The Houston Rockets’ decision to lock up Amen Thompson on a five-year, $208 million deal has put the rest of the roster picture under a brighter spotlight, and Fred VanVleet is right in the middle of it.
VanVleet is set to hit unrestricted free agency next summer, which leaves Houston staring at a difficult question: is it worth bringing him back? That issue looks even sharper in hindsight after VanVleet missed all of last season with an injury and then exercised his $25 million player option in January.
For the 2026-27 season, the baseline expectation is simple enough: VanVleet has to be healthy. In 2024-25, he averaged 14.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game, and that’s the level of production Houston will be hoping he can still supply. But he’s coming off an ACL injury, and he’ll be 32, which makes that ask far from straightforward.
The fit matters, too. Houston already leans heavily on defense, and one of the biggest needs this year is shooting. VanVleet has long been a reliable shooter, and his numbers reflect that: 2.5 three-pointers made per game and a 37.1% three-point percentage for his career.
Because he can handle both point guard and shooting guard duties, the Rockets want him to help unlock more of the offense by doing what he does best from deep. The problem is that asking that at this stage of his career is a tricky proposition. And with so little changing overall from last season, the obvious question is whether Houston got too comfortable in the offseason.
There’s also a bigger financial clock ticking in the background. By the time the Rockets get deeper into next season, their cap situation will tighten even more, with extensions for Thompson and Alperen Sengun set to kick in. That could make VanVleet expendable if he doesn’t deliver a strong year.
For now, Houston seems to be betting on continuity, banking on the return of key injuries like VanVleet and Steven Adams to make a difference. But this season could be a defining one across the board. Kevin Durant has a player option at season’s end, and Ime Udoka may not want to stick around for another disappointing finish.
VanVleet, though, doesn’t sound like a player ready to fade out after this. He looks like someone who will keep grinding for his next contract. Whether that payday comes from Houston is the real question, and it may come down to how much impact he can still provide in 2026-27.
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Kevin Durant Opens Up About The Scrutiny Following Him To Houston
Kevin Durant has spent enough time in the NBA spotlight to know that every move follows him, and the scrutiny only gets heavier when he lands in a new place. During a Zoom seminar hosted by O.U.R. Mothers, the 16-time All-Star talked about staying authentic while reflecting on a career that has taken him from being drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics to an MVP season in 2014, championship runs with the Golden State Warriors, and stops with the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns before arriving in Houston.
For the Rockets, Durants presence is about more than star power in the present tense. He is preparing for his second season with a team that is aiming for a third straight 50-plus-win year, and the attention around him will not fade just because he has changed uniforms again. What matters now is how he handles the noise that comes with being Kevin Durant in Houston, where every conversation about the season seems to carry both expectation and examination. [Read more 🡒]
Kevin Durant Faces One Houston Problem He Can't Ignore
Kevin Durants first season in Houston delivered the scoring the Rockets expected, but it also exposed one of the small fixes that could matter most for next spring and beyond: what happens when defenses load up on him and force the ball out of his hands. Durant averaged 26 points per game in his first year with the Rockets, and his trainer Jamal Lovell has pointed to cleaner passing out of double teams as a key part of the next step in Durants adjustment.
The concern is not just theoretical, either, because postseason pressure tended to amplify the problem. Houston is banking on a different support structure this season with Marcus Smart added and Fred VanVleet set to return, which should take some of the ball-handling strain off Durant, but the Rockets still need him to make quicker, sharper decisions when defenses collapse on him late in possessions. For a team trying to turn one elite scorer into a more complete playoff engine, that remains the subtle issue to watch. [Read more 🡒]