NBA rumors: Alperen Sengun, Rockets have 'legitimate chance' of contract extension

10/01/2024 12:56 PM

Throughout the NBA offseason, teams have been a lot more cognizant of their current and future financial situations as a result of the first and second tax aprons and the implications that these financial marks carry. That is why many teams did not break the bank over the summer, especially when it comes to re-signing players and offering contract extensions. One of the more fascinating extension situations around the league, aside from the Golden State Warriors with Jonathan Kuminga, is Alperen Sengun and the Houston Rockets.

Sengun put together a really solid second season in the league during the 2022-23 season, and in Year 3, he became a borderline All-Star with the Rockets. In a total of 63 games, all of which he started, Sengun averaged 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game while shooting 53.7 percent from the floor. If the Turkish big man hadn’t suffered a gruesome-looking leg injury late in the season, he may have gone on to win the league’s Most Improved Player award.

There is no doubt that Sengun now enters the 2024-25 season, his fourth year in the league, as the Rockets best player. However, the organization has a decision to make regarding his long-term status with the franchise since he is in the final year of his rookie contract.

Since the middle of last season, the language coming from Houston suggested that the team envisions Sengun being their center of the future. Although the Rockets explored other options in the 2023 offseason, including Milwaukee Bucks big man Brook Lopez, league sources told ClutchPoints in March that the team had not given any indications that Sengun was available on the trade market or that the team had a desire to see him leave.

It appears as if that same mentality remains, as there is a “legitimate chance” that Sengun and the Rockets will reach an agreement on a new contract extension prior to the start of the 2024-25 season, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. The Rockets have until October 21, the day before the 2024-25 regular season begins, to make a decision on whether or not to extend Sengun. Should a deal not be reached, Sengun will become a restricted free agent next summer.

Rockets’ desire to keep Alperen Sengun

The Rockets have held no intention of trading Sengun. He is the pinnacle of their starting lineup, and at 22 years old, there is still plenty of room for Sengun to follow in the footsteps of other versatile, do-it-all centers in this league like Domantas Sabonis and Nikola Jokic.

Over the last few seasons, the Rockets have developed Sengun into a more well-rounded big man who could be an all-around weapon on the offensive end of the floor. It is not a coincidence that he saw his scoring and passing numbers increase last season with Udoka as his head coach, and Sengun is only primed to make yet another jump this upcoming season.

Houston is committed to Sengun, and it appears as if the feelings are mutual. It is not hard to call Sengun one of the better centers in basketball right now, and the Rockets envision a future where they can build around the rising star at the center position.

Should the two sides want to get a deal done in the next three weeks, they can make it happen. However, what this contract extension could look like is the big question.

Since Jalen Green is also entering the final year of his rookie contract with no word of an extension before the season out of Houston at the moment, the Rockets could be pressed to make a choice between the two youthful players. This is especially true since Fred VanVleet is on the books for $42.8 million this season before owning a $44.8 million team option ahead of the 2025-26 season.

Even with all of the confusing numbers, there is still a path to the Rockets being able to extend Sengun now and still keep Green around on a new contract next offseason, especially if the organization decides to part ways with VanVleet in favor of Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard, two backcourt options the organization is exceptionally high on.

Out of all the teams in the league, the Rockets have been operating with an abundance of flexibility and potential because of the talent that exists on rookie contracts. Decisions are going to be made in the near future, and it appears as if the first will be Sengun putting pen to paper on a new, long-term contract extension to remain in Houston as one of the faces of the franchise.

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