Fred VanVleet is Here to Stay with the Rockets for the Long Haul

This season, the Houston Rockets have been without their leader and table-setting point guard in Fred VanVleet, and his absence has shown.

The Rockets run a pick-and-roll heavy offensive approach and don't have any guards capable of orchestrating the offense. Reed Sheppard has shown potential, but Rockets coach Ime Udoka doesn't seem to trust him. That much is clear.

Even when the Rockets are in dire need of his outside shooting and playmaking. Which is always the case, based on Houston's roster construction. Saturday night's game against the New York Knicks is an example. Houston held an 18 point lead in the second half yet collapsed in the fourth quarter and lost the game.

The team had nine turnovers in the fourth quarter alone, and 20 turnovers all told, which led to 30 points for the Knicks. Sheppard played just 21 minutes, and just six minutes in the fourth quarter. He was pulled at the 5:41 mark, at which point Houston held a 98-91 lead. He never re-entered the game.

The same thing happened in Houston's last game before the All-Star break against the LA Clippers. Sheppard played just five minutes in the final quarter and was pulled at the 6:48 mark in the quarter, in favor of Jae'Sean Tate. The Kentucky product never re-entered the game.

The Rockets made just two of their final seven shots in the final period.

The Rockets decided against trading for a point guard at the deadline. However, Rockets coach Ime Udoka has left the door open for a potential buyout addition. Even then, most buyout players don't quite make a huge impact. Or a big difference.

And as Rockets' GM Rafael Stone previously noted, it's not a given that players will want to join your team, unless there is a considerable role and/or amount of minutes for them.

Or if they'd have a viable shot at legitimately competing for a championship.

The silver lining for Houston is that this is a relatively temporary problem for the franchise. They have their long-term answer in VanVleet. If they were at full strength, they'd be in a much different predicament.

Fortunately for Houston, it sounds like VanVleet is here to stay. VanVleet explained for Rockets broadcasters Ryan Hollins and Craig Ackerman.

"Yeah, we're here. We're settled in. We love it. My family is comfortable. The kids are in school, so we love it here." VanVleet said.

Stone publicly questioned whether this year just simply isn't Houston's year, due to their unfortunate bout with injuries. It's not a guarantee that Kevin Durant, who will be 38 years old in the fall, will still be playing at this level in the coming years. Or that he'll stay healthy as he ages further.

But at the very least, Houston won't have this point guard conundrum for much longer, as VanVleet sounds like he's here to stay.