Famous reporter: Jabbarri s 5-year $124 million may be the bottom line for Ethan s contract renewal because the latter is better

August 7th In a new column of TheAthletic, famous reporter John Hollinger mentioned the Rockets' renewal problem faced by Tari Ethan. The following is some of the content.

From July 1 to October 21 before the start of the regular season of the 2025-26 season, first round players in the 2022 draft can undergo contract extension. For the Houston Rockets, this includes Jabbarry Smith Jr. and Tari Ethan (the last year left in the contract). Smith has agreed to a five-year contract extension, and Ethan has not yet reached an agreement.

First of all, the Rockets may have inadvertently set a standard for Ethan because Ethan is better than Smith, and Smith's five-year $124 million contract should be Ethan's bottom line. Realists, however, will point out that the real question is how much the market is willing to pay. Although Ethan's defense and fast breaking ability make him valuable, his half-court offensive limitations may limit his future salary, similar to Dyson Daniels of the Atlanta Hawks. The second issue is the presence of Smith and Durant, who may force Ethan to take on more wing roles than the power forward position he is best at, thus affecting his performance in the next summer market.

Some media valued Ethan at $21.7 million per year, partly due to his recent instability in health. Even if the Rockets and Ethan can reach an acceptable number (such as $65 million to $70 million in three years), another problem arises: The Rockets may not want to commit to paying him immediately. Houston has multiple salary decisions in the coming seasons, and assuming Durant signs a contract renewal, the Rockets will have a high salary in the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons. Therefore, one can't help but wonder whether Houston will strategically realize Ethan's value before next season, and if there is no renewal, there will be more room for operation.

During the regular season of the 2024-25 season, Jabbarri Jr. averaged 12.2 points, 7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game; Ethan averaged 12 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.