Rockets future looks even brighter in light of new, massive rookie extensions

The Houston Rockets have spent years collecting young talent.

That process may be complete. Granted, the Rockets do have first-round picks in the coming years. Whether they use them to select players or broker trades is anyone's guess. The point is that the Rockets are officially more focused on the present than the future.

That means balancing their salary cap. The best teams in the league tend to get surplus value from a spot or two. Luckily, the Rockets are on pace to do just that.

After seeing some recent rookie extensions, they look like one of the best-run teams in the NBA.

Rockets in an optimal financial position

Paolo Banchero just signed a max extension with an average annual value (AAV) of $57 million. Chet Holmgren's new deal will be worth roughly $50 million a year.

Nobody's saying those are bad contracts. Banchero has struggled with efficiency in the NBA, but his talent is evident. Holmgren was just a pivotal player in the Thunder's title run. These are fine deals, but they aren't exactly team-friendly.

Alperen Sengun's deal is. His deal has a $37 million AAV. Meanwhile, his 4.4 Box Plus/Minus (BPM) from 2024-25 is higher than Banchero's 3.5.

Jabari Smith Jr. has been the least productive of this group of players. He'll be compensated accordingly. Smith Jr.'s extension has an AAV of $24.5 million.

For the mathematically disinclined, that means Sengun and Smith Jr. will make $61.5 million per season combined. That's just four million less than Banchero...

Take a second to process that if you must.

Rockets have room to grow

Sengun has arguably been better than Banchero so far. Still, if you feel Banchero will be the better player, that's understandable. His ball-handling ability gives him an edge over the Rockets' big man in guard skills.

As a rule of thumb, the NBA team with the best players wins the most games, but the paradigm may be shifting. It seems like depth is gaining importance, and the Rockets are positioned to be deep.

So, the question isn't whether Banchero will be better than Sengun. It's whether he'll be roughly $20 million a year better. That's enough money for a valuable rotation piece.

Will Holmgren be twice as good as Smith Jr.? He'll be paid twice as much. These teams will have to ask themselves pressing questions about their salary cap if they don't win (or in the Thunder's case, win again) soon. By contrast, the Rockets will have optionality after Kevin Durant comes off the books.

That financial wiggle room could be pivotal down the road. Every team wants a young player who's worth a max rookie extension, but the Rockets may have one who took a discount in Sengun. If Smith Jr. keeps developing, his deal could be a bargain soon. The Rockets are in a uniquely advantageous financial position:

And they have young talent to boot.