The Rockets' $393M bet looks terrible compared to the Spurs' young core

Amen Thompson agreed to a five-year, $208 million rookie-scale extension with the Rockets, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. Pair that with the $185 million deal Alperen Sengun signed back in 2024, and Houston has now committed $393 million long-term to two guys who, frankly, both have real holes in their games.

As fierce rivals, it's only right to look at their 5- to 10-year plan and laugh. Everyone in the Western Conference has the same goal right now: gear up to beat Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. If this is the best that the Rockets can do, they're going nowhere fast.

Just like we like it.

Sengun and Thompson are both flawed cornerstones

Sengun is a pretty solid offensive hub most of the time, but his defense is a real problem. Two seasons ago, Houston was 2.7 points better defensively with him on the floor. Last season, they were 7.9 points worse. That's a 10.6 swing. His own coach ripped him publicly, as Ime Udoka is not one to bite his tongue.

"No fight, no aggression, the same mistakes over and over," the Rockets' head coach told the media. That's how you would talk about a role player. Not the guy you paid to be a franchise centerpiece.

Thompson is the more talented all-around athlete of the two, but his outside shot is horrendous. To his credit, he's improved in the midrange, but 22% from three isn't just bad; it's horrific. Defenses can sag off him at will, which clogs the driving lanes for everyone else on the floor.

$208 million is a gamble that shot eventually comes around, but he's entering his fourth season with negligible progress, so I wouldn't hold my breath.

The Spurs' young stars are already outproducing that price tag

Meanwhile, Victor Wembanyama is coming off a unanimous Defensive Player of the Year season, averaging 25 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks while shooting 51% from the floor and 35% from three. His own five-year, $252 million extension this summer already looks like a bargain, and the Spurs built the NBA's most loaded young core around him.

Former Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle (17 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists) and the uber-talented Dylan Harper (12 points, 4 assists, 51% FG) both shined brightly during the postseason, and neither one has a glaring hole in his game the way Sengun and Thompson do.

All three of them produce elite offense and defense for the Spurs, and they're doing it all on rookie money.

In a league full of talented teams to worry about, the Rockets are not one of them. Not when their star center is a dirty player who can't defend a toddler, and their franchise wing can't shoot his way out of a paper bag.

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