What does Kevin Durant’s $90 million extension mean?

The The Houston Rockets have signed Kevin Durant to two more years, $90 million an extension that keeps him with the team through the 2027-28 campaign. A deal means that KD signed for approximately $30 million less than the max that he was eligible.

However, what does this mean for Amen Thompson and Tarry Eason, who also have extensions? According to Mark Stein of Stein Line, both players should also get extensions they seemingly deserve it because of Durant’s contract that saved the Rockets significant money.

“Houston is rumored to be hoping to re-sign Eason along with Amen Thompson at a significantly lower number than Jabari Smith Jr.’s five-year, $122 million deal signed earlier this summer,” Stein wrote.

Stein argued that the Rockets’ ability to pay Eason was directly related to the KD contract. The Houston front office is well aware that they are headed for a situation where they will have to balance payments to save money on the luxury tax in future campaigns.

Further, Thompson’s ability to fill in for the injured Fred VanVleet serves as an added bonus, and his defensive impact is also why he is expected to be paid big money.

“You probably saw Thompson starting at point guard for the Rockets after the devastating injury to Fred VanVleet. That’s on top of the significant impact he’s already making on the other end, which has established Thompson as many coaches’ preseason pick for Defensive Player of the Year,” he explained.

In short, Stein believes Thompson is headed for a max deal when he’s eligible next summer.

“Those same pundits are left to wonder how much less Durant would be willing to take to help the Rockets maintain a competitive core for this twilight of his career. Two team officials who know the CBA like the back of their hand told me this week that if they were working in the Rockets’ front office, would they encourage Houston to cap any offer for the opening two years at $80 million?” he said.

The question has now been answered, and Durant took significantly less money than he was entitled to. The move is expected to help the Rockets down the stretch and should lead to them locking up both Thompson and Terry Eason.