Eric Gordon has agreed to a four-year, $76 million maximum extension with the Houston Rockets, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.
Houston Rockets guard Eric Gordon has agreed to a four-year, $76M maximum contract extension, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 31, 2019
Gordon has one year remaining on the four-year, $53 million deal he signed with the Rockets as a free agent in the summer of 2016. He will earn just over $14 million this season before his new deal kicks in for the 2020-21 season.
The 11-year veteran has revived his career in Houston after reaching a crossroads of sorts following a series of injuries. Gordon was a rising star with the LA Clippers during his first three seasons in the league, possessing a rare combination of long-range shooting ability and first-step explosion. He was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Chris Paul from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Clippers, but failed to live up to expectations in New Orleans. Injury kept Gordon to just nine games in his debut season with the Pelicans, and he failed to play more than 64 games in any of the next three campaigns as mounting discomfort made him increasingly limited offensively.
Gordon found new life with the Rockets, though, and health is the biggest reason why. Though still not the penetrator he once was, the 30-year-old still flashes rare explosion on a game-by-game basis, making him an especially effective scorer due to his imminent threat as a long-range shooter. Gordon has proven a dogged, capable defender for Houston, too, guarding the likes of Kevin Durant and Steph Curry in the playoffs.
The rebuilt Rockets enter 2019-20 as one of a handful of teams with legitimate championship aspirations. Gordon's presence is key to those hopes, and will continue to be going forward – health provided, of course.
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