Rockets Roster, Green, Sengun Extensions, Salaries, Cap Space, Draft Picks Updated Through 2030 and More!

The Dream Shake is not just a community of Rockets fans, it’s a community of NBA geeks. And right now there are few places better to get your NBA offseason salary cap geek on than Salary Swish.

As part of a new partnership with SB Nation, you can now dive into SalarySwish and use their data to attempt to answer every single question you could possibly have about the Rockets’ financial situation (and other team-building considerations). You’ll see not just the current situation for the Rockets, but also permutations of signing players eligible for extension such as Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun.

Below is an attempt at an updating, living and breathing document answering every query you could possibly have on that front, with updates and context as the team moves forward. So bookmark this page for all the latest changes as the team moves forward!

Here is a table with all of the Rockets salary information, again courtesy of our friends at SalarySwish:

Now, because that is a lot of data, let’s dive into a few key pieces of context and what it means, and try to answer any questions it may raise for you.

Jalen Green Contract Extension - 3 Years $105,333,333

2025/26 - $33,333,333 - 21.5% of Projected Salary Cap

2026/27 - $36,000,000 - 21.6% of Projected Salary Cap

2027/28 - $36,000,000 - 19.4% of Projected Salary Cap - Player Option

Jalen Green’s Extension is Poison Pilled an he cannot be traded until July 1st, 2025

Jalen Green’s Player Option Exercise Deadline is 6/29/2027

Alperen Sengun Contract Extension - 5 Years 185,000,000

2025/26 - $33,944,954 - 21.95% of Projected Salary Cap

2026/27 - $35,642,202 - 20.95% of Projected Salary Cap

2027/28 - $37,339,450 - 19.95% of Projected Salary Cap

2028/29 - $39,036,697 - 18.97% of Projected Salary Cap

2029/30 - $39,036,697 - 17.24% of Projected Salary Cap - Player Option

Alperen Sengun’s Extension is Poison Pilled an he cannot be traded until July 1st, 2025

Alperen Sengun’s Player Option Exercise Deadline is 6/29/2029

NOTE - This will be updated pre-draft 2025 to reflect any player acquisitions made in-season, or players no longer on the roster, options declined pre-draft 2025, etc.

Well, the years of taking bad deals to free up room paid off last season, with the signings of Fred Van Vleet and Dillon Brooks. The Rockets have very little dead weight on the roster and in terms of guaranteed salary.

I’m not a Certified NBA Capologist, and I know some of you are. If I’ve explained something incorrectly, or awkwardly, let me know, and by no means do you blame SalarySwish, without which I’d make a real hash of this.

The NBA salary cap is set at $141 million for 2024-25, and the Rockets current salary structure is set at right at $145 million in terms of cap hits.

Those aren’t the final word on moves that can be made, but right now this situation puts the Rockets at about $4.3 million over the cap. That might sound bad, but the Rockets currently stand dead last in NBA cap hits, and committed salary.

The Rockets stand to have only $109 million in guaranteed salary in 2024-25. This is very, very, low. That number goes up by $12.6 million with Steven Adams playing, and leaving the Disabled Player Exception slot. Adams brings committed money to roughly $122 million.

The Rockets currently have cap holds of around $6.3 million for unrestricted free agents Reggie Bullock, Aaron Holiday and Boban Marjanovic, but those aren’t guaranteed deals. They also have about $5.6 million in the form of restricted free agent cap holds, in the form of Nate Hinton, Nate Williams and Jermaine Samuels, also not guaranteed, all with equal salaries.

I’d be shocked if the Rockets brought all those players back, as they’re adding Adams to the payroll, and also almost certainly a first round pick of some sort, and maybe a second-rounder.

Let’s say the Rockets bring back one Nate of your choice, and Jermaine Samuels. Their salaries are all the same, so that adds $3.8 million.

Let’s say they also keep Aaron Holiday at his current number of $2.1 million.

Now they’re up to $128 million, but they have decisions to make about Jock Landale, Jeff Green and Jae’Sean Tate. Landale and Green are at $8 million each, and Tate around $7. Keeping all three is $26 million.

For various reasons, the Rockets can do all this, without triggering any real problems or luxury tax.

Now, the Rockets do have to fill out their roster, but this situation is good. They can get under the cap easily, if they choose, by simply not re-signing the three unrestricted free agents or signing them as veteran minimum players or two-way players, who all operate differently under the cap.

If the Rockets for some reason renounced all players who are free agents or on whom they possessed options, they could get about $31 million in salary space (this isn’t counting Adams), so call it $18 million. They’d have to fill in the roster with a bunch of minimum signings, and exceptions, but it could be done, or even with Adams, and by trading Brooks, they could get up to around $40 million.

The Rockets currently can operate as an under-the-cap team, due to, I believe, cap holds necessary to get under the cap being non-guaranteed salary, and also because they are not in the luxury tax. The exceptions allow the Rockets to exceed the cap without triggering luxury tax.

First, the Rockets would get a rookie scale exception, which allows them to sign their first round picks to rookie scale contracts appropriate to the draftees’ selection spot.

Second, they can access the Mid-Level Room Exception, which currently offers an annual salary of approximately $12.8 million, to sign free agents to deals up to three years. These can be their own free agents, or others, and it can be applied to one or more players.

Third, they can make signings using the bi-annual exception of roughly $4.7 million per season.

Here is where we’ll keep an updating list of picks the Rockets have. The trades with the Nets involving Rockets, Nets, Suns and potential Thunder (and maybe some other teams) picks are... somewhat complex. Descriptions are below.

2024

2025

OKC has right to SWAP picks with HOU, but not if HOU is picking between 1-1 and 1-10. Then pick remains with Houston. OKC can also swap either for the 2025 LAC 1st round pick, or Houston’s pick if it is 11-30.

Houston can swap the OKC first round pick (if Houston is 11-30) pick to BKN for PHX 2025 1st round pick.

If Houston’s pick falls within its protected range, then the obligation to OKC is void and Houston may swap its 1-1 to 1-10 pick to BKN for the PHX pick.

2026

2027

2028

2029

2030

If you found this page useful, please bookmark it and/or share, and if you have any questions or information you’d like to see included, let us know in the comments below! We plan to keep this page updated with the latest information from SalarySwish as events occur.