Rockets are to blame for potentially disastrous Tari Eason problem

As the Houston Rockets have made a number of moves this offseason, including their blockbuster acquisition of superstar scorer Kevin Durant, the organization has struck the tenuous balance of competing now while keeping the majority of their young core intact.

Yet, as young forward Tari Eason enters the final season of his rookie contract, the team may now need to have a reckoning, as Sam Vecenie of the Game Theory Podcast has noted that the extension they gave to Jabari Smith Jr. could cause serious issues with extending Eason.

While Smith's extension is rather team-friendly, they likely cannot afford to both extend Durant beyond this year and give Eason what Smith earned, thereby leaving the door open for a contentious restricted free agency that could limit their ability not only to sign Eason but also Durant.

Jabari Smith Jr.'s contract set an unsustainable level for upcoming Tari Eason negotiations

As Houston signed Smith to a five-year, $122 million extension in June, the organization effectively locked up one of their young starters all the way through their conceivable championship window with this core.

Smith, in many ways, deserved this contract. Apart from last season where he was sidelined with injury, he has started every single game for the Rockets, averaging 13 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists over the course of his career.

Yet, this has now set a new benchmark for the upcoming Eason negotiations, and Vecenie claims that the Rockets may not be able to afford a similar contract for Eason: "[Eason has] been better than Jabari to this point, but... can he actually get more than Jabari based on their salary structure?"

Eason, although he has largely played a bench role for Houston to this point, has already endeared himself to the organization on a deep level, having averaged 10.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists throughout his careering and having become an increasingly important defensive piece for the team.

Moreover, co-host Bryce Simon went on to lay out a bit of the salary landscape going forward for the Rockets and doubles down on Vecenie's point: "Maybe another team could give [Eason] closer to that, but it's getting real dicey if you're giving him something similar. And then you're eventually going to have to give Amen [Thompson] the max and whether it's [Durant] or somebody else to be a number one or a number two scoring option..."

Therefore, while Eason certainly deserves to make close to what Smith got in his extension, Houston's ability to maintain all of their young talent on the roster is now in question as a result of the looming, expensive extension for Durant.

Moreover, the organization has also made clear that they intend to extend Eason before turning their attention to Durant. While this is likely the smartest plan, any sort of hold-up on Eason's end could create serious problems for the Rockets, and, as was seen with the Golden State Warriors this offseason, a contentious restricted free agency situation can handicap your entire financial flexibility if the right circumstances collide.

Thus, this could potentially be a disastrous scenario for Houston that is decidedly of their own making.