Houston Rockets: Team wants to sign Eric Gordon to a long-term extension

The Houston Rockets are interested in signing Eric Gordon to a long-term extension as he goes into the final season of his contract. What gives? Let’s look.

Houston Rockets fans — it’s the offseason and the wave of headlines that will be spewed in our direction are likely to be prolific as this was the team that the closest to taking down the Golden State Warriors this postseason.

With nearly $115 million tied up among the Houston Rockets‘ starting five, that bunch will likely be back, barring some crazy maneuver that Daryl Morey could think of to improve that unit. What will likely happen is various tweaks to the bench so that they can be stronger than ever.

With the 2019-20 season having a salary cap that’s an estimated $109 million, the Houston Rockets are already over the cap but still have some breathing room between there and luxury tax line of $132 million.

Even more shrewd moves will have to be made by Morey to ensure that the team stays within that parameter but owner Tilman Fertitta has given Morey his blessing to go over the line to keep this team competitive.

That’s certainly what it’s going to take because it would be absolutely unacceptable to bring this same team back, only to yield the same results — or possibly worse for that matter — so tweaks definitely have to be made in order for this team to be as robust as possible.

Speaking of Fertitta, he sat down with the Chron’s Jonathan Feigen recently and they talked about all things Houston Rockets in their current state as well as plans for the future.

What caught my eye when reading the article was that Fertitta openly campaigned for guard/forward Eric Gordon to receive a long-term extension. Normally, you’d see an owner mum on those types of situations but he had no problems expressing his desire to bring him back.

Fertitta is a different breed of an owner and it has been interesting to watch how things have transformed — especially if you’ve been to Toyota Center lately — since he’s been at the helm of Clutch City Sports and Entertainment L.P., the legal name for the Houston Rockets franchise and all the businesses that are associated with it.

The Houston Rockets have become a sound investment for him so far as his net worth has increased from $3.5 billion in October 2017 just after he bought the team to currently $4.9 billion as per Forbes. Increasing his worth by $1.4 billion in just two years is impressive but I’m sure that this was his plan all along.

But back to Gordon, he’s currently on the back end of a four-year, $54 million contract that will

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pay him $14.1 million this season, the final of his clause.

Gordon has offered tremendous value for his services and sometimes it pains us when he goes on those cold shooting streaks but his defensive prowess, energy, leadership and marksmanship are hard to rival in a guy that’s just two seasons removed from being the Sixth Man of the Year.

It’s surprising to hear that directly from Fertitta because he’d be a fine bargaining chip for any trade necessitated to improve the team. But the fact that Fertitta wants him back says a lot about Gordon’s character.

As they say, sound bytes aren’t sworn testimony so who knows?

I’d personally like him to stay as well but if we have to package him in a deal him in order to get better then so be it. But it’s a matter of finding that guy that matches his special traits and that’s going to a bigger problem than just retaining his services.

I’m sure he’d like to stay as well as he knows he’s a terrific fit with the team but that all depends on how fair his extension is versus what offers he’d be receiving from other teams. Oh yes, he will be getting other offers if the Houston Rockets wait until next offseason when he’s a free agent.

Let’s keep an eye on if they decide to do his extension this offseason or next…or at all.

Next. The Rockets' offseason will be dictated by the Warriors' moves. dark

Gordon, 30, averaged 16.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists with a shooting line of .409/.360/.783 through 68 games in 2018-19.

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