How Does Amen Thompson's Contract Extension Affect the Hornets' Negotiations With Brandon Miller?

There isn't much business left for the Charlotte Hornets to handle this summer.

One major domino is still yet to fall, though: Brandon Miller's potential contract extension.

The fourth-year swingman is eligible to sign a rookie-scale extension before the regular season tips off in late October. The maximum number available to Miller is ~$250M over five years (25% of the salary cap) with potential escalators for earning accolades like All-NBA, Defensive Player of the Year, MVP, etc.

There was a time when players of Miller's ilk, wings who have shown legitimate promise as two-way players, signed max deals no matter what. Now, in the second apron era, teams are looking to pinch as many pennies as possible, and those rookie-scale max extensions are saved for the Victor Wembanyamas of the world: legitimate franchise cornerstones who have left no doubt about their value.

In May, I projected Miller's next contract to come in at five-years, $185M ($37.5 AAV). That price tag represents a life-changing amount of money for Miller, it gives Charlotte some flexibility to maneuver around the margins, and it allows both sides to avoid the delicate dance of restricted free agency that often leaves franchises and players in limbo for far too long.

On Thursday, some news dropped that could give us some more clarity on how much money Miller will receive if he comes to terms with the Hornets this summer.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Houston Rockets and Amen Thompson agreed to a five-year, $208M extension that will pay the ascending wing $41.6M per year. If that is the market value for Thompson, paying $37.5M/year for Miller feels just right.

How Does Miller Compare to Thompson?

if you look at just counting stats, the players are look pretty comparable.

2025-26 Stats	Brandon Miller	Amen Thompson
Games Played	65	79
Points Per Game	20.2	18.3
Rebounds Per Game	4.9	7.8
Assists Per Game	3.3	5.3
Stocks (steals + blocks) Per Game	1.7	2.1
Shooting Splits	43/38/89	53/21/7

Miller is a better and more efficient scorer who makes his money from long-range. He still has plenty of work left to do to round out the rough edges of his game, but Miller has proven that he is a great shooter and a good scorer who can drive positive offense for short spurts. He isn't a true offensive engine yet, Miller's propensity to turn the ball over and his struggles inside the arc prevent him from being one, but he's still on an upward trajectory with room to grow.

Thompson, on the other hand, is a bruising downhill driver and an improving playmaker. Houston's offense is cramped with too many non-shooters for us to see a fully-actualized Thompson playing in space, but he's been good enough to rise above the poor spacing context and provide a positive impact despite the Rockets' roster construction.

The differences between the two players, and the reasons I believe Thompson should out-earn Miller right now, are simple.

Miller's health is still a question. His injuries (one to his wrist, another to his shoulder) have been freak one-off happenings, I wouldn't call him injury prone, but they've both limited his ability to work on his game in the offseason. According to Rod Boone of the Charlotte Observer, Miller is yet to be cleared for basketball activities with training camp less than a month away.

For Miller to hit his ceiling, he needs to improve as a handler and add strength to his frame. How much of that has he been able to work on while rehabbing form shoulder surgery this summer?

The other main difference is that Thompson is an absolute stud on defense, something Miller can't claim to be quite yet. Amen Thompson has an argument to be considered the best non-big defender (along with his brother Ausar) in the NBA and he's proven in his three years in the league that he is a true eraser on the wing.

If you look at advanced numbers, which aren't everything, Thompson grades out ahead of Miller as well.

	Brandon Miller	Amen Thompson
TimeDecay RAPM	0.6 (171st in the NBA)	2.6 (57th)
DARKO	0.7 (100th)	1.2 (60th)
LAKER	2.5 (60th)	3.0 (40th)
EPM	+3.1 (38th)	+3.3 (24th)

Miller and Thompson are comparable players impact-wise, but it's clear that the Rockets' swingman is just better at this juncture. Give me Miller if my team needs a bucket late in a one-game scenario, but over the course of an 82-game season and potential playoff run, I'd prefer Thompson right now.

Will that be the case for the rest of their careers? Who knows, I'm still bullish on Brandon Miller's long-term potential. But based on what we've seen through three years of their careers, it is fair to say that Thompson is the more valuable player, and that Miller's contractual value should come in somewhere between the $37.5M AAV I pitched in May and the $41.6M AAV Thompson signed for today.

Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter for the latest news and updates on the Charlotte Hornets

Add us as a preferred source on Google