Rockets Shouldn’t Make Any Hasty Decisions Even With Fred VanVleet Injury News

The Houston Rockets are heading into their most anticipated season in several years. Coming off a 52-win season and finishing second in the tough Western Conference, the Rockets were seen as a team on the rise despite the seven-game loss to the Golden State Warriors.

That excitement only increased after the Rockets pulled off the biggest trade in the league during the offseason as they traded Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green for future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant. After the announcement of Durant to Houston, the Rockets went from a rising team to a legitimate championship contender.

However, that excitement has taken a hit with the news that came out early Monday evening. Shams Charania of ESPN was the first to report that Fred VanVleet had suffered a potential season-ending injury at a mini training camp practice in the Bahamas. Charania reported that VanVleet had suffered a torn ACL during the training camp.

Just in: Houston Rockets' Fred VanVleet has suffered a torn ACL, sources tell ESPN. A devastating, potentially season-ending loss for the Rockets with their starting point guard and leader. pic.twitter.com/Qhf0V58DwR
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 22, 2025

The potential injury is a devastating blow to the Rockets as they are a week away from the start of training camp in Houston. VanVleet had recently signed a new contract in the offseason after spending the last two seasons as the Rockets' point guard. Despite having a down regular season from the field, VanVleet bounced back in the Rockets' first-round series against the Warriors, as his shooting helped the Rockets force a Game 7.

The potential loss of VanVleet for the season will force players like Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard, and Aaron Holiday into more point guard duties, as VanVleet was expected to play his usual 30-35 minutes a game. That has led to speculation already that the Rockets would look to add another point guard right away. However, that may not be the right move, and it may make more sense to show more patience.

Why Waiting to December Would Be the Best Option for the Houston Rockets

One reason why waiting is the best route for the Rockets is that no one knows how players like Thompson and Sheppard will function as the starting point guard. We have seen both play at point guard last season, but Sheppard played sparingly last season, and Thompson only played point guard at times when VanVleet was out last season with an ankle injury. The Rockets should wait to see if either player can step up and take over the point guard position before making a reactionary trade.

The main reason why waiting makes the most sense for the Rockets is that we currently don't have many options. They only have six tradeable players until the middle of December: Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun, Tari Eason, Kevin Durant, Reed Sheppard, and Dorrian Finney-Smith. All of those players are core players, and more than likely, most teams aren't looking to make any significant trades in late September. Waiting until the middle of December, when not just their tradeable players increase, but the entire league does as well.

The Rockets also can't sign any players to the veteran minimum because they are only $1.2 million under the first apron hard cap. That means players like Ben Simmons and Russel Westbrook are not options. Even applying for an injury exception wouldn't matter because of how close the Rockets are to the first apron.

That leaves the Rockets with the decision of waiting to see what players become available for a two-way contract after training camps end or waiting it out when the trade market really opens up. The Rockets' best option is to practice patience and see how the season unfolds before making any drastic moves.