The Rockets'Decision to give contract extensions Jalen Green And Alperen Sengun was made after two of their future targets were taken off the market in free agency this summer, explains ESPN's Brian Windhorst in an article co-authored with Tim Bontemps. If the Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell and the Celtics' Derrick White Both reached extensions with their teams, Houston's front office began abandoning its plan to create cap space for the 2025 free agency sweepstakes, Windhorst sources report.

The new priority was to negotiate extensions with Green and Sengun before Monday's deadline, and both agreed to individual contracts below the maximum they could have received. Green's three-year extension starts at $33.3 million next season, and Windhorst learns it could be combined with draft assets as the basis for a superstar trade next summer. Sources also tell Windhorst that the Rockets have informed opposing teams that they don't want to make a big deal during the season, but that they could be much more active once the offseason begins.

According to Bontemps, other executives around the league praised the Rockets for convincing Sengun to accept a below-max deal despite having to give him a player option in the fifth year.

There's more from Houston;

• trainer I am Udoka If you prefer a faster game, this may require more minutes Amen Thompsonobserves Kelly Iko of The Athletic. The lack of fast-break opportunities was among the things that bothered Udoka in Wednesday's season-opening loss to Charlotte. “We didn’t get any stops” he said. “We didn’t go out and run. Just as we played poorly in transition, the offensive rebounding was the same. Nineteen in the first half and just two second chance points in the second. Dominated us on the glass there.” Iko points out that Thompson was part of five of the team's six fastest two-man combinations last season.
• Lottery tip Reed Sheppard is quickly adjusting to life in the NBA, according to Brian Barefield of Rockets Wire. Sheppard has a clearly defined role on a team that needs to improve its outside shooting. “It’s easy when everyone knows how to play basketball properly” he said. “We've been playing together for a few months now, so we've been able to go to the gym every day and continue to get to know each other by learning more offense and defense with each other. We're just figuring out how each other plays and it's been really fun. I feel like our chemistry is getting better every day.”
• Steven Adams was a game-time decision on Wednesday, but he has already been ruled out of Friday's game against Memphis due to a calf strain and recovery from the knee injury that forced him to miss all of last season, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.