NBA Notes: Rockets, Amen Thompson, Heat, Gabe Vincent, Hornets

Rockets

The Rockets are betting very big on Amen Thompson.

Houston officially signed Thompson to a five-year, $208 million rookie-scale extension, according to the NBA transaction log. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the deal includes a 10 percent trade kicker.

That’s $41.6 million per year for a player who averaged 18.3 points last season. Then again, Thompson is hardly being paid for scoring alone.

The 23-year-old has already developed into one of the NBA’s premier defenders, earning first-team All-Defensive honors in 2024-25. Last season, he led the league with 2,953 minutes while averaging career highs of 18.3 points, 5.3 assists and 1.5 steals.

Houston was also considerably better with him on the floor, posting a plus-6.6 net rating compared to plus-1.6 when he sat. So this is partly a reward and partly a projection.

The Rockets aren’t paying $208 million for today’s Thompson. They’re betting that today’s version isn’t nearly the finished product.

Heat

The Heat apparently aren’t finished shopping for their backcourt.

Miami has “some internal interest” in adding a veteran guard, NBA insider Jake Fischer said during a Bleacher Report live stream.

Former Heat guard Gabe Vincent continues to have supporters within the organization and among Miami players, though Fischer indicated a reunion isn’t considered the likely outcome.

And Kyrie Irving? Don’t get too excited. Fischer shot down speculation that the Mavericks star is a realistic Heat trade target at this point.

Miami still has room beneath its hard cap to carry a 15th player, so another smaller addition remains possible.

Hornets

The Hornets’ revolving door continues.

Charlotte announced the signing of guard Jarkel Joiner while waiving Kyle Mangas, the latest in a series of moves involving the final spot on its 21-man offseason roster.

Joiner averaged 10.9 points and 3.6 assists in 49 appearances for Raptors 905 last season. The moves are mostly about stocking the Greensboro Swarm.

Charlotte has employed the same sign-and-waive process with Josiah Allick, Trey Townsend and now Mangas this week, allowing players to earn Exhibit 10 bonuses worth as much as $91,000 if they spend at least 60 days with Greensboro.

Joiner’s G League rights currently belong to Raptors 905, meaning another transaction would be required to get him to the Swarm.

So don’t be surprised if Charlotte’s roster carousel keeps spinning.