Rockets sign Jalen Green to a three-year extension

3:16 p.m.: According to NBA.com's transaction log, the Rockets have officially signed Green to his extension.

2:48 p.m.: The missiles and the guard Jalen Green Agents have agreed to a three-year rookie extension worth $106 million Aaron Mintz, Andrew MorrisonAnd Shakira Wardally Tell it to Shams Charania and Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). The deal includes a player option for the third year.

Green is the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft and averaged 19.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in his 225 NBA appearances (all starts).

Green's shooting percentages through his first three seasons were modest (.421/.337/.794) and his defense was inconsistent, but he has shown tantalizing flashes of putting it all together, including during a 15-game stretch near the end of the 2023 season /24 as he averaged 29.2 PPG on .488/.422/.782 shooting and led the Rockets to 13 wins in 15 games to keep them in the play-in hunt.

The terms of Green's new deal are quite unusual for several reasons. For one thing, most rookie-scale extensions cover at least four seasons, and those that don't tend to be far less lucrative contracts signed by role players.

Based on our research, the $52.5 million contract was the largest three-year rookie extension signed before this year Caris LeVert received in 2019. Green's contract will more than double LeVert's annual average value.

Green also received a player option, which has become a rarity in rookie-scale extensions. Of the 31 rookie extensions made since 2022 prior to this deal, only one contained a player option, and that contract (for Nuggets big man Zeke Nnaji) was four years long. Green's option is through the 2027-28 season, potentially allowing him to reach unrestricted free agency at age 25.

As ESPN's Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter), because Green's new deal is only for three years instead of four or five seasons, he will be eligible for his next extension sooner than most rookie extension recipients. As of October 26th, he can sign a contract extension expected to be worth over $227 million over four years, per Mark.

While it remains to be seen whether the Rockets will attempt to become a cap space team in the 2025 offseason, Green's new contract won't necessarily affect their ability to do so, as he would have had significant cap position (more than $37 million US dollars) as a restricted free agent. According to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link), his first-year salary on his new contract will be $33.5 million, which is just over $5 million below his projected maximum salary.