The Houston Rockets are one of the most widely anticipated NBA teams coming into the season. With a promising young core already established and making the all-in push to add Kevin Durant this offseason, they are expected to be legitimate NBA Championship threats. Unfortunately, their outlook took a major hit as veteran guard Fred VanVleet suffered a torn ACL in training and could miss the entirety of the upcoming season, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
VanVleet arrived in Houston before the 2023-24 season. He was a foundational piece as a veteran leader as the Rockets began to shift their intentions as an organization from development to competing. The former NBA champion averaged 17.4 points, 8.1 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game in his first season with the team while shooting 38.7% from beyond the three-point arc.
In his second season in Houston, VanVleet averaged 14.1 points, 5.6 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game while shooting 34.5% from beyond the three-point arc and seeing his minutes slightly decline. The Wichita State product was a free agent this offseason, but he elected to re-sign with the Rockets on a two-year contract worth $50 million with the second year as a player option.
Houston has solid depth at the guard position with Amen Thompson, Aaron Holiday, Reed Sheppard and Josh Okogie likely to headline these minutes. But there is no doubt that VanVleet was in store for a major role this year once again and has developed into a fabric of this Houston franchise.
It is also worth noting that Houston does not have enough room under the first apron to sign a player right now. Unless it creates a salary dump-type trade to open up some funds, January is the likely timeline for the Rockets to actually add a player to address this issue.
There are plenty of moving parts on this Houston Rockets roster that they will sort through in the early parts of the season. But this is a huge hit to their outlook, no matter how you slice it. In a competitive Western Conference where every little edge could make a difference, the young group will be forced to carry on without the former All-Star guard.
