The Houston Rockets didn’t spend the summer making noise, and that might be exactly the point.
After last year’s headline-grabbing move to land Kevin Durant in a blockbuster trade with the Phoenix Suns, Houston’s offseason has been much quieter. This time around, the Rockets leaned into depth and experience, bringing in point guard Marcus Smart from the Los Angeles Lakers and Bogdan Bogdanovic from the Los Angeles Clippers.
They’re also expecting Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams back in the mix, which should give the roster a more complete look. For now, that means the lack of a giant splash shouldn’t automatically be treated like a problem.
“Houston is banking on Fred VanVleet’s return from injury (torn right ACL) and another year of collective development for its young players to translate into postseason progress. It’s not a terrible bet given that the Thunder, Lakers and Timberwolves all lost key players this summer, but it will require Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun to function more effectively as a partnership in their second season together,” ESPN contributor Ben Golliver wrote.
“This much is clear: The pressure will quickly mount on Stone to make changes if Houston can’t fix its clunky offense, which fell to pieces in the playoffs.”
That’s the heart of it for Houston. The group has been assembled over several years, so a step back from 2025 to 2026 wouldn’t trigger a total teardown. But it does leave the Rockets with real expectations heading into the next season.
VanVleet’s return is supposed to help settle the offense and keep the team organized on that end of the floor. On defense, Houston will need growth from Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun, Reed Sheppard, Tari Eason and Amen Thompson.
There are still holes here. No one is pretending otherwise. But the Rockets do have a path to becoming one of the Western Conference’s best teams, and that could put them in position to battle the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder in a playoff series.
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Jabari Smith Jr May Be Chasing The Leap Rockets Need Most
Jabari Smith Jr. spent the offseason working on his ball-handling, a small but meaningful sign of where the Rockets want his game to go next. For a young forward whose made field goals last season were mostly set up by others, the push is less about adding flash than giving Houston another player who can create his own looks when the offense bogs down.
That matters even more for a team trying to grow up around its young core, because the Rockets have seen how quickly playoff possessions can get squeezed when the easy answers disappear. Smiths next step is tied to that bigger need, and with Houstons other young players also chasing their own skill jumps, his ability to turn offseason work into self-generated scoring could end up being one of the more important developments on the roster. [Read more 🡒]