What Should the Houston Rockets Offer Amen Thompson This Offseason?

While it was only a three year contract, JG is still slated to make more than $36 million in each of the next two seasons. That’s the benefit of being drafted second overall, I guess. Thankfully that contract turned into Kevin Durant, so Houston can ignore that potential mistake.

On the same day, Rafael Stone gave Alperen Şengün an even larger contract, averaging out to $37 million a year for five seasons. That $185 million could’ve surely given anyone concerns, but the young Turk has proved his worth with back to back All-Star appearances.

Alpy’s annual salary puts him just above Gobert’s, but that’s sort of the only big man in that bracket. Zion Williamson makes $39 million, but has obviously had an up and down career hindered by injuries.

Other guys like Sabonis, Siakam, Chet, and Paolo are all making nearly $10 million more on average. The first two due to age, with the last two being much higher draft picks. Based on that, I think Şengün’s contract is looking fair, especially if he continues to improve.

Hitting on two out of their three most recent rookie extensions gives me confidence that the Rockets can and will do the same with Amen Thompson.

While I think it’s safe to assume he’d want something closer to Tyler Herro and Jalen Johnson’s $30 million salary, the team would surely love to get something a bit lower.

He’s still yet to prove to be a reliable shooter, despite some encouraging signs from his free throw shooting. There’s always the chance he could bet on himself and look to earn even more next summer, like Tari Eason hoped.

I could see them coming to an agreement near guys like Dyson Daniels and Josh Giddey, who both recently signed for $25 million per year. Very close to Jabari Smith Jr. from the year prior as well. Stay tuned to see how this pans out.