The Houston Rockets have kept another key piece of their young core. They agreed to a five-year, $81.5 million fully guaranteed contract with forward Tari Eason.
How We Got Here:
The Rockets are coming off an interesting season that saw them finish fifth in the Western Conference and exit in the first round of the playoffs. That playoff exit caused there to be a lot of questions about the roster construction and whether or not they could win with the current team that they had
The Rockets selected Eason in 2022 with the 17th pick in the draft out of LSU. In his first season in the league, he played in all 82 games. However, he suffered a severe left leg injury during his sophomore season that limited him to just 22 games. That injury would go on to impact his third season as well, as he only played in 57 games.
Those injuries were partially what caused Houston and Eason to be unable to reach an agreement before the rookie extension deadline, leading him to play out the final year of his rookie contract. He went on to play extremly well, averaging a career-high 25 minutes,10.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game.
His Impact:
Eason is one of the best young defenders in the league and part of the “Terror Twins” along with Amen Thompson. When Eason is on the floor is an extremely tenacious and aggressive defender who provides nonstop pressure. His defensive prowess off the bench is part of why the Rockets finished third in defensive rating and allowed the fourth-fewest points per game last season.
Despite the fact that the contract is fully guaranteed, his average salary is just over $16 million. As the salary cap continues to rise, Eason’s contract will become an increasingly smaller percentage. This is what is so great about this deal because it allows the Rockets to go out and make other moves.
This move has the potential to be extremely beneficial for the Rockets. The only real risk to this being a bad deal is if Eason can’t stay healthy over the course of the contract. However, the Rockets made the right move in securing his future with the team.
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