5 years, $250 million! Goodbye, Durant! Amen is the real untouchable for the Rockets.

Insider Shams:Amen has been the Rockets’ real untouchable over the past year or two.

The Rockets, who were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs this year, are rumored to be involved in a major trade this summer, with many players, including core members, becoming trade assets.

There’s no denying that the 37-year-old Durant is still the Rockets’ current pillar, but the 23-year-old Amen is clearly the team’s future. Being 14 years younger is the biggest capital, so he naturally ranks first in priority.

As for Sengun, who is also 23 years old and has been selected as an All-Star for two consecutive years...

Back to the point, a previous report from an American journalist stated:It is expected that Amen will reach a contract extension with the Rockets this summer, likely a lucrative deal worth over $250 million over five years.

This guy was born on January 30, 2003. He is a swingman standing at 2.01 meters with a wingspan of 2.13 meters. He was the fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft. This season, Amen served as the Rockets’ starting point guard, averaging 18.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.5 steals, and 2.4 turnovers per game in the regular season, with a 53.4% field goal percentage. In this year’s playoffs, he averaged 19.2 points, 7 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 2 steals, 1.2 blocks, and 2.5 turnovers, shooting 48.8% from the field.

Amen’s physical talent is unquestionable, but he has a fatal flaw: he has been slow to develop shooting ability. In his third season this year, he made only 0.3 three-pointers per game at a 21.6% clip in the regular season and 0.3 three-pointers per game at 25% in the playoffs, a negligible level similar to his first two seasons.

In modern basketball, a perimeter player without shooting ability is destined to have a limited ceiling, likely becoming just an average All-Star at best, as seen with the 2016 No. 1 pick Ben Simmons, who faded from the NBA after only eight years. Unless the Rockets firmly believe Amen can eventually develop his shooting, they might actually offer him a max contract extension.

However, according to the latest reports, the Rockets are unlikely to give Amen a full max extension. They are more likely to offer a five-year deal worth $210 million or $185 million, because, as mentioned above, there is too much uncertainty surrounding him. The management is not a charity that spends money recklessly without considering risks.