I don't know if I can agree with this honestly. I think he's a #3 option on this team, and would be on most contenders. Maybe not on an insanely stacked team like OKC or a very top-heavy team like the Lakers, but even on, say, Denver, I think he'd be able to provide similar-or-better value to Aaron Gordon if the two of them switched places. And I do think a player's defense can be impactful enough to be worthy of the regular max in and of itself, as long as they're not a team-destroying black hole on offense, which Amen clearly is not. And then with a young, less-experienced player, you do have to price in potential. You might not agree with that, but NBA front offices clearly do this all of the time. Sometimes they do get burned, but my point is just that it's clearly part of a player's market value.
lol aw yes, the incredible 2023 - 2024 Scottie Barnes, who averaged slightly more points than Amen for an awful Raptors. Truly a different caliber of player. By the way, Amen has a 20% usage rate v. 24% for Barnes in 2023, so I don't know what you're talking about. Hell, I'm not sure Scottie Barnes is a better player NOW vs. Amen. I mean, the Ringer has Scott 31 and Amen 34. So, respectful, go suck on Scottie. I'm taking Amen every time.
Amen will only sign less than the max if he chooses to do so for the betterment of the team. There gonna be some dissapointed “fans” soon, sorry fellas.
Looks like they finally got through to Amen telling him that he needs to be the first option in transition and after a rebound. He needs to look to score always before he pulls it back out or passes. This guy could be one of the best finishers in the NBA. He’s just out of rhythm because he has so much on his plate trying to run the team, but his aggression last night was a really good sign. The championship version of this Rockets team has Amen and KD as 2a 2b.
we can go back and forth on whether he’s a 3rd option instead of 4th, but at the end of the day, you can’t rely on him for consistent offense A max extension would be what? 5/271 For a guy giving you just 17 ppg with no midrange game or 3 point shot to speak of who’s also just a decent playmaker at best? Who gets the majority of his buckets assisted or in transition? I don’t think super role players with weak offense are worth max extensions even if some teams would give that type of player one
I think it's 5 years / $240M? https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2025/08/early-nba-maximum-salary-projections-for-2026-27.html I think Amen will bring his scoring average up somewhat by the end of the season, provided he stays healthy (knock on wood). I could be wrong about that, but that's my prediction. I guess @ me when we get there. If I'm right, the numbers are going to look similar to a typical Jimmy Butler season. Would you say Jimmy was worth the max during his best 10-year stretch?
I think the way you are evaluating him is correct, with one major flaw. He's 22. He's giving you what he gives you already, and he has so much growth left. The book isn't finished on him yet. If you max him, you are maxing his potential. I still believe he has star (if not superstar) potential.
nah, that’s for extensions signed this past offseason that would kick in for the 2026-27 season Amen would be signing next offseason with a higher salary cap that wouldn’t kick in until the 2027-28 season. his max would be 5/271 and could be as high as 5/326 Jimmy Butler took regular seasons off, but was a top 5 player in the playoffs dragging Miami to 2 NBA finals and an ECF as by far the best player…I can’t compare that to Amen Thompson
You can’t be a reliable option on offense if you can’t shoot in the modern nba. Period. teams aren’t even guarding him beyond the FT line
The #1 scorer this decade (Giannis) shot 28.8% from three on 2.4 attempts per game over that period. Am I saying Amen will be as good as Giannis? Absolutely not, but he can be a long way off and still be considered a "reliable option". And the way the two get their points is actually pretty similar, all downhill all the time.
he has a lot of potential for sure, but he’d really have to blow up on offense for me it would be one thing if the offensive ability was there and he was just lacking opportunity because he’s playing behind Sengun and KD this year, he’s scaled up his offense, and his efficiency has plummeted to 54% TS…54% TS for a guy who doesn’t create much offense for himself in the halfcourt or have the team’s best perimeter defender on him (hell, teams often just ignore him outside the paint)
If anybody is going to be one of them, it's Amen. I honestly don't know if I've ever seen a player with his particular combination of athletic traits and basketball abilities. His shooting from all distances is clearly out of sorts right now and he's still scoring 17 despite leaving so many buckets on the table he would have made last season. That's why I think he's going to increase his scoring average to around 20 by the end of the season, I think both the rim finishing and the 3P% will return at least closer to what they were last season. (Probably not all the way there given his increased role.)
Amen is also an elite defensive wing that usually takes the opposing team's best scoring threat. His offense seems to have come incrementally along and he still can't shoot. We don't usually play many lineups that would space the floor for Amen so the paint is less clogged as our focus is maximizing possessions. We don't need to exactly rush to make a decision. Although, a core of Reed Durant, Sengun, and Giannis would be interesting if even possible.
Amen in the halfcourt with the ball in his hands trying to create offense, is a win for the defense. It is what the other team's coaches want to have happen. Make or miss on any given play, the other team runs back the other way and thinks "that was a successful defensive possession, we'd happily do it again next time down". It has been this way since year 1 and remains the case. Amen is an incredible cutter, transition player, wing rebounder, and defender; his overall winning impact is very good, at just 22. I want him to play his whole career for the Rockets. If the argument is that Amen should/will get a full max based on just those things, I would disagree (I don't think sharp FO's in 2025 give maxes for those things), but I can see it; reasonable minds can differ. The argument that he will be a good offensive primary, with the ball in his hands in the half court, and therefore should get a max? The signs are just not there, in the data or the eye test, IMO. Feels like wishcasting.
Amen should be honored if the Rockets offer a Sengun max at this point. His development has plateaued
For my eye test, and every half-decent all-in-one metric suggests that while Amen may not be worth the rookie extension max on offense, he is worth the rookie max for his combined offense and defense. The rookie max extension is only 25% of the cap. JSJ and DFS are basically 25% of the cap once JSJ hits his extension. Amen is easily worth more than JSJ and DFS, and those two aren't on bad contracts. Who I consider the valuable offensive primary stars....these guys typically are worth way more than 25% unless they absoultely suck on defense. These guys inability to sign for more than the max does not make Amen worth less.
There are 3 realistic options IMO: 1. 5 year max, no opt out 2. Let him go RFA and match a max 3+1 3. Trade him That accounts for probably close to 100% of all possible outcomes (outside of massive injury stuff)
