The Athletic’s Kelly Iko: “There has been positive communication on both sides pertaining to Eason’s extension, and the hope is that an agreement can be reached soon.”
🚨THE RESULTS ARE IN🚨
Hundreds of Rockets fans filled out @TheAthletic annual survey about the state of their team — from KD’s arrival to 5th starter and much, much more.
Here’s what they had to say 👇🏾https://t.co/75LcB85qYc
— Kelly Iko (@KellyIko) August 22, 2025
Drafted by Houston in the 2022 first round, fourth-year Rockets forwards Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason each entered the 2025 NBA offseason eligible for a contract extension.
Smith agreed to a five-year deal as soon as it was available. To this point, Eason has not.
But, it doesn’t indicate that a deal won’t get done prior to the NBA’s Oct. 20 deadline for rookie-scale extensions (a day prior to the regular-season opener).
The Athletic’s Kelly Iko writes:
There has been positive communication on both sides pertaining to Eason’s extension, and the hope is that an agreement can be reached soon. The Rockets are dangerously close to the first apron at this point, and ironing out an Eason contract would give them more certainty on their upcoming financial layout, while also avoiding a potentially awkward situation. Team sources would prefer to finalize an extension sooner rather than later, while understanding it may drag out until closer to the start of the 2025-26 season.
There’s also the possibility that both sides can’t come to terms on an extension and revisit the following summer in restricted free agency, but the Rockets don’t want it to be a lingering issue or distraction.
The Rockets are clearly taking a diligent approach to future payrolls, so it makes sense that they would want Eason at a firm number as soon as possible.
But it is a fairly unique case, which complicates the likelihood of a deal.
The bull case is that Eason averaged 12.0 points (48.7% FG, 34.2% on 3-pointers), 6.3 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in 24.9 minutes per game last season, and the 6-foot-8 forward is among Houston’s most versatile players.
Eason’s strengths with aggressive defense and as an elite transition force are unique, and advanced tracking data suggests that he is an extremely impactful player.
The bear case is that the LSU product only played in 79 combined games over the past two regular seasons due to recurring leg issues, and he has yet to average more than 25 minutes per game in the NBA.
In addition, many of those same tracking metrics suggested that Eason was Houston’s worst rotation player in the 2025 playoffs, when halfcourt execution became more critical.
Then again, the playoff sample was limited to seven games versus one opponent. It could be randomness, or perhaps the Golden State Warriors were simply a rough matchup for Eason’s skill set.
As for Eason’s leg problem, it was surgically corrected in March 2024, and it’s not uncommon for it to take until the second season after surgery for players to fully recover. There are no indications that Houston is expecting it to be a career-altering injury, so it is possible that he puts it behind him in 2025-26 and doesn’t have any further issues.
The question is how those factors could influence negotiations that take place prior to the season. Would the Rockets’ offer come in a bit lower than what the advanced metrics would suggest, given those durability concerns? And if so, might Eason prefer to wait until after the season to finalize a deal, in hopes that a healthy 2025-26 campaign could give him more negotiating leverage?
Or, is there a compromise, middle-ground scenario that works for both sides? Perhaps a contract at fewer years in length makes sense. That type of arrangement could protect the team in the event of any further injuries, and it could give Eason a chance to get a raise from his next contract sooner — should he stay healthy and his play warrant one.
It may also be that Eason’s injury history prompts him to want financial security as soon as possible, and waiting until 2026 inherently brings more injury risk.
Whatever the case, it’s clear that both Eason and the Rockets want a long-term partnership. So, an extension seems to be a matter of when, rather than if.
But there are enough unique circumstances to where unlike Smith, this one could take a bit more time for both parties to evaluate.