Jabari Smith to sign $122 million extension to his rookie contract with Rockets

Jabari Smith is signing a five-year, $122 million extension to his rookie contract with the Houston Rockets, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.

The deal secures Smith’s services with the Rockets through the 2030-31 season as Houston locks up its core around the newly acquired Kevin Durant. The deal ensures that Smith won’t test free agency next offseason. Smith will sign the extension with one year remaining on his four-year, $40.3 million rookie contract.

Smith, 22, was the No. 3 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft behind Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero and newly crowned NBA champion Chet Holmgren. Banchero and Holmgren are both eligible for max extensions that could be worth up to $247 million over five years.

While Banchero is an All-Star and Holmgren flashed All-Star upside as an integral player in Oklahoma City’s run to the NBA championship, Smith has settled in as a role player for a Rockets team that made the leap last season from the lottery to the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

A 6-foot-11 stretch forward, Smith averaged 12.2 points, 7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game last season while shooting 43.8% from the floor and 35.4% from 3-point distance. He’s a key rotation player on a roster that features emerging stars Alperen Şengün and Amen Thompson alongside veteran point guard Fred VanVleet, who agreed last week to a two-year, $50 million contract to remain with the Rockets.

With the addition of Durant via last week’s trade that sent Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks to the Phoenix Suns, Houston seeks to take the next step into contention for an NBA championship. Houston finished second in the West with a 50-32 record last season, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to an experienced Golden State Warriors team.

The offseason flurry of transactions in Houston signals the team’s intent to compete for a title season and beyond.