Tari Eason’s next NBA chapter is locked in, and it comes with a hefty price tag.
The former Cincinnati Bearcat has agreed to return to the Houston Rockets on a five-year, $81.5 million contract after testing free agency for roughly 36 hours. It’s a major payday for a player who has steadily carved out a role since entering the league, and it keeps him in Houston, where he has been a consistent contributor since being drafted.
Eason’s path to this point started in the John Brannen era at Cincinnati, where he spent the 2020-21 season as a one-year Bearcat. He arrived as a 4-star recruit and the No. 2 player out of Washington, then transferred after Brannen was placed on administrative leave and later announced he would not return as Cincinnati’s head coach.
From there, Eason took off at LSU under head coach Will Wade. He broke out into a star, winning SEC Sixth Man of the Year and earning First Team All-SEC honors from the coaches as well as Second Team All-SEC recognition from the AP Polls. In his sophomore season in Baton Rouge, he put up 16.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.
Eason then moved on to the NBA, where the Rockets selected him No. 17 in the 2022 NBA Draft. He has stayed in Houston ever since and has never averaged fewer than 9.3 points in 21 minutes per game across his four-year career.
This past season, he appeared in 60 games and started 34, averaging 10.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 41.6% from the field and 35.8% from three. Most of his shots, the numbers show, come away from the basket.
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Cincinnati is scheduled to face the University of Calgary and the University of Victoria in two exhibition games, with the trip also opening the door to as many as 10 additional practices. For a new staff trying to establish habits and build chemistry, that kind of head start can matter, and this overseas swing will offer an early look at how quickly the Bearcats are taking shape. [Read more 🡒]
Bearcats Veteran Opens Up About Fixing Last Seasons Collapse
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For a program trying to steady itself after a late collapse, the details matter as much as the message. Cincinnati also knows the margin for error will be thin in the Big 12, with Texas Tech, BYU and Utah on the schedule next season, so the hope is that a more focused routine can help the Bearcats avoid another stretch where one bad run changes everything. [Read more 🡒]
Former Bearcat Connor Barwin Earns Special Hall Of Fame Honor
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Barwins final season in Clifton turned him into one of the Big Easts top defenders and set up a long NFL run after Houston took him in the 2009 draft. He went on to spend 10 seasons in the league and reached a Pro Bowl level with the Eagles in 2014, but for Cincinnati fans, the Hall of Fame honor also brings back memories of how quickly his Bearcats career changed once he found his right position. [Read more 🡒]