Even if Fred VanVleet Is Healthy, the Rockets Will Be Cautious for the 2026-27 Season

The Houston Rockets will be extremely cautious with Fred VanVleet throughout the 2026-27 season.

Apr 18, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Houston Rockets guard Fred Vanvleet (5) watches from the bench against the Los Angeles Lakers in the second half during game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The offseason is starting to heat up around the NBA as the deadline for qualifying offers is fast approaching. The deadline for most players and teams is Monday at 5 Central Time.

The Rockets have a few players to decide on in the next several hours, but it seems one of them has already made his decision.

Shams Charania of ESPN reported early Monday morning that Fred VanVleet, as many expected, opted in to the final year of his contract. VanVleet is scheduled to make $ 25 million next season.

As everyone knows, VanVleet missed the entire 2025-26 season after suffering a major injury during a team workout right before training camp. VanVleet, as of this writing, is expected to be ready for training camp as he slowly works his way back into the Rockets' lineup.

Even if that is the case, the Rockets will 100 percent be cautious with his playing time this season. The Rockets have dealt with an older player coming back from a major lower-body injury recently.

The Rockets traded for Steven Adams before the 2024 trade deadline even though the big man was out for the rest of the season. The Rockets made the trade with the hope he would be ready for the 2024-25 season. Even when Adams was cleared to play, the Rockets played him sparingly and never in both games of a back-to-back.

That will be the same strategy for VanVleet, who will enter his 11th season and turn 33 next February. It would be a surprise if the veteran point guard plays more than 60 games next season.

That realization may factor into the report that the Rockets are pursuing former Ime Udoka player Marcus Smart, a free agent who could be looking for a new team. Smart played one season for the Lakers and played in his most games since the 2022-23 season.

The Rockets found out just how important VanVleet is to the team, as they struggled all season to find anyone who could step in as their full-time point guard. The lack of a point guard was no more evident than in late-game situations, especially in the playoffs, when the Rockets' offense looked lost at times in their first-round loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Free agency kicks off Tuesday at 5 CT, so we should start to get a clearer picture of the Rockets' offseason plans. As of right now VanVleet will be back for hopefully a healthier 2026-27 season.