The best evidence of how much Steven Adams came to mean to the Houston Rockets came in the fourth quarter of Game 4 in their playoff series against the Warriors: Steve Kerr employed the hack-an-Adams strategy, in part to get him off the court. Golden State didn’t have an answer for him on the glass and kept trying the strategy the next few games (with not much success).
Adams will remain with the Rockets on a three-year, $39 million extension, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN.
This is a good deal for the Rockets, the $13 million a season average price tag is below the mid-level exception for next season. With a few teams looking for a quality center, larger offers may have been available to Adams on the open market. Also, it’s not yet known if the third year of this contract is fully guaranteed. This contract could ultimately set the market for other veteran backup centers, such as Al Horford.
Rockets GM Rafael Stone traded for Adams during the 2023-24 season, knowing he would be out for the remainder of the season but seeing him as a fit as a backup center this season. Adams had to be brought along slowly, but as his minutes ramped up his value to this team — particularly on the offensive glass and setting strong picks — became evident. By the end of the season, coach Ime Udoka was playing a double-big lineup with Adams and Alperen Sengun for stretches.
Adams didn’t put up big counting stats — after the All-Star break he averaged 4.3 points and 6.3 assists a game in almost 16 minutes a night — but his value to the team was clear. Now the Rockets have locked up their guy for the coming years.
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