The Houston Rockets have an incredibly deep rotation of wing players and forwards.
Tari Eason, on the younger side and a great athlete, is one the Rockets are likely hoping sticks around for a long time.
Eason is still eligible for a rookie extension, and the league's deadline to get such a deal done is Monday at 6 p.m. ET.
ESPN's Tim Bontemps believes the Rockets will get Eason signed before that deadline.
"This feels as if it will get done eventually," Bontemps wrote on Thursday. "With Eason's injury history, locking in some long-term financial security makes sense. Houston has locked up its young players under general manager Rafael Stone, so expect the Rockets to continue to do so."
There's also a projection in that new ESPN article from Bobby Marks, who thinks Eason will end up with four years and $80 million.
"The apron era has taught teams to prioritize their own pending free agents and balance future finances," Marks writes. "With Amen Thompson eligible to sign an extension next summer, it is hard to justify an average salary of $20 million or more for a player coming off the bench."
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It sounds like at least if Marks was negotiating, if Eason came back and wanted more than the $20 million per year, he'd have a hard time going for it.
"The Rockets probably will consider Eason's season-ending surgery on his left leg in the 2023-24 season and the 22 games he sat out last season because of the same leg," Marks writes. "He played all 82 games in his rookie season but only a combined 59 in the past two. Eason has started only 16 games and probably will be in that sixth-man role again this season. Houston also signed Jabari Smith to an extension that starts at $23.6 million next season, and is expected to sign Kevin Durant to an extension."
At the end of the day, Eason is a key piece to what the Rockets want to do. If they can keep him aboard, they probably will.
"Eason is an analytical darling who has been consistent for the Rockets since being drafted No. 17 in 2022," Bontemps writes. "Though it's likely he again comes off the bench this season, combo forwards with his skill set and ability to disrupt play at both ends are highly valued, and Houston has shown an ability to continually get its young core players locked into good contracts."
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