Spanish big man Usman Garuba has reached a buyout agreement with Real Madrid that will allow him to get out of his contract with the Spanish club and join the Rockets for the 2021/22 season, according to a report from Jose Luis Martinez of Marca.com (hat tip to Sportando).
As we relayed last month, Garuba’s NBA buyout clause with Real Madrid was said to be worth three million Euros and would have become even more expensive in future years.
An NBA team can contribute to a player’s buyout with his international club, but only up to $775K (approximately €655K). That meant that if Garuba wanted to make the leap to the NBA right away after being selected with the No. 23 pick in the 2021 draft, most of the buyout would have to come out of his own pocket.
According to Martinez, Garuba and Real Madrid – who had the big man under contract through at least 2024 – agreed to a deal that will allow him to pay off the rest of his buyout in installments.
Garuba, 19, has been a member of Real Madrid since 2017 and was a regular part of the team’s rotation in 2020/21. He was named the ACB Best Young Player and also received the EuroLeague Rising Star award, then missed the 2021 draft because he was representing Spain at the Tokyo Olympics.
Assuming Garuba plays out his full rookie scale contract with the Rockets, he’ll ultimately come out ahead despite having to send a sizable chunk of his salary back to Real Madrid. As our breakdown shows, he projects to earn about $11.8MM over the course of the four-year NBA deal.
Once they officially sign Garuba, the Rockets will have all four of their first-round picks under contract. Jalen Green (No. 2), Alperen Sengun (No. 16), and Josh Christopher (No. 24) have already signed.
Dude should’ve just stayed over there until his contract was up. Giving up all his money already. What if he’s a bust?
What if he’s not
Jury is still out on Garuba, his numbers aren’t great but he is very young and has tonnes of potential. But I see his thinking, if you get the chance to play in the NBA you’ll want to go ASAP especially for development. If Rockets give him the 2 year Guaranteed he should be okay even if he does go bust. i doubt the buy out is much of the 3m.
That’s stupid
He rolled the dice by declaring for the draft hoping he would be a lottery pick, which most people thought was a strong possibility. He won’t be making quite as much being the #23 pick instead, with a large part of his salary going to Real Madrid. Garuba is already an outstanding defender at age 19. A lot like PJ Tucker but 3 inches taller, which gives him the ability to guard anyone on the court, even centers. The only thing limiting him right now is his offense, which still needs a lot of work.
He likely wants to start the clock on his rookie deal and potentially get an enormous pay day sooner. If he’s good, as a big he could be making $10+ million a year before he’s 25. If he’s not that good, he can go back to Europe.
As a Rockets fan, I’m super stoked for this season. After years of contending and coming up short, it’ll be a nice change of pace to see an exciting young core come together and develop with each other. Can’t wait for Garuba to join the boys in SL and see how they all look together. Hopefully this group can help make the Rockets more likable after all the years with Harden and Morey creating a bullseye on the organization to get hated on. Lol
All the haters migrated to Brooklyn
Yes Cam pretty exciting to get an influx of new guys especially when you have four of them !! Plus the youth already onboard and things are looking up for Houston. Good time to be a Rockets fan for sure.
Crossing my fingers that these guys can develop and become some solid players for years to come. Obviously, I don’t wanna overreact to SL, but Green looks like he could be the real deal in the league. As long as the others can be solid, I’ll be happy!
Totally Cam !
Those Hou teams had a built in floor and unfortunately ceiling – Probably was liking watching a movie you have already seen a buncha times (albeit a decent one) year after year –
I think Id want a new movie as well to view even if it might start as a Sundance festival film –
I love Garuba, I loved yalls draft, my favorite of any team – GL next year
Cap, you really hit the nail on the head. I enjoyed the Harden years overall. Hate how the CP3 split went. Those Harden-CP3 teams were special. But turning the page to this new team will be fun!
GL to your team, as well!
Just so ya know bud, it wasn’t Harden and Morey that put the bullseye on Houston. It’s Wallywood.
Buuurn
Rockets are off to a good start with their rebuild. This was a solid draft for them. Garuba is young and raw. Still has a long way to go. Has good size and has upside. He’s worth taking a chance on. They have to be patient. And develop him right. I’d keep him in the G-league for first yr.
Has any team ever drafted and signed four first rounders in the same draft before?
I’d imagine he’ll stick in the NBA roster because he’s likely the Rockets best defender overall out of the gate. Ideally, you’d like to see him go to the G-League and develop a decent 3-point shot, but he’ll probably have to help the roster now.
He will play in the NBA when he is ready to. Christian Wood and Daniel Theis should get the majority of minutes up front and Sengun might also get some minutes as the backup center if he can hold his own on defense. Tate and KJ Martin can also provide depth at PF until Garuba is ready to contribute on a regular basis.
Help what ?? Not finish last again. Rockets need to develop for next 3-4 yrs all players. There is a right way and a wrong way. I’ve watched a lot of tape on this kid. Cause Knicks were looking at him. He’s yrs away. Best thing for him is to play mins in G-league. It’s not a big deal. He will learn
He’ll get minutes in the G-League, and also get some minutes with the Rockets as well next season. The same goes for Christopher, who was taken one pick after him. Neither of them will be a big part of Houston’s rotation in their rookie season. They still have older players like Wall, Gordon, Wood, Theis, and even Tate who will all get solid minutes along with youngsters like Porter and Green whom the team will build around. With patience, they will do it right.
I only hope that Sergio Llull, who has spent his entire career with Real Madrid despite Houston acquiring his draft rights in 2009 for $2.25M and trying to get him stateside for almost a decade, continues to enjoy being a big fish in a relatively small pond. Then he can watch his former teammate play with the big boys here and see what he missed out on by staying home instead of taking the leap like Garuba did.
Llull can’t join Garuba in Houston now since his draft rights were traded to the Knicks and he’ll be 34 in a few months, so his opportunity has already passed.
Yeah he’s soooo regretting staying where he’s comfortable and making a crap ton of $.