September 10th 2025 at 9:55am CST by Dana Gauruder
Many people around the league believe the Rockets will work out a long-term extension with Tari Eason before giving one to Kevin Durant, William Guillory of The Athletic reports.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst recently reported that Durant and the Rockets are expected to reach an extension agreement at some point. Eason has an expiring contract — the Rockets exercised a $5,675,766 club option on the final year of his rookie deal. Eason averaged a career-high 12 points while appearing in 57 games last season.
Here’s more on the Rockets:
In the same story, Guillory opines about a pleasant dilemma: Do they have too many good players? Guillory believes coach Ime Udoka will have a difficult time figuring out how to divvy up minutes among so many players capable of heavy minutes on a good team.
Mark Owens, a Houston-area boxing trainer, has become a vital asset to the Rockets — the team’s director of performance, Willie Cruz, describes Owens as “an extension of our strength coaches.” Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle profiles how Owens, who served a federal prison term, turned his life around and helped the Rockets become one of the more physical teams in the league.
Former Sixers forward Furkan Korkmaz is playing alongside Rockets center Alperen Sengun for Turkey in the EuroBasket tournament. Korkmaz called Sengun, not Joel Embiid, the best center he’s played with in his career. “He’s a special kid and every day he’s trying to give his maximum,” he said in a video posted by Eurohoops Turkey.