The Houston Rockets’ Upcoming Contract Qualifying Offer Decisions

With the New York Knicks winning the NBA Title a couple of weeks ago over the San Antonio Spurs and the NBA draft concluding last week, all 30 NBA teams now turn their attention to free agency, salary negotiation, and possible trades.

The NBA has already seen several big trades in the last few days, from Giannis Antetokounmpo heading to Miami, Julius Randle going back to New York this time to the Brooklyn Nets, and LaMelo Ball joining forces with Anthony Edwards in Minnesota.

Free agency kicks off next week, with teams able to begin talking to free agents on June 30th, even though free agents can't officially sign until July 7th. Since the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, free agency has been much less eventful, as teams have leaned more on trading players the year before they hit free agency or signing an extension the year prior.

However, before free agency begins, there is another important date regarding teams' salaries and cap situations. The deadline to sign players to a qualifying offer sheet is June 29th, as teams have this option, giving them the right to first refusal when it comes to matching other teams' offers.

Players who have a player option also have a few days to decide whether to accept it. Rafael Stone and the Houston Rockets have a few decisions to make in the next few days before the deadline.

The Houston Rockets Have Until Monday to Make a Decision on Several Players

When it comes to qualifying offers, the Rockets have a couple of decisions to make soon. Tari Eason and Isaiah Crawford could become free agents if the Rockets decide not to submit qualifying offers.

It would be pretty shocking if the Rockets do not offer Eason the qualifying offer, as it is only for eight millon dollars. The real question is, will the Rockets match every offer that comes in? Reports surfaced that Eason turned down a 20 millon dollar a year deal before last season.

That is a problem now for Eason, who had a very inconsistent season, and his stock around the league has decreased alot since the start of the 2025-26 season.

The Rockets may be more inclined to match any offer that comes in so that they don’t lose the young forward for nothing. Crawford was on a two-way deal and spent most of his time with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers last season, and his contract was not significant, so the Rockets may sign Crawford again and have him play again for the Vipers.

With the idea that if he has another inconsistent season, they could try to trade him before the deadline. VanVleet's decision on whether he will exercise his player option for $ 25 millon is a no-brainer for the veteran point guard, as he is coming off a major injury that kept him out all season.

Reports indicate the Rockets and VanVleet may work on a contract extension at a lower per-year rate, keeping VanVleet in Houston for a few more years.

Rockets also have a club option on JD Davison, who, like Crawford, spent most of his time with the Vipers but did see some sporadic playing time with the Rockets during the season.

The only other decision as far as club or player options for 2026 is the Rockets' club option for Reed Sheppard, which has a deadline of October 31st of 2026, but it is almost guaranteed the Rockets will pick up the $ 14 millon dollar option for the third-year guard.

The next week will be a busy time for the NBA as teams continue to try and improve before the start of the 2026-27 season.

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