Houston Rockets Under Pressure To Extend Jalen Green & Alperen Sengun? + Jabari & Durant Workouts

Houston Rockets Under Pressure To Extend Jalen Green & Alperen Sengun? + Jabari & Durant Workouts

on today’s show are the Houston Rockets Under Pressure to extend Jaylen green and alperin shingin as yet another member of the 2021 draft class receives his rookie scale Max extension Plus Jabari SMI Jr working out with Kevin Durant this off season what would a year three leap look like for Jabari plus some housekeeping as the Rockets resign Nate Williams Nate Hinton and Germaine Samuels Jr ahead of NBA Summer League it’s all coming up on today’s locked on Rockets this is Mission Control Houston ignition sequence St 6 5 4 3 2 1 what’s up and welcome to another edition of locked on Rockets your daily podcast home for everything Houston Rockets basketball as always I’m your host Jackson Gatlin native houstonian and credential media member I’m also the host of locked on NBA Mondays be sure to follow along wherever you listen to your podcast or on YouTube just search locked on rocket be sure to like comment and subscribe the comments help a ton that’s the best way you can help our show out swing by the YouTube channel share your thoughts uh swing by just say go Rockets it helps us out a bunch uh now today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code locked on MBA for $20 off of your first purchase terms apply and as always thank you so much for making lock down Rockets part of your day every single day whether it’s on your way to work on your lunch break in the gym thank you for being an everyday oh boy we’re going to be hearing a lot about these contract extensions negotiations all this all offseason long uh but we got to revisit this topic now as yet another member of the 2021 NBA draft class uh fron Vagner received his rookie scale maximum contract extension what does that mean for Jaylen green and Alper and shenon is there even is there continuing to is there pressure building up for the Rockets front office to extend one of if not both of those guys this off season to kind of clear the air to to you know erase any questions about their long-term uh standing within the organization we’re going to talk about each each guy individually as well as kind of what it means for the collective group for for the whole uh as well as we’re going to get to some other stuff a little bit later on in segment three Jabari Smith Jr working out with Kevin Durant and some of the the housekeeping stuff with the Rockets bringing a few names back for Vegas summer league but uh let’s start with the news uh so the third member then uh the most recent member of the 2021 NBA draft class to receive his rookie scale Max extension from Vagner with the Orlando Magic uh 5 years $270 million that’s a lot of cheddar cheese for France Vagner uh the third member of the class to receive his rookie Max uh after first was Scotty Barnes then Kate Cunningham and we talked about this a little bit in the previous episode so I apologize if this is a bit of a rehash but I do think it’s important because this this is the kind of thing that you know players see this right I’m sure Jaylen and shingon are looking at the you know the the Shams notifications the W bombs and like man Fran’s got his money like when when am I getting my extension right they they probably want that and there’s the human element there where absolutely I bet they would love to just guarantee themselves that money and just not have to worry about it in the future and and as a show of good faith from the organization yes hey we believe in you we’re bought in you know we want you here longterm we think you’re a fixture of the organization we think you’re a Cornerstone a franchise player all that and unfortunately only one of those two guys has earned that money at this point without beyond the shadow of a doubt Alber and shenon has absolutely earned every bit of a rookie max deal the issue is again the cap Logistics and the the reasons outside of just his production and you know taking care of him as a player uh as as potentially your franchise guy uh the ramifications for what it would mean for the Rockets financially a little bit further down the line I do think when you look at all these teams right the the Pistons have clearly identified Cade the Raptors have clearly identified Scotty those are their franchise guys those are their cornerstones uh the magic feel very conf feel very comfortable and confident in their Duo of poo banero and France Vagner being their their one you know option one option two guys down the line and building around those two guys and that money the the contract extension for France uh cements that into fact and and next summer summer 2025 literally like at 12:01 midnight Whatever Whenever poo banero is eligible to sign that rookie Max you bet your bottom dollar that he that the magic will be waiting there pen and paper in hand begging for him to sign that extension because they are bought in on that future that version of their team for the Rockets unfortunately uh there’s only one player that has done enough to justify inking that type of deal and it’s Alper and shingun now unfortunately for Alper and shingun relative to his draft slot and relative to the Rockets financials you know their their their future payroll costs and and and what they may or not May or not may or may not be able to achieve down the line specifically next summer he unfortunately is not going to be given that blank check that Max whatever because the Rockets are are doing their due diligence and hopefully trying to maintain their optionality and trying to keep things to be able to make something happen next summer that’s the right move if you’re the Houston Rockets what I don’t want to see happen and I really hope that Rafel Stone maintains you know his position on this and that the Rockets don’t cave last minute even though shingun has earned that extension absolutely and he should be identified as a franchise building block a Cornerstone all that I don’t want to see the Rockets front office cave under pressure from the players or from their representation from their agents to turn around and sign one if not both of those extensions just because other 2021 draft class members are receiving their rookie extensions right there’s a very realistic possibility of some of the other names that are out there right we could see Evan Mobley receive his extension we could see Josh giddy receive his extension like there are other names out there where the extensions might come to light and then all it does is as more and more of these extensions happen it all it does is provide more and more pressure and and more ammunition more leverage really for both Jaylen and shenon and their their representation their agents to be blown up ref fell Stone in the Rockets fromont office saying where are extensions right we’ve earned that um a little bit of a different argument for jayen green but again a lot of these extensions sometimes these extensions are not only done based on you know what you have produced but also what your future possibilities production include I I I still maintain the the the argument and the point that I had in our previous episode but shingon earn the extension there’s still some really major question marks surrounding Jaylen green and that’s why it feels like it’d be the wise choice to not extend Jaylen green for those reasons for the question marks surrounding his game make him earn the extension here in year four and then for shenon it’s disappointing because yeah I can see the argument for just wanting to show like you know have a show of good faith essentially and just identify and Shing you know point to shingu and say yes we trust you we identify you as a franchise Cornerstone we have we have faith in you we have the utmost confidence in you all that basically everything that a that a that an extension would mean aside from just the dollar figures right it me it means a lot to be able to identify that player and it you know show that the organization has that confidence in you moving forward and it’s unfortunate that the Rockets are in a position where they are where shenon and and relative to his draft slot the Rockets are able to have some Financial wiggle room next summer by delaying his extension they still have a little bit of wiggle room too by delaying Jaylen Green’s extension but it’s not nearly the same number as as it is for Alper and shingon more on that here in just a second we’re going to get we’re going to get real nerdy here in a minute with some I got some XL spreadsheets and stuff pulled up and we’re going to walk through some of these numbers but that’s just that’s just the reality of the situation so with that knowledge in hand I want to T try and tackle and and explore some of the possibilities and what you know some of the financial ramifications could be down the line for the Houston Rockets as it relates to these extension discussions and and what the Rockets could or should or hopefully should not do as it as it relates to these guys and their contracts moving forward we’re going to get there in just one moment first today’s episode is brought to you by eBay Motors passion drive and patience the formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak Performance superchargers roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and so much more whether into speed power or style eBay Motors has you covered with over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die you’ll always find exactly what you’re looking for and with eBay guaranteed fit your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back because with eBay Motors you’re you’re burning rubber not cash with all the parts you need at the prices you want it’s easy to make your car the MVP keep your ride or die alive at ebaymotors.com eligible items only exclusions apply eBay guaranteed fit only available to us customers and continuing on here at lockon Rockets your daily podcast home for everything Houston Rockets basketball all right we’re going to get super Nerdy with these numbers here for a moment in this segment uh as it relates to the contract extensions the negoti the talks all this stuff and why the Rockets are approaching the situation the way they are approaching and again I hope that they don’t cave I hope that they stand their ground um there’s arguments on both sides uh but let’s go ahead and and take a look at some of these numbers so again first off revisiting this might be remedial for some so I apologize but uh what is a cap hold so essentially uh Jaylen green has his current rookie scale salary Alper Shon has his it’s relative to their draft slot right so Jaylen green makes a lot more as the number two overall pick than Alper shingon does as the 16th overall pick so if the Rockets elect not to extend either of them this off seon then at the end of this next year if they extend qualifying offers to these guys to make them restricted free agents what it means is that they have a cap hold which is a placeholder number on the Rockets payroll spreadsheet basically for summer 2025 that number is quite a bit smaller for shingun because he’s making less on his current rookie salary than it is for Jaylen green Jaylen Green’s cap hold is $ 31.2 million Alper and shun’s cap hold is $16.3 million now the starting salary for a rookie scale Max extension starts at $ 38.6 million so the Delta between their relative salaries right that’s a $7.4 million difference from what Jaylen Green’s cap hold is to what his actual rookie scale Max would be and for shingon that’s roughly a 22.3 million difference so a pretty substantial almost three times the amount of money from shon’s cap hold to jaylen’s cap hold right so I think that the argument here is you know shingun has shown himself to be worthy and capable of being a a franchise Cornerstone Talent right on par on the same level as guys like Cade Scotty and fron Vagner in fact you make the argument as I did in segment one that he’s better than some if not all of those guys that said it’s unfortunate relative to his draft position because if you did flip them if you flip those guys and shingon was taking number two overall I think the Rockets probably just signed the check and he’s good to go because that that amount from where jayen is at at 31.2 on his cap hold to 38.6 $7 million it’s kind of negative ible in the grand scheme of things so if Jaylen green had an All-Star caliber year if he took a year three leap the same way shenon did he’s probably getting that Max contract extension and that’s that’s it right there’s no discussion there’s no negotiation there’s no pressure none of that it happens and the rockets move forward with him as one of their cornerstones it’s not that the Rockets don’t believe in shingin it’s not that they’re not bought in on his ability his production his talent level all that for all intents and purposes my understanding is the Rockets especially with em OD DOA there were some doubts there were definitely some doubts internally within the organization about shingon about his his long-term uh fixture as a part of the Houston Rockets uh some concerns whatever but I think a lot of those were erased uh this past season em odoko really embraced shingon and understands how talented he is and how capable he is as a blossoming star in this league but eem isn’t the front office right eay doesn’t have cart blind executive power to do what to make whatever decisions he wants he believes in shingon he likes what he can do on the court all that stuff the Rockets front office has to do their part in figuring out the finances and making it all work and making it all mesh together and that’s why I think as it stands right now Jaylen green just there’s too many question marks about him so far he’s been too inconsistent in his first three years in the NBA that’s why he’s not getting the extension it’s just cuz he just hasn’t earned it for shenon it’s relative to his draft position it’s relative to what the Rockets are going to try to accomplish in summer 2025 and the argument here is that that $22 million difference whatever in in his cap hold versus what the number would be if they just gave him the outright extension similar to Scotty and Cade and fron now the argument is that shingon has earned it right and that it would look good for the organization that it would it’s kind of like a show of Faith right to just hey sh go you’re our guy right we’re bought in we believe in you you’re our Cornerstone you’re our building block or you’re one of our building blocks moving forward here’s your extension and then he can feel good about himself he can come into year four and just focus on playing and being the best version of himself I get that and honestly I’m at a place where if the Rockets did elect to go that route and they said you know what screw we’re not worried about the extra cap space we recognize that we have an insane Talent on our hands in Alper and shenon and we want to do right by him take care of our guy we’re bought in on him long term I’d be cool with it but at the same time it doesn’t feel like that’s how the Rockets front office has operated historically it’s not how they operated under Daryl mury it doesn’t feel like that’s how they’ve operated under Al under under Alper under Rafel Stone they have constantly preached and maintained optionality flexibility and so I I I highly doubt that we’re going to see them commit to either of these guys for the reasons that I’ve already laid out and I want to highlight here the last time we talked about these contracts I got some push back because people were saying oh well the the 2025 free agent class is is there’s no good names there’s nobody out there there’s nobody worthy of going and signing at a max deal and spending you know $50 or $60 million on well here’s some news if you have all that cap space you don’t have to go sign a free agent with that cap space you can just trade for a star player if there’s a star player on the market who’s making 40 5060 million even next summer and if the Rockets have all that cap space to work with you can just absorb a player directly or multiple players for that matter directly into that cap space and that’s where things and this is where we’re going to get we’re going to get real nerdy here for a second but if the Rockets make no changes this next year if they don’t make any major trades if they don’t do anything this next season and if all they do is They’re bringing back or if the only name names on their payroll spreadsheet are Fred Van Dylan Brooks and then the core seven so Jaylen shenon Jabari tari amen Cam and Reed so nine guys on payroll if that’s all they have they’re going to have a payroll of $14.9 million that’s a lot of money that’s a lot of of money on the spreadsheet uh basically zero cap space to work with now things get really interesting if you decline Fred Van vet’s third-year option uh it opens up close to $45 million uh that would give the Rockets about 45 exactly $ 45.1 million in cap space to work with now the problem is are they are they willing to or are they ready to potentially lose Fred Van vet for nothing I would hope that they’d be at least exploring the possibility of reigning Fred Van vet at a cheaper annual value something like 20 to 25 million a year where he can still be a part of the team maybe still even start it just kind of depends on how Reed Shepard looks maybe maybe Reed Shepard’s ready to take the Reigns in year two who knows but declining Fred Van’s option is one Pathway to opening up a lot of cap space trading or offloading Dylan Brooks’s salary is yet another way to open up another $21.1 Million worth of cap space if the Rockets were able to maybe Midway through this season they’re they feel confident and comfortable with the idea of tar een becoming the new starting small for or maybe a Min Thompson right and in some in some way right some combination of tari Jabari and Amin they’re they’re okay with that being kind of their wing Trifecta of the future and maybe even AJ Griffin maybe he shows something right and the rockets are like you know what thank you Dylan for your services we don’t need you anymore if they can trade Dylan Brooks and receive back no long-term salary then that’s another potentially $21 million off the books if all they do is get rid of Fred or decline Fred’s option and manag to trade Dylan and then they still have Jaylen Green’s cap hold and Alper and sh cap hold so no extensions for them that puts the rockets at $ 66.2 million of cap space that’s a lot of room to be able to add a marquee player just absorb them directly into your salary cap space and then you you pair them with an already exciting young core of talent right that would be probably the perfect scenario for the Houston Rockets and then you can get into some other scenarios right like what if they did extend Jaylen green this off season or what if they did extend Alper and shingon this offseason and what the number would ultimately look like I’ve got like God I’ve got like 12 different rows of of data here all these different possibilities for what the Rockets could or might not do uh with their with their contracts and how it impacts next summer but I think the really big takeaway here is just I think that shingon has basically absolutely earn like barring anything catastrophic happening this next year like a major injury uh which that’s that’s the other part of the argument from shun’s perspective right like if if he has another substantial injury this next year and doesn’t have the a rookie scale extension then that hurts his long-term earnings right if he gets the extension now and then God forbid knock on wood something bad happens this next year he has that money in hand and so that that’s a level of security for the player for their representation for the agent all that that they would love to have rather than being forced to go out and and prove it one more year or have one more year with no injuries no setbacks no no G no regression in his game all that stuff uh for Jaylen green he has to go out there and prove it right he has to go out there and showcase his skills and start the year off strong rather than you know struggling for two-thirds of the season and turning it on really late but I think there’s a very valid argument here that the Rockets are going to have to take a really hard look at Jaylen green this next season because if he doesn’t show something if he doesn’t show a vastly improved version of himself he if he doesn’t come in and play Closer to the level that he was at to end this past season then there’s a world where moving on from him at the trade deadline and getting something of value back whatever might make more sense because his cap hold is pretty significant and if you looked at a world where the Rockets were able to eliminate Jaylen Green’s cap hold so just trading him getting back no salary for him whatever in addition to the moves that they could make with Dylan Brooks and with Fred Van b or actually let’s just let’s even Factor let’s Factor those guys in let’s say let’s say Fred vanite signs a new contract with the rockets for 25 million a year something like that relatively team-friendly deal uh relative to what he was making but for longer years whatever and let’s say Dylan Brooks is still on on the roster if they didn’t extend Alper and shenon but if all they did was trade Jaylen green and didn’t take back any crazy long-term salary the Rockets would still have $51 million in cap space to work with that’s a lot that’s a lot to be able to commit to a player that’s a lot to be able to go out and outright sign somebody where that’s a lot to be able to absorb a maximum contract guy uh directly into into the fold so there’s a lot of different avenues that this go a lot of different ways that this could could ultimately uh a lot of different Pathways the Rockets could take here I think it’s all about the fact that they have so much young Talent on this team and shenon has clearly cemented himself as the best player on this team but because of his current salary situation that feels like the reason why the Rockets haven’t extended him uh if he was in a different position if he was drafted a little bit higher I feel like the Rockets would just bite the bullet and and say forget about the $ million or whatever because at the end of the day you’re only going to be able to Max so many guys on this roster you know if the Rockets decide that shenon is one of their guys worthy of maxing then you’re going to have one more max contract that you can reasonably hand out to somebody else on this young core a lot of rockets fans have pegged uh amen Thompson as the other guy that’s probably got the most like Superstar upside of anybody else in this Rockets young core but what happens if jabarus M Jr takes a crazy year three leap right what if he suddenly looks I mean he took a pretty substantial leap after a really rough rookie season he took a pretty big leap in year two what if he takes yet another leap in year three what if Cam Whitmore looks like a superstar all of a sudden after his insane production as a rookie right you’re going to have to figure out and this is why I think the Rockets are being so cautious and so careful about ultimately who they decide to give that money to because they just haven’t been able to identify who are the two pieces of the young core that we want to build around they pretty clearly have won in Alin shenon and I’m sure they feel and they’ve got to feel pretty good about having that one they’ve got to figure out who the second one is though and at this point it doesn’t feel like it’s Jaylen green I hope he proves me wrong next season I hope he comes out and has a fantastic year and then the Rockets can feel really good about maxing shenon and Jaylen and then their Houston Rockets for years to come that would be the best case scenario for this team but as it stands right now there’s just not a good enough reason to commit that money to either of them right now uh for very different reasons across the board jayen because of the question marks and shenon because again that $22 million that you could save or at least keep open I should say between now and and and next summer uh to be able to make a significant move or to be able to add one significant piece or or multiple you know rotational pieces to really Elevate the team and take it to another level that’s going to be important like you really can’t turn your nose up at that so I wanted to hopefully do it some justice spend a little bit more time in it you know in discussing it and kind of tackle some of the again the financial ramifications getting into the numbers I know I threw a lot of numbers at you guys just now I’m so sorry about that it was probably numbers Overload at the end of the day I you can only I’m staring at this XL Spreadsheet in front of me with like 12 different rows of data and all these numbers and I’m getting kind of like my vision is getting a little blurry staring at all of it but with that coming up do you want to talk about uh well actually I want I want your thoughts on the extension discussion right let me know how you feel what what do you want to see the Rockets do in regards to Jaylen green Alper and shenon uh and again you know are the Rockets Under Pressure right because if if you get more guys right if if Evan Mobley gets his extension if Josh giddy gets his extension right how many other extensions are potentially going to be handed out for the 2021 draft class where then you know Jaylen and shingun start to turn the heat up on the organization potentially wanting some clarity on their situation with the Rockets moving forward uh give me your thoughts in the YouTube comments coming up want to talk about Jabari Smith Jr working out with Kevin Durant what a year three leap looks like for Jabari plus some housekeeping as the Rockets make a few uh get a few resigning done ahead of NBA Summer League we’re going to get there in just one moment and final segment here at lock on Rockets your daily podcast home for everything Houston Rockets basketball all right so here in our final segment uh we’ve got a little bit of stuff to get to Jabari M junr was uh working out uh with Kevin Durant saw some clips of them doing some drills kind of an open gym environment and fir first thing to note is it is crazy how similar they both look as far as just their build right their their size their physique um obviously both really lengthy kind of like you know KD’s listed at what like 610 but KD is a seven-footer like when you see KD listed next to other guys that are 610 611 whatever and he’s like towering over them by like a few inches ktie is a legit seven-footer uh Jabari might be a legit seven feet by now I feel like he kept growing a little bit but just seeing both of them right the way they the way they move the way they pull up for their shots the way they uh the way their release point is so high above you know above them basically un unblockable unguardable if you will but the STK contrast in their games is how how smooth how fluid KD looks with the basketball whereas when Jabari is doing things you can tell that it’s just not as not as Swift not as smooth not as fluid and again that’s not a that’s not a knock on Jabari it’s just like that’s just cuz KD is Elite right that’s why KD is one of the all-time greats that’s why he’s one of the Great scorers to have ever played the game of basketball but you see the possibility there and that’s why I I absolutely loved the fact that that Jabari is in the gym this summer working with Katie learning from him trying to emulate parts of his game trying to copy parts of his game because that’s how you get better right and we saw Jabari this past year look a lot better when it came to you know attacking off Closeouts right putting the ball on the floor being able to drive and finish at The Rim using his length to finish around Defenders or scoring over the top of Defenders and maybe jabari’s never going to be Kevin Durant and that’s okay right Kevin Durant’s an alltime great that’s a very very high bar a high standard to set for a kid who’s you know barely 21 years old but at the same time if he can start to pick up on some of those things if he can tighten up that handle a little bit get a little bit more comfortable facing up his Defender you know going off the dribble and getting into you know some of his pull-up game or getting to a step back at the three-point line like the sky is the limit for Jabari he has all the physical gifts all the tools there to become a deadly scoring option and that’s why I’m still so bought in on Jabari and his ceiling as a player because you already see the level of impact that he can have defensively I feel like he took some major strides there last season more comfortable uh guarding out on the perimeter moving his feet laterally and then on the Interior right playing bigger he had that stretch where it felt like he was just all over the glass at various points last season then he you know he had the ankle injury and he you know was out for a few games and then came back and it didn’t feel like he had the same the same the same lift the same explosiveness around the rim to try and get up and contest for rebounds and and be active on the glass and that was a bit disappointing in that regard but I I really do think that with Jabari if he’s put in the right positions to succeed this next season uh if the Rockets kind of are able to highlight some of his strengths a little bit more and and kind of let him take on a slightly bigger role offensively I I think he can surprise some people uh again maybe he’s never going to be Kevin Durant and and again I don’t I don’t want to force him to try to beat Kevin Durant but I think 20 a game is like a realistic possibility for him right like at his Peak something like 20 to 25 points a night with 10 to 12 rebounds is very attainable and if I pull up and if I look at his uh if I look at his stats from this past season I just want to double check it and be able to reference them from this past year right he averaged 13.7 points per game 8.1 rebounds uh shot 36.3% from downtown and 81% at the line I mean a a six-point jump seems pretty significant and that’s that’s probably a little unrealistic especially with kind of how many mouths to feed there are on the Rockets roster but there were definitely points last year where it felt like the Rockets were hurting for for an additional offensive option now a big part of that is because you know they only had two guys that could realistically well three guys that could realistically create offense for others consistently and that was Fred vanet Jaylen green and Alper and shingun and again Jaylen really struggled for a big chunk of the year so you have to factor that into things as well but if Jabari can just get a little bit more comfortable a little bit more confident with creating for himself right whether it’s you know attacking on the wings uh you know spotting up on the perimeter putting the ball on the floor and and creating for himself in one-on-one in isolation or just putting his back against a Defender right at the you know uh at the top of or you know at the high post or on the low block and just getting to his little turnaround game or or facing up a Defender uh at the elbow and then making a move out of that like there’s so many different spots that you could put him on the floor to let him be effective I really want to see Oka continue to like experiment with that and really unlock what he can do because I think I really do think there’s something there uh and so that’s that’s kind of what I’m looking forward to for Jabari uh you know just really all that’s going to separate him from becoming a poor man’s KD is that handle now KD handles the ball like a guard uh that’s that’s a lot to expect for Jabar SM Jr who is a bit more of a he’s got some rigidity to his game right he doesn’t have a lot of Wiggle to his game but if he can just get to a place where he’s you know a little bit more comfortable with the ball uh he doesn’t ever have to have you know a bag like Kyrie Irving or Chris Paul or something where he has the ball on a string and he’s able to like crazy manipulate it but just being a little bit more comfortable getting a little bit lower on his dribbles uh being able to add you know a couple counters to his game it’s going to go a long way because he’s already basically unguardable when he elevates for that shot uh all he has to do is get a little bit quicker with his decision making and if he can get to a place where he can reliably attack a Defender who’s just face up set in his defensive stance and if he can create out of that it’ll mean more opportunities for him offensively and it’ll also mean more opportunities to create for his teammates and that’s going to be a big one that’s where you see guys really start to take the next level as stars in the NBA is when they’re able to leverage their their threat to score the ball their scoring gravity into opportunities for their teammates right commanding a double team by either driving and collapsing the defense or drawing a double team if you’re facing up uh you know at the elbow or posting up down low whatever things that we see Jaylen green and Alper and shingon already doing I feel like we could see some of that for Jabari Smith Jr this next season that’s kind of what I what I would hope to see I want to see him take on a bigger role offensively this next year now a lot of that’s that’s obviously going to be up to em Oka uh but that’s that’s my hope for year three jabarus J is taking on a bigger role offensively being entrusted to do a little bit more offensively uh and we could see an uptick where maybe like this next year like 18 and 10 are probably realistic benchmarks for Jabari for this next season uh that doesn’t feel too far out of the rumble possibility again for you know an extra four and a half points and couple extra rebounds per game I feel like that’s at least a fair uh guess this early on but uh and then playing on uh the USA select team him and am Min Thompson that’s going to be an invaluable experience for both of those guys uh the USA select team uh does a lot to help prepare young young players for kind of the next step in their in their growth their evolution and it’s it’s always nice to have that Competitive Edge to to play against some of the other talented young guys from the association and uh if the USA select team is able to go out there and play against the actual us team and and beat them a couple times then you got ultimate bragging rights to talk about too uh last couple things here uh Rockets did resign Nate Williams to a two-way deal and then they put Nate Hinton and Germaine Samuels Jr on exhibit 10 contracts so basically uh the exhibit 10 deals you just call them summer league deals or training camp deals is basically what they are uh I do I do maintain that the Rockets do really like Nate Williams uh I don’t know if he’ll ever like break into a fullscale NBA contract but he’s kind of a nice you know in you know injury Insurance Wing policy to have on the roster he’s a high energy guy he’s a solid Defender uh really solid finisher around the rim the outside shootings a major question mark with him but those are a few of the names that Rockets fans got familiar with last year in garbage time minutes and all that kind of stuff uh and obviously you know former uh product Nate Hinton uh so those three guys are all going to make their uh you know they’ll they’ll all be a part of the Houston Rocket summer league team this time around uh my guess is of those three names I would fully expect uh Nate Williams to probably get the starting nod uh alongside Reed Shepard cam Whitmore uh AJ Griffin and uh Phil oh my goodness I’m blanking on his name uh Dante there we go the big man I don’t want to I don’t want to butcher his first name uh neali Dante there we go uh I didn’t want to butcher his name I I think I got it right uh that’s that’s what I get for not having it up to date in my uh on my roster spreadsheet in front of me but uh those are that’s probably your projected starting five lineup uh for summer league uh maybe Germaine Samuels Jr gets the starting knot above Nate Williams because he’s a little bit bigger uh maybe more capable of playing that four spot uh but we’ll see ultimately it’s going to be a fun summer league roster and all those guys play with so much energy so much intensity uh it’s always a ton of fun to watch them compete at summer league and at the end of the day they’re all great guys too so like you know will they ever make it to you know a consistent NBA scale contract NBA scale deal if it’s not with the Rockets I would still love to see them be able to be success stories with another organization right like if Nate Hinton balls out in summer league and then some other team wants to roll up and offer him a standard NBA contract more power to him right would love to see that happen but that’s going to do it for our episode today I’m curious your thoughts drop anything you have for me in the YouTube comments as always thank you so much for checking out the show if you haven’t done so yet please consider subscribing wherever you listen to your podcast or on YouTube just search locked on Rockets like comment subscribe and if you’re on Apple podcast a fivestar review helps us out a ton but as always thank you so much for watching thank you so much for listening we look forward to having you back right here at lockon Rockets your daily podcast home for everything Houston Rockets basketball [Music]

Houston Rockets Under Pressure To Extend Jalen Green & Alperen Sengun? + Jabari & Durant Workouts

Host Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) discusses if the Houston Rockets are under pressure to extend Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun after Franz Wagner, another member of the 2021 draft class, received his rookie scale maximum extension, why the situations in Orlando, Detoit, Toronto, and Houston are all so different, a deep dive into the Rockets finances, plus Jabari Smith Jr. working out with Kevin Durant and what a year 3 leap looks like for him.

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