The Houston Rockets agreed to a four-year, $75.6 million extension withveteran guard Eric Gordon on Friday, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski added further details:
Eric Gordon will get three-years, $54.5M guaranteed on his extension, per source, starting with the 2020-2021 season — $16.9M, $18.2M, and $19.6M. The non-guaranteed season would earn him $20.9M.
The extension may keep him in a Rockets uniform through 2023-24, but Wojnarowski reported that the final season of Gordon’s extension is not guaranteed. However, that will change if he makes an All-Star team or the Rockets win an NBA title.
Gordon averaged 16.2 points on 40.9 percent shooting (36.0 percent from three-point range) last season. He started 53 of his 68 games played and is entering the final year of a deal signed in 2016 that will pay him $14.1 million in 2019-20, per HoopsHype.
Gordon has been a key member of a Rockets team that has won 173 games over the past three seasons, including a league-best 65-17 record and a Western Conference Finals appearance in 2017-18. The former Indiana Hoosier has been second or third on the team in scoring since arriving from the New Orleans Pelicans in July 2016 via free agency.
However, Gordon posted numbers at or near the bottom of his career ranks last season.
The 11-year veteran’s 12.2 player efficiency rating was the worst mark of his NBA tenure, per Basketball Reference, and his win shares per 48 minutes were his lowest figure since 2013-14.
Still, Gordon should have the opportunity to bounce back considering that the new backcourt of James Harden and Russell Westbrook will draw much attention on a nightly basis thanks to their collective scoring prowess. That may free up Gordon for more open looks from deep, where he’s hit 37.4 percent of his shots.
Caesars lists the Rockets at 9-1 to win the NBA title, giving them the sixth-best odds. They’ll open the 2019-20 season at home against the Milwaukee Bucks on Oct. 24.
Courtesy: Bleacher Report
