The Houston Rockets core in recent years has always featured James Harden and a superstar running mate — Chris Paul the last two seasons, Russell Westbrook in 2019-20 and beyond. But part of what has made Houston a championship contender has been the way the team’s role players find ways to contribute and thrive in their roles, and just as the clock turned to Saturday morning on the east coast, one of those players cashed in on his subtle brilliance for the team.
Eric Gordon, the sharpshooting guard whose ability to stretch the floor has been vital to the team’s success since coming to Houston in 2016 and who was slated to become an unrestricted free agent following the conclusion of the upcoming season, agreed to a four-year max contract extension with the franchise. Word of the deal came from Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle with confirmation coming from Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Houston Rockets guard Eric Gordon has agreed to a four-year, $76M maximum contract extension, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 31, 2019
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN chimed in with some details, which served as a reminder of the creativity with which the Rockets front office has when dealing with the salary cap. While it’s a four-year max extension, Gordon’s salary increases every year, with the final season of his new deal being non-guaranteed.
The fourth year of Eric Gordon extension is non-guaranteed, league source tell ESPN. He gets fourth-year if he makes All-Star team or Rockets win a championship, source tells ESPN. https://t.co/83EUVJYPaM
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 31, 2019
Eric Gordon will get three-years, $54.5M guaranteed on his extension, per source, starting with the 2020-2021 season — $16.9M, $18.2M, and $19.6M. The non-guaranteed season would earn him $20.9M.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 31, 2019
Gordon has provided invaluable floor spacing as a member of the Rockets, averaging 16.8 points per game and connecting on 36.4 percent of his triples since heading to the Lonestar State. With Houston making a poor shooter like Westbrook its top option alongside Harden, that should, theoretically, be amplified a little more, especially in lineups where the former Oklahoma City Thunder standout would share the floor with a non-shooter in Clint Capela.
It seems like no one’s name gets thrown around more in trade rumblings regarding the Rockets than Gordon, and we’ll have to wait and see if that remains the case now that he’s under contract for a few more years. But for now, it doesn’t seem like Gordon is going anywhere.
