NBA reporters expect the Rockets to renew Van Jordan for 60 million in three years, and Shepard s playing time is expected to increase

Only five of Houston Seven Young Masters entered the rotation in the playoffs, and none of them could turn the tide at a critical moment. Despite this, Rockets general manager Stone believes that the young players on the team are improving and are growing.

Stone continued to maintain Jaylen Green while attending the season summary meeting, and he also talked about Smith Jr. and Ethan.

Because Amen made rapid progress, he successfully took over, while Smith Jr., like Ethan, could only serve as a substitute.

Smith Jr. played in 7 playoff games, averaging 7.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per 20 minutes, shooting percentage of 50%, three-point shooting percentage of 45.5%, and free throw percentage of 80%. Ethan played in seven playoff games, averaging 7.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per 19 minutes per game, shooting 47.7% from the field and 36.8% from the three-point shooting percentage.

Stone said: Smith Jr. and Ethan are very important parts of the Rockets. They are both excellent players and I like them very much. They have gone through a difficult year, both suffered injuries and the pain of growing up, but they have all handled it very well. I am very grateful for their efforts and am very excited about their future development direction.

Smith Jr. and Ethan are both eligible for early renewal with the Rockets this offseason, and they were both selected by Stone.

Because the boss is unwilling to pay luxury tax and also has to renew his contract with young players, Stone will try to lower the price of Van Jordan.

If the Rockets refuse to execute Van Jordan's last year's team option, the latter will become a free agent. NBA reporter Keith Smith expects the Rockets to renew Van Jordan with a three-year, $60 million contract (of which $15 million is insured).

Although Uduka blew Van Jordan to the sky, he thought he was the leader of the Rockets. However, players who are in excellent form in a season with no more than ten games are obviously not worthy of an annual salary of US$40 million. What Stone wants to evaluate is how the player performs throughout the season, not three playoff games. If evaluated by a season's performance, Jaylen Green is better than Van Jordan.

From the Rockets' perspective, it is more reasonable for Van Jordan to earn an annual salary of $20 million. Of course, this is just a personal speculation from the reporter. Rockets general manager Stone has not yet made a decision on Van Jordan's future, and he has to wait for the lottery results.

Stone actually does not want the Rockets to rely on Van Jordan, who has a high salary and low ability for a long time, so he chose Shepard. Judging from college games, Shepard has ball merchandise and shooting, and is a little taller than Van Jordan, and Stone brought him back to Houston.

Although Uduka also tried to train Shepard, his defense, physical confrontation and ball-holding were not the same level as Van Jordan. Uduka finally moved Shepard out of the rotation lineup for the sake of record.

Although he failed to perform as he expected, the Rockets management is still optimistic about the potential contained in Shepard, and Fertitta likes this young man.

Fertitta said in an interview recently: Shepard did not get the opportunity because our team performed well. If he can start 80 games like other players, he will average 20 points per game. The boss's attitude is very obvious. As a working person, Uduka should understand what to do.

Shepard's playing time is expected to increase next season. Speaking about Shepard and Whitmore in an interview, Uduka said: "We are confident in young people and we obviously plan to use them more next year."

Some Houston fans hope Shepard will be the next Curry.