The Houston Rockets’ rebuild has coincided with the NBA’s overhaul of its salary cap system. The luxury tax is no longer the nominal boogeyman charged with keeping NBA teams’ spending at bay. As of the 2023 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA for the lazy among us), the first and second aprons are what keep naughty NBA owners in check. The aprons are new salary thresholds, in excess of which, teams face severe team-building restrictions. Houston’s front office has been masterfully getting the most out of its ingredients with stain-free cooking ever since.
The Rockets Have Been Cooking In The NBA’s Apron Era
The Rockets started their rebuild after James Harden left the building in 2020-21. For 2025-26, they have positioned themselves with a shot at contending for the title. Of course, being able to trade for an aging but still agile Kevin Durant on the cheap is a key part of how. They also benefited from some egregious tanking and exquisite lottery luck. In particular, keeping a hold of the top-four protected pick that turned into Jalen Green was what gave them the assets for the Durant trade in the first place.
But the Rockets front office also deserves a lot of credit for how well they’ve built out the rest of the roster amid the recently imposed restrictions. They’ve been especially active in the 2024 off-season. Right now, the Houston Rockets have the fourth-lowest confirmed salary in the league for 2025-26. That’s despite having the league’s fourth-highest-paid player in Durant. Between signings and extensions, they’ve padded that number up to fit snugly beneath the first apron. There isn’t a bad contract in sight.
The Rockets confirmed payroll for 2025-26 sits at $134,973,881. 40.5% of that, at $54,708,609, is just for Durant. The Rockets were already a bullish team last season without Durant. Maybe if they had enjoyed better matchup luck in the postseason, they could have put a run together. But the only reason anyone is taking them seriously as an actual contender this season is because of Durant. He gives them the scoring pizzazz they need to potentially go all the way. It’s fifty million dollars well-spent.
The First Splash
Houston’s run of front office home runs started with the free agent acquisitions of Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks in the 2023 off-season. Both signings were lambasted at the time, but Rockets fans have already laughed plenty along the way to what they hope will be even giddier heights for the team in 2025-26.
Brooks is no longer with the team, but his 4-year, $86 million contract gave the Rockets the fulcrum for their current defensive identity. It also gave them a knock-down three-and-D wing and, in the end, another contract to pad out the Durant trade offer. VanVleet’s 3-year, $128.5 million deal was even more of a bargain. VanVleet has been the perfect blend of locker-room leadership and on-court firepower for his whole Rockets tenure. This offseason, the Rockets even got out of paying full price on the final year and renegotiated VanVleet down to a $25 million cap hit.
Looking Ahead
Their other unofficial expenditures in 2025-26 will be $14.1 million for Steven Adams (3 years), $12.7 million for Dorian Finney-Smith (4 years), and $6.7 million for Clint Capela (3 years). They’ll also have the returning Jae’Sean Tate, Aaron Holiday, and Jeff Green on veteran minimums, along with newcomer Josh Okogie. Some of those multi-year contracts are bound to age better than others. As long as the Rockets remain below the second apron, though, they can combine salaries for trades at their convenience.
The Rockets aren’t just well-positioned in 2025-26. They have significant long-term flexibility. Turkiye national team star Alperen Sengun‘s $146 million over the next four years (with an extra $39 million fifth-year player option) is the team’s largest long-term commitment. They’re also believed to have agreed to a five-year, $122 million extension for Jabari Smith Jr, starting in 2026-27. An extension for Durant may be imminent as well, but the over-38 rule limits Durant’s maximum contract duration to 3 years.
Could the Rockets’ Apron Plans Come Undone?
While Rockets fans should certainly be excited about 2025-26 and beyond, there is a caveat. The apron system at its heart is about restoring parity. It stymies teams’ ability to maintain long-term advantages by design. Just look at recent championship teams. The Boston Celtics got one shot to repeat and then had to blow up their roster. Granted, the injury to Jayson Tatum made that decision easier, but the 2024 title team was never going to stick around for long.
The Denver Nuggets won the year before that, and they’ve been hemorrhaging key contributors ever since. Having the best player in the world doesn’t mean as much if you can’t surround him with the talent you need. The 2025 championship Oklahoma City Thunder certainly look the part to repeat, but monster extensions for Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams will begin to complicate their future shortly.
The Last Word
The Rockets will face their own showdown with the apron boogeyman soon enough. The Rockets still need to agree on an extension for defensive wrecking ball Tari Eason. Amen Thompson may soon establish himself as a max contract player and require payment accordingly. Houston won’t be able to maximize its competitive edge and cover itself with the aprons for long. The time to throw the kitchen sink will come. Until then, the Rockets will just have to keep on cooking.
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