The Houston Rockets May Run It Back This Time, Hopefully With a Healthy Roster

Most of the talk was about the Houston Rockets injuries from this past season which leads you to believe they are likely to run it back next season with a few minor changes.

Apr 24, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets general manager Rafael Stone watches during practice before game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets saw their 2025-26 season end just as the previous season did, and that is what a first-round loss. This time around, it was the Los Angeles Lakers, a team dealing with its own injury issues. The Rockets were heavy favorites coming into the series, but that was with Kevin Durant. The Lakers came into the series without both Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic.

Unfortunately for the Rockets, they would end up playing five of the six games without Durant, as he first suffered a knee contusion in the last practice before Game 1. Durant was able to come back for Game 2, but it wasn’t meant to be as Durant suffered another injury, this time an ankle injury that would keep him out the rest of the series. The injury to Durant was the last nail in the Rockets' coffin, as the Lakers ended the Rockets' season on their own home court in a 98-78 victory that wasn't even that close.

The Rockets had dealt with injuries even before the season started. The Rockets' first free agent signing of the offseason, Dorian Finney-Smith, had just gone through ankle surgery before signing with the Rockets. Normally, that type of surgery shouldn't keep you out for an extended period of time, but as the months went by, it was apparent that the recovery process was going a lot slower than everyone expected.

Finney-Smith would not make his debut until Christmas Night against, ironically enough, the Rockets' first-round opponent, the Lakers. The Rockets dealt with another injury before the season, the injury that did the most damage to the Rockets' contender status, and that was the season-ending injury to Fred VanVleet.

VanVleet, the Rockets' on and off-court leader, suffered a torn right ACL during a team workout right before training camp. At the time, the Rockets and VanVleet held out hope that he could return late in the season,, but it wasn't meant to be, as VanVleet would not take the court all season. The absence of VanVleet altered the Rockets' season, as they struggled without a legitimate point guard, and it played a major part in their first-round loss.

The Rockets also lost another major part of their team when Steven Adams suffered a season-ending ankle injury in January. The injuries were just too much for the Rockets to overcome, and it was a major theme of the Rockets' end-of-season press conference, where both Rafael Stone and Ime Udoka spoke about the disappointing season.

The Rockets Seem Content on Not Making Any Major Moves and Seeing How Next Season Plays Out

During the Rockets' end-of-season press conference, both Stone and Udoka spoke about the team's just-ended season, what they expect to see from the team in terms of development in the offseason, and their expectations for next season.

The main theme of the press conference was that the Rockets as a whole were disappointed how the season ended, but also wanted to see how the team would look at full strength before declaring that the roster needed a complete overhaul.

Part of the reason this is likely to happen is the Rockets' salary cap situation. The Rockets are already over the cap, and with Durant set to make 50-plus millon next season and Sengun making 37 millon, the Rockets do not have any space under the salary cap.

The Rockets may try to make smaller moves to bring in another point guard and add much-needed shooting. To do that, however, the Rockets will have to part ways with either Sengun, Jabari Smith, VanVleet, Adams, Capela, or Finney-Smith, as they are the only players currently under contract. Durant, from all indications, is not on the trading block, so that leaves the above-mentioned players.

Whatever moves the Rockets will make this offseason will not happen until after the current playoffs end, sometime in June. The Rockets do not have any first-round picks in this season's draft, so we will most likely not see any changes until the new NBA season opens in a few months. Either way, it will be a very interesting offseason for the Rockets as next season could be a make-or-break season for the franchise.