Rockets Face Big Kevin Porter Jr. Decision: Sign Extension or Trade?

Kevin Porter Jr. is entering the final guaranteed year on his contract with the Houston Rockets.

The Houston Rockets entered this offseason with more cap space than any other team. That propelled them to sign free agents to big contracts including Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks.

They also added on Jock Landale, Jeff Green and Aaron Holiday to smaller contracts, but the meat comes with VanVleet and Brooks, who will both likely block Kevin Porter Jr.'s path to the starting lineup.

That means the Rockets face a big decision next summer in regards to Porter.

"Even though the Rockets have an unusually high volume of non-guaranteed contracts, their only path to significant cap space in 2024 is by cutting Kevin Porter Jr., and even that gets them closer to $20 million than a max slot," The Athletic writes.

© Scott Wachter, USA TODAY

Houston has other non-guaranteed contracts it can shed in order to gain more cap space, but Porter represents the lion's share of it all.

"GM Rafael Stone can presumably decide on non-guarantees for Jeff Green and Jock Landale with the knowledge that they will stay over the cap and under the tax either way," The Athletic writes. "That does not make either a sure thing to be picked up, but it’s more likely because the Rockets do not gain much flexibility letting them go."

There's a lot that has to happen between now and then, but the Rockets have always had an eye on the future. When Stone took over the general manager duties from Daryl Morey, he enacted a three-year plan that launched the Rockets from a rebuilding situation to where they are now. Houston is still developing, but this vision has been three years in the making.

And there's an even bigger plan as to what the next three years can grow into.

"The more fascinating year is 2025, when the Rockets have a team option on Fred VanVleet the same year Jalen Green and Alperen Sengün’s next contracts will kick in, providing a vast array of different scenarios," The Athletic writes.

Every move the Rockets make from here on out has eyes towards when the full contender window will open. And while that moment isn't now, every day inches closer to when that time will come.