The Houston Rockets’ offseason started after a Game 6 elimination against the Los Angeles Lakers. That was in May, and since then, there’s been no action. However, with the NBA draft this week, that could soon change. Stars like the Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown may be available. But how can fans know if moves like Brown to the Rockets are realistic? They need to understand the Rockets’ salary cap situation.
The Houston Rockets’ Salary Cap Situation
The NBA’s salary cap is no easy thing to understand. Most fans understandably can’t be asked to wade through the entire CBA (collective bargaining agreement). But most of them will have also heard the term “apron” by this point.
Before the 2023-24 season, all teams had to worry about was the luxury tax. Once a team paid a total salary above the established amount, the ownership would be heavily taxed by the league. In reality, though, the best teams spent to their heart’s content. The 2022 Golden State Warriors had a projected luxury tax bill of $170 million.
Meanwhile, the Rockets’ salary cap tendency in those days was to dodge the luxury tax at all costs, so to speak. The system created an economic imbalance in the league that rivalled the real world. The apron system was intended to fix that. The first and second aprons are newer salary thresholds beyond which certain roster limitations are imposed. Why the word apron is used is anyone’s guess, but they do help protect the owners from their own cooking.
Traditionally, though, your apron doesn’t strangle you for spilling spaghetti sauce on it. The penalties for exceeding the apron thresholds are brutal. They massively reduce roster flexibility. The owners are protected — not because if they make a mistake, there are no repercussions, but in a far sneakier way. Essentially, an owner’s bank account is no longer the victim of salary cap excesses. Now, it’s the team itself instead. An owner doesn’t just look cheap for dodging the second apron. They look smart.
Understanding Cap Holds
And so you get the Rockets’ salary cap situation. Between total salaries and cap holds, the Rockets are sitting at $223.6 million for 2026-27. That is over the second apron threshold at $221.7 million. A cap hold is the projected salary of a free agent previously signed to the team.
Considering that the Rockets still have cap holds for Reggie Bullock and Boban Marjanovic, they won’t all become salary. Despite those players’ contracts expiring after 2023-24, the cap holds are still there because they have not signed NBA contracts since. But they also haven’t signed new contracts because they are no longer NBA-level contributors.
What the cap holds prevent the Rockets from doing is signing a better free agent in the meantime. However, a sign-and-trade would work a little differently. Discounting cap holds, the first apron Rockets salary cap hasn’t been reached. They are at $187.5 million in actual payroll. The first apron kicks in at $209 million.
An Eason Sign-and-Trade
The Rockets being below the first apron is important because being above that threshold prohibits equal contract value sign-and-trades. With the Rockets’ salary cap situation, a Tari Eason sign-and-trade is one of Houston’s best means of adjusting its roster.
Eason’s cap hold is calculated as three times his previous salary. That’s because he’s coming off a below league-average, first-round rookie contract. Since his previous salary was around $5.6 million, the cap hold comes to just above $17 million.
As it happens, that’s not an unrealistic projection for Eason’s next deal. The Athletic’s John Hollinger predicted Eason getting a three-year, $75 million this summer. While Eason struggled with inconsistency this season, he was a valuable contributor with 10.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. His energy and defense fit in nicely with the Rockets’ frenetic identity.
Alternatively, if the Rockets wanted to prioritize shooting, there’s potential for a Rockets-Nuggets deal that could help. Houston could even theoretically let Eason walk (removing his cap hold) and then explore the 2026 free agent class.
VanVleet’s Team Option
Something else that Rockets fans should be mindful of is that point guard Fred VanVleet is likely to opt out of his 2026-27 player option. The strength of VanVleet’s ACL recovery is going to be a major storyline for the Rockets next season. What there is little doubt of, however, is that he will stay with the team because he will re-sign a long-term deal. A realistic expectation would be an initial salary similar to his current $25 million, with a possibly descending annual salary over three years.
It won’t affect the Rockets’ salary cap situation much next season. It does mean that any trade that includes moving VanVleet out of Houston can be dismissed as fantasy. Kevin Durant won’t be going anywhere either unless he specifically requests a trade. That leaves Alperen Sengun ($35.6 million) and Jabari Smith Jr. ($23.6 million) as the contract meat of any trade package, with Amen Thompson ($12.2 million) and Reed Sheppard ($11.1 million) as more complicated salaries to move.
Houston’s Bad Contracts
Fans will hope to get rid of a couple of Rockets salary cap blemishes acquired last offseason. Backup, backup center Clint Capela performed his role as well as anyone could have expected in 2025-26. He averaged 11.0 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per 36 minutes. He is only due around $7 million in 2026-27 as well. However, with VanVleet back in the starting lineup, Steven Adams will be relegated to backup center pretty much full-time. Ideally, Capela will only play to give Adams rest on back-to-backs.
Capela still provides useful redundancy. The same can’t be said for Dorian Finney-Smith. Finney-Smith is due $13.3 million in 2026-27. Best-case scenario, he underperformed due to an extended recovery from left ankle surgery that sidelined him to start the year. 27% from three on 2.7 threes per game is not what the Rockets shelled out for last offseason, though. Finney-Smith could be moved as filler in a larger deal, or conceivably offloaded at a steep draft capital price for Houston. Most likely, the Rockets will be stuck with him and maybe even his player option in 2028-29.
Houston overvalued size and defense last offseason, and undervalued shooting and ball-handling. Now, having seen the error of their ways, because of the Rockets’ salary cap situation, they may lack the flexibility to fix it. The fans are like customers who’ve turned up to the restaurant at the end of service. It’s too late to order anything. The chef will bring them whatever’s left in the kitchen. All the fans can do is read the menu and make an educated guess at what it might be.
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