed on a holiday

Promising wing player James Nunnally’s NBA season came to an end on Monday after he was waived by the Houston Rockets in the middle of his 10-day contract. It looks like he will go back to Europe, although his agent denied a Sportando report that he signed with an Italian team.

It didn’t have to end like this, though. Nunnally brought depth, three-point shooting and versatility to a key wing position on the Rockets’ roster. But Houston made two abrupt roster moves that forced them into this predicament, and timed them poorly.

They signed Nunnally to replace Danuel House, who declined a multi-year NBA contract offer once his two-way deal was up so he could test free agency sooner.

Now, the Rockets have neither. Here’s why.

Clint Capela’s thumb surgery left Houston pretty bare at the center position. The only healthy big men on their roster were Nene and Marquese Chriss.

So when reports broke that the Brooklyn Nets had reached a buyout agreement with Kenneth Faried, the Rockets were all over it. In the same breath as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Faried buyout, he announced the forward’s likelihood of signing with Houston immediately thereafter.

It takes 48 hours for a player to clear waivers, a period that allows another team to place a bid on a waived player for a fraction of his contract buyout amount. Brooklyn officially waived Faried on Saturday. He officially became a Rocket on Monday.

Houston hustled to create one at the last second. They traded Carmelo Anthony and cash to the Chicago Bulls, who could absorb his contract without giving anything back because of their trade exception from the Justin Holiday deal with Memphis.

That, in theory, should have created the spot for Faried.

But the Rockets didn’t account for Monday being a national holiday. Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and, thus, the NBA league office was closed. That meant there was no one to process the trade, so it could not officially be executed until Tuesday.

The Rockets played Philadelphia on Monday night and felt they needed Faried to go up against Joel Embiid. In order to get Faried ready to play in time for that game, the Rockets needed to release Nunnally.

Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni was upset the Anthony trade was unable to be processed on Monday.

The Rockets had already agreed to sign Faried, and the Anthony trade was delayed a day. Someone had to go, so the odd man out was James Nunnally.

It’s unfortunate, because Nunnally was was playing like he belonged. Nunnally went 0-of-5 from three-point range against the Lakers, but he made big plays in Houston’s double overtime loss to the Brooklyn Nets earlier in the week. He was exactly the kind of player who fit into a Rockets team that needed to create as much space for Harden on the court.

Houston wanted to keep him too, which is why they executed the Anthony trade. But they couldn’t keep him and get Faried processed in time for the 76ers game.

The Rockets were in a frenzy to sign Faried because they wanted him to fill the void Capela left. With Joel Embiid and the 76ers coming to town, the Rockets wanted to put up some type of fight. They didn’t feel like Nene and Marquese Chriss was enough.

In reality, no combination of big men is enough to check Embiid, who went off for 32 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocks. Faried played 23 minutes and had 13 points, even shooting 1-of-2 from three-point range, but it didn’t matter. Houston lost by 28 in a game they trailed as many as 33.

Given the result and the unlikelihood that Faried would have offered much resistance against Embiid anyway, why the rush? Houston could have waited one extra day to finalize the Faried signing had they planned for the NBA offices to be closed on a notable national holiday. That would have allowed the Melo trade to go through, clearing the spot for Faried.

Instead, Nunnally lost his job, and Houston will have to find a way to replace him, too. The Rockets aren’t happy with the NBA, but this could have been avoided.