Rockets Advised to Have Sit-down Conversation with Fred VanVleet

To many, the Houston Rockets' season was lost the minute Fred VanVleet went down in the preseason.

At the very minimum, the team's championship hopes took a tumble.

VanVleet was the team's floor general and coach on the floor. He also rarely turns the ball over and is capable of raising his level of play in the biggest moments and on the brightest of stages.

VanVleet's ACL tear was viewed as a season-ending injury by the masses (including yours truly). The latest reporting is that VanVleet is working relentlessly to return for Houston's postseason runs.

The Rockets were granted a Disabled Player Exception, worth $12.5 million, the equivalent of half of VanVleet's annual number in 2025-26.

The Rockets' best path to identifying a replacement for VanVleet involves VanVleet himself, due to the salaries on the roster. They don't have much salary ballast, as it pertains to adding a high-caliber player with a high price tag.

Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun are off limits.

Obviously.

But VanVleet could be on the cusp of making a comeback.

So what should the Rockets do, as it pertains to their point guard spot, as they're expecting to contend deep in the postseason.

According to Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report, Houston's brass should have a sitdown with the man himself.

"They should sync with the veteran point guard on his willingness to be moved.

"VanVleet has an implied no-trade clause because the two-year, $50 million deal he signed over the summer has a player option for 2026-27. Houston can't move him without his approval. Though FVV's veteran presence and potential to return next year both matter in Houston, a team this good has to prioritize on-court performance right now,"

Trading VanVleet for a healthy guard who can shoot and make plays could make the Rockets an even bigger threat in the West. They have to at least ask VanVleet where his head's at, trade-wise."

Hughes cited the arrival of Kevin Durant, the rise of second-year reserve guard Reed Sheppard and the Rockets' offensive philosophy of crashing the offensive glass and getting additional bites at the apple as proof that the Rockets can fare without VanVleet.

But their bottom-eighth rank in passes per game and second-most turnovers per night are an illustration of their need for a table-setting guard.

The Rockets have now suffered back-to-back losses, both of which came in Portland to the Trail Blazers.