Durant s contract renewal has not been finalized, Ethan expresses his willingness to stay in Houston, and Amen has led to a restrictive factor in negotiations

This year's offseason, the Rockets trade was won by Durant as the most eye-catching operation, which also made the team a favorite for the West. In addition, the management has also renewed and signed several players, and the overall lineup depth is second to none in the league.

However, the Rockets cannot be happy too early. Durant's contract is only one year away. From another perspective, the team has only received KD's rights for one year. Next summer, they may "get out of nothing"; therefore, since Durant arrived in Houston, the management has been trying to negotiate a contract renewal, but has not been successful so far.

Last season, Durant averaged 26.6 points, 6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.2 blocks per game. Even though he is a veteran over 36 and has experienced serious injuries, he still maintains his super level and ranks among the top ten in the latest 2K player ability values. With KD's projective style of playing, it's not a big problem to maintain the peak period for another 2-3 seasons.

It is reported that the Rockets hope to leave Durant with a two-year, $100 million maximum salary contract, so that the team has the least risk and can have enough salary space to renew Ethan. As for his ability and influence, signing a maximum salary contract with a two-year option of more than 120 million yuan in players is not a problem. Whether to reduce the salary and renew the contract depends entirely on the temptation of this team to win the championship. After all, he urgently needs to prove himself by winning the championship at the end of his career.

In addition, the renewal of the management and substitute Ethan has not been reached for a long time. On the one hand, Ethan's "glass man" attribute makes the team worry about whether to provide him with a long contract at the price of Smith Jr., and on the other hand, Durant's renewal price also affects the team's offer to Ethan. However, according to Ethan himself, he is willing to stay in Houston. After all, Texas has less taxes, and he is already familiar with the city and the team. As long as the contract issued by the management is reasonable, he does not need to leave.

In fact, what really affects Durant and Ethan's contract renewal is another potential new star, Amen Thompson. The first round No. 4 pick realized his talent last season, averaging 14.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game, and is even the top in the league in the defensive end. Once his shooting practice is effective this summer, Amen's lower limit will be at least the level of an All-Star player. Therefore, the management had to consider completing the renewal of Amen next summer. Obviously, his contract value is much higher than Shin Kyung and Smith, and may even be a maximum salary.

Of course, as a new ball that is independently trained, the Rockets' "bird rights" of Ethan and Amen can match the contract and renew the contract first. But if other teams compete for players at high prices by then, the Rockets will fall into a very passive situation. Durant and Amen are both essential players for the team to compete for the championship in the short term, so the sooner the contract renewal problem is resolved, the higher the stability of the future lineup. Let's wait and see if the Houston management can retain several core players as they wish!