The new Rocket, Usman Garuba, was recently drafted with the 23rd pick in the 2021 Draft. Usman is still under contract with his international team, Real Madrid. According to Donatas Urbonas, Usman’s buyout will require a whopping $3.5 million dollars (€3 million euros) given to Real Madrid.
Usman was projected to be a lottery pick in this year’s draft but fell all the way to 23rd where the Rockets got an absolute steal. After the Rockets drafted 4 talented prospects, they are all expected to play in Summer League starting this Sunday, except for Usman. He was currently playing for Spain’s national team in the Tokyo Olympics. After they got eliminated by Team USA, there was hope that he would make it in time to participate in Summer League. But Usman being tied up to his contract until 2025, does not help his situation.
The new Rocket, Usman Garuba, was recently drafted with the 23rd pick in the 2021 Draft. Usman is still under contract with his international team, Real Madrid. According to Donatas Urbonas, Usman’s buyout will require a whopping $3.5 million dollars (€3 million euros) given to Real Madrid.
Usman was projected to be a lottery pick in this year’s draft but fell all the way to 23rd where the Rockets got an absolute steal. After the Rockets drafted 4 talented prospects, they are all expected to play in Summer League starting this Sunday, except for Usman. He was currently playing for Spain’s national team in the Tokyo Olympics. After they got eliminated by Team USA, there was hope that he would make it in time to participate in Summer League. But Usman being tied up to his contract until 2025, does not help his situation.
Real Madrid has an NBA buyout policy that makes it tough for Usman to pay. The Rockets are expected to pay no more than $750,000 due to the NBA’s rules on how much a team is allowed to cover for the buyout. If Usman was drafted in the lottery, he would only have to give up close to one year of his salary and the Rockets would pay the rest ($750,000). Since he wasn’t, Usman’s starting salary for his first year in the NBA is projected to be only $1,961,100 – $2,353,320. You can see how this becomes complicated. When you compare this to Luka’s buyout of $2.3 million when he was drafted, this seems like a steep price. The Rockets and Real Madrid are expected to negotiate a payment plan in installments to make this process easier.
With Spain being eliminated by USA in the semifinals today, I would expect the Rockets to be aggressive in getting a buyout done as soon as possible so Usman can play in Summer League with his new teammates.