Rafael Stone's underrated edge gives the Rockets a key advantage

By signing Tari Eason to a new team-friendly contract, the Rockets continued to prove they are the best in the NBA at one thing: restricted free agency. Since Rafael Stone took over the front office, Houston has continually excelled when it comes to re-signing their young players on good deals without dragging out restricted free agency. Eason is just the latest victory for a team that's made a killing off proactive contracts for its young pieces.

The Rockets keep winning in restricted free agency

Eason's contract for 5 years and $81.5 million was great value for his 3-and-D capabilities. But he's not the only Rocket currently on the roster to sign a team-friendly deal before hitting the full open market. Take for example Alperen Sengun, who is making $185 million over 5 years as an All-Star talent, or Jabari Smith Jr, who signed for 5 years and $122 million as an ideal supporting player.

So far this season, the Rockets have made a number of shrewd financial decisions to build their roster while maintaining flexibility. But Eason's signing was the one we always knew Houston would nail because of their previous history. And it ended up even better than almost anyone could expect.

Eason was projected to fetch more annual value on his next contract, but took the win-win situation of having his deal fully guaranteed after dealing with injuries in recent seasons. The Rockets have faced the devastation of major injuries before, but their gamble on Eason for such an affordable price is still worthwhile. In the big picture, this is likely to be another feather in Rafael Stone's RFA cap.

Houston gets the most of their restricted free agents

In recent seasons, the only restricted free agent who the Rockets overpaid was Jalen Green. He signed for 3 years and $105 million, including a player option in the last season (2027-28). The deal was largely unprecedented for a rookie extension, since it was relatively short and included the player option.

Green has not even lived up to that deal so far, let alone a potentially bigger one he may have wanted when he negotiated the player option. But the Rockets made sure to give him a tradable contract and took advantage of that to include him in the package for Kevin Durant. Even when it became obvious that Green was going to be overpaid, the Rockets still made out well by using his contract's latent trade value.

With all of the added flexibility from their discounted restricted free agents, the Rockets still have the room to make some moves and add the necessary talent to compete for a title soon. Considering how much max contract extensions can put other teams in a pinch, the Rockets have a huge leg up on their competition thanks to their crafty front office.

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