PAY DAY!
Houston Rockets double down on youth with blockbuster contract extensions
Oct 22, 2024, 10:24 am
The future is bright in Houston! Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.
Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun both agreed to contract extensions with the Houston Rockets, a person with knowledge of the details said Monday.
Green, the second overall pick in the 2021 draft, agreed to a three-year, $106 million extension. Sengun, who was chosen 16th in the same draft, agreed to five-year, $185 million extension.
The person confirmed the specifics of the agreements to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deals had not been announced. Both deals were first reported by ESPN.
Both players are entering the final seasons of their rookie contracts. Green's new deal will begin next season and includes a player option for the third year, giving him the flexibility to opt out of the contract before the 2027-28 season to become a free agent.
Sengun's extension also begins next season and includes a player option for the fifth season in 2029-30.
Green played in all 82 games last season and averaged 19.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists to help the Rockets make a 19-game improvement from the previous season. He has made 545 3-pointers after making a career-high 201 last season.
The 22-year-old Green was drafted at 19 after spending one season with the G League Ignite.
He averaged 17.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists as a rookie. Green averaged a career-best 22.1 points in his second NBA season in 2022-23.
Sengun had a breakout year last season when he averaged 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and five assists — all career highs — in 63 games. He missed the last part of the season with a severely sprained ankle.
The Turkish center averaged 14.8 points and nine assists in the 2022-23 season after averaging just 9.6 points and 5.5 rebounds as a rookie.
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Stephen Curry scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, Buddy Hield made nine 3-pointers and scored 33 points, and the Golden State Warriors advanced to the Western Conference semifinals with a 103-89 win over the Houston Rockets in Game 7 Sunday night.
The Warriors will face the Timberwolves Tuesday night in Minnesota.
Hield had a scorching first half with six 3-pointers and 22 points to carry the Warriors to a 12-point lead, with Curry scoring just three points before the break. Then Curry took over in the closing minutes and performed his signature “night night” gesture as the Warriors put the Rockets away.
The Warriors became the seventh No. 7 seed in NBA history to advance to the semifinals and eliminated Houston in the playoffs for a fifth time. They sent the James Harden-led Rockets squads packing four times between 2015 and 2019.
Hield was 9 of 11 from 3-point range, setting an NBA record for a Game 7 and making more 3s than the Rockets, who were 6 of 18 from long range. Curry added 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Amen Thompson scored 24 points to lead Houston, which forced Game 7 with two straight wins but couldn't put away the experienced Warriors.
Golden State led by eight entering the fourth and opened the quarter with a 5-0 run, capped by a 3 from Curry, to make it 75-62.
Houston scored the next six points, but the Warriors used a 7-2 spurt with four points from Curry to make it 82-70 with about seven minutes left.
Curry made a contested 3, rebounded a missed jumper by Thompson and found Hield for an open corner 3 that made it 94-74 with 2:31 remaining.
That sent many of the red-clad Rockets fans streaming for the exits.
Jimmy Butler added 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Warriors, who improved to 28-11 since his debut on Feb. 8 after a trade from Miami.
Fred VanVleet scored a combined 55 points in the last two games to help Houston extend the series. But he was limited to 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting Sunday to send the second-seeded Rockets home early in their first trip to the playoffs since 2020.
He was far from the only Rocket who struggled. Big man Alperen Sengun had 21 points and 14 rebounds. But he missed several easy shots on a 9-of-23 night.
Jalen Green, who had 38 points to lead Houston to a Game 2 win, finished with eight points.
Houston trailed by 15 before using a big run to get within three points in the third, but Golden State ended the quarter with a 7-2 run to take a 70-62 lead into the fourth.
The Warriors played without key reserve Gary Payton II, who sat out with an illness that coach Steve Kerr said had him “sick as a dog.”
Draymond Green added 16 points for the Warriors, who had four starters score in double figures.