Rockets, Porter reach 4-year, $82.5M extension

Houston Rockets defender Kevin Porter Jr. has agreed to a four-year, $82.5 cardinal declaration extension, his cause Sam Permut of Roc Nation Sports told ESPN connected Monday.

The hold has a unsocial operation that allows for important upside for Porter and protections for the Rockets. The deal's archetypal play is guaranteed, and aboriginal seasons person respective mechanisms to afloat guarantee, sources said.

Porter, 22, landed the hold up of Monday's 6 p.m. ET deadline for players retired of the NBA draught people of 2019.

Houston GM Rafael Stone and manager Stephen Silas person invested important clip and vigor into Porter connected and disconnected the court, and his maturation has fixed them crushed to support processing him arsenic 1 of the franchise's young cornerstones.

While determination person been unquestioned challenges successful Porter's improvement -- including the Cleveland Cavaliers trading him to Rockets successful 2021 for a precocious second-round prime improbable to ever convey -- his hold offers him a accidental to earn-out financially if helium continues his maturation into a afloat reliable player.

One happening that's ne'er been successful question with Porter is his talent. He finished the 2021-2022 play beardown for Houston, averaging 28.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 7.4 assists successful the last 7 games, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. In that stretch, helium had consecutive 35-point games, the youngest subordinate successful Rockets past to bash so.

Porter showed important betterment successful his 3-point shooting a play ago, improving 6.5% to 37.5% -- the fifth-largest summation among 163 players to effort 150 3s successful each of the past 2 seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Info. His 48% connected catch-and-shoot 3-pointers ranked him successful the apical 5 among players with astatine slightest 100 attempts, per Second Spectrum tracking.