The Houston Rockets had two key personnel decisions to make by Monday’s rookie scale extension deadline, as Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun were both eligible for new deals.
What always complicates extension talks is finding the middle ground between what a player has done and what they could become. With both Green and Sengun, there is star potential, but the production hasn’t quite met the standards most teams want to see before handing out a max or near-max contract. That means the two sides have to agree on what the right number is for what they could become and what they are right now, which is sometimes easier said than done.
However, on the player side, there is a new reality that offer sheers aren’t plentiful in free agency anymore, and sometimes it’s best to lock in on an extension at a good but potentially not great price and give yourself a chance down the road at a bigger payday in unrestricted free agency. That’s what Jalen Green chose to do, as he and the Rockets worked out a 3-year, $106 million deal, per Shams Charania and Bobby Marks, that fell in line with the likes of Trey Murphy III in New Orleans, but gives him a third year player option so he can hit free agency again soon if he takes the All-Star leap.
Green has shown flashes of brilliance, but the question remaining is for him to reach his ceiling on a more consistent basis. If he can do that, this deal is a bargain for Houston over the next few years and he’ll almost assuredly opt out. If that leap doesn’t come, he has guaranteed himself long-term financial security.