Rockets GM Rafael Stone on Steven Adams: “If he wants to be here, and we want him back, and both those things are true — which I know is from my perspective — then I’m sure we’ll work something out.”
We asked #Rockets GM Rafael Stone about the potential of a Steven Adams reunion in 2025 free agency:
“It’s a two-way street. He has to want to be here. But every indication we have is that he does. We want him back.”
“He’s a really important part of the group.” pic.twitter.com/gGNDJ88uFj
— The Rockets Wire (@TheRocketsWire) May 6, 2025
Veteran center Steven Adams will be an unrestricted free agent in the 2025 NBA offseason, but the Houston Rockets do have Bird rights to exceed the salary cap and retain his services.
With that in mind, if Adams wants to stick around, there is a clear financial path for a deal to be had — assuming the team values him at a sufficiently high level.
According to general manager Rafael Stone, who spoke at Tuesday’s end-of-season media availability with reporters in Houston, that is very much the case.
When asked by Rockets Wire about Adams’ growth throughout the 2024-25 season and the team’s interest in a reunion, Stone said:
I think Steven was the player, and person, that we thought we were trading for (in February 2024). He’s been that. He’s a really important part of the group. The continuity that I talked about valuing, he’s an important part of that.
It’s a two-way street. He has to want to be here. But every indication we have is that he does. If he wants to be here, and we want him back, and both those things are true — which I know is true from my perspective — then I’m sure we’ll work something out.
Head coach Ime Udoka then addressed Adams’ growth as a player:
He is who we thought he was going to be. Coming off an injury, you never know. But the way he ramped up and the way we worked him back, it was kind of the perfect scenario for us.
We got him his legs back, got him his rhythm back, and got him to the point where he was in the playoffs. Obviously, we were very cautious about back-to-backs… and making sure he was good at the right time. But he’s very in tune with his body and how he feels. You could see in real-time, when the increase in minutes happened, how much more effective he became. He was a huge part of what we did this year, and I echo his sentiments (those of Stone, regarding an Adams return).
It’s difficult to project what Adams’ market value might be. On the one hand, his traditional statistics in the regular season were rather pedestrian. In an average of 13.7 minutes over 58 games, Adams averaged 3.9 points (54.5% FG) and 5.6 rebounds. As Udoka alluded to, minutes and appearances were limited in the 31-year-old’s first season back after undergoing knee surgery in late 2023.
But even with the relatively low minutes totals, Adams’ impact-based statistics were consistently excellent. And in the playoffs, with the Rockets having gradually built up Adams’ health and stamina over the regular season, Houston turned the big man loose. In seven first-round games against the Golden State Warriors, Adams averaged 5.7 points (60.0% FG), 6.6 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 22.1 minutes per game.
Should Adams want a job as a full-time starting center in the NBA, the Rockets probably can’t offer that, since they have an All-Star in Alperen Sengun ahead of Adams on the depth chart. But it’s unclear if such an offer will be available when considering Adams’ age, injury history, and minutes totals from the 2024-25 regular season.
Furthermore, even if that type of bid is made, Adams might prefer to stay in a situation where his body can be more easily load managed. With more than a decade of NBA wear-and-tear, the presence of Sengun can prevent Adams from being overly extended. Furthermore, the ability of Sengun and Adams to play together in “double big” lineups means that even if Adams is the backup center in name, he has a path to potentially playing more minutes — especially in higher-leverage games and in the playoffs — than most backup centers.
That type of arrangement could be appealing to a veteran entering his age-32 season. So, too, could Houston’s status as the team with the fourth-best record (52-30) in the NBA. Even if a team was willing and able to offer Adams both a starting role and a significant salary increase, it might not be appealing for Adams to go to a losing team at this stage of his career.
Adams made $12.6 million this season, and the NBA’s non-taxpayer mid-level exception (NT-MLE) this offseason is expected to be in the range of a $14.1-million starting salary. A majority of teams have access to the NT-MLE, so a contract in that general annual vicinity would seem realistic. And from Houston’s perspective, it’s unlikely they would ask or expect Adams to take a paycut in the aftermath of an extremely strong playoff performance.
The primary questions would seem to be:
If the offers are financially comparable, does Adams want to stay in Houston?Does any team with significant space beneath the 2025-26 salary cap (there aren’t many) potentially bid above the NT-MLE on Adams? If so, would Houston be willing to use its Bird rights to go even higher and match?Is there any medical red flag on Adams, regarding his surgically repaired knee, that might make Houston less likely to offer the same contract length as another team?
There are enough questions that an Adams return can’t be viewed as inevitable. But, all indications thus far are positive, and the Bird rights available to Stone and the Rockets will allow Houston to be as financially competitive as it wants.
The NBA’s 2025 free agency window will open in late June. Per Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle, Adams described his future as “up in the air” in comments after Sunday’s Game 7 loss to the Warriors.