Clever Amen Thompson caveat can make the Rockets look like geniuses

The Rockets extended Amen Thompson on a huge contract in the hopes that he can exceed those high expectations, but they refrained from giving up one key clause. Unlike many past extensions for players of his caliber, Thompson did not receive any escalator clauses in his contract.

Even if he received a prestigious honor like an All-NBA selection or Defensive Player of the Year, the Rockets won’t owe Thompson any more than the reported amount. By removing the escalator clauses from Thompson’s extension, the Rockets guarantee more certainty about his salary and allow their fans to root for his unbridled success without any regrets.

The Rockets front office made another sly move

Of course, Thompson’s extension will still have massive ripple effects for the Rockets. But he’s taking a significant discount from the maximum amount he could be making, despite showing a lot of promise that could lead to an All-NBA selection during the contract.

That slight discount, without the possibility of an escalation, could easily help the Rockets get another impact player down the road. With today’s restrictive CBA, any small advantage can be important. And arguably no front office has been better at finding those than Houston.

At 5 years and $208 million, Thompson’s extension seems like a massive bet on a player who’s yet to make an All-Star game. But it’s a reasonable wager based on his promise and development so far in his young career. The raw numbers offer a lot of sticker shock but the deal projects to be about 21-22% of the salary cap - very similar to Alperen Sengun’s contract.

Houston avoided a potential mistake with Thompson

For a clear example of the Rockets’ cunning, we need look no farther than Evan Mobley of the Cavaliers. When Mobley signed his extension in 2024, his only career accolades to that point were an All-Defensive First Team and top three finish in Defensive Player of the Year voting. However, the Cavs left in an escalator clause for Mobley and he won DPOY outright the following season (after an injury made Victor Wembanyama ineligible).

It’s obviously not hard to imagine an identical situation for Thompson, where he could also win DPOY in the next couple seasons if other contenders get injured. In Mobley’s case, his DPOY win (and selection to the All-NBA Second Team) made his contract significantly more expensive. Mobley didn’t take any additional discount, so his contract started at 25% of the salary cap, and then went up to 30% with the escalator clauses.

Cleveland has been in a tough financial spot the last two years because of Mobley's contract. He's getting paid like a top-tier superstar without providing the impact of one. The Rockets have completely avoided the possibility of running into the same issue with Amen Thompson, even though he might end up being better than Evan Mobley.

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