How close are the Houston Rockets to completing their core of the future?

Houston started assembling its young core of players when they selected guard Jalen Green with the No. 2 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Green averaged 22.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game for the Rockets last season, leading Houston in scoring even as he shot at an inefficient 41.6% from the field and 33.8% from the field. They took Auburn forward Jabari Smith with the No. 3 selection the very next year. The 6-foot-10-inch forward averaged 12.8 points and grabbed 7.2 rebounds per the 79 games he played and started in last season.

The Rockets had two selections in the 2023 NBA Draft. 11 players at least can return to Houston for the 2023-24 season, according to sports contract and salaries website Spotrac. Green, Smith and former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kevin Porter Jr. highlight the players under contract for the Rockets next season. Forward Kenyon Martin Jr. is listed with a team option.

What was the best decision the Rockets made in the 2023 NBA Draft?

Drafting Cam Whitmore at No. 20

The Rockets selected Villanova forward Cam Whitmore at No. 20 in the 2023 NBA Draft.

The 6-foot-7-inch forward from Odenton, Md., initially committed to Villanova over offers from Illinois, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, Alabama, UConn, Creighton, LSU, Penn State and UCLA, among others, according to 247Sports. He averaged 12.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game for the Wildcats last season. Whitmore hit 47.8% of his field goal attempts and 34.3% of his 3-point shots in his lone season with Villanova.

The Rockets took Overtime Elite guard Amen Thompson with the No. 4 pick on draft night. He was slated to go to Houston in the most recent mock draft from ClutchPoints. Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said both rookies can bring a variety of skills to the table already.

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The Houston Rockets invested heavily into Fred VanVleet during the 2023 offseason. Houston gave the point guard a three-year, $128 million deal in a move that was meant to turn the Rockets from a rebuilding team into a championship contending one. The signing did just that, as the Rockets finished the 2024-25 regular season as the two-seed in a stacked Western Conference. VanVleet was the veteran presence and 3-point shooter that the team desperately needed, and he still might have a role with the Rockets going forward. Houston has a team option on his contract for next year, and they very well may pick it up. The Wichita State product reportedly wants to stay in Houston, but the point guard would be set to make over $44 million next season under his current contract. The Rockets and their guard recently pushed back the deadline on Houston's decision with VanVleet, and although reports suggest that they are interested in writing up a new, long-term deal, it isn't necessarily a guarantee that VanVleet will be playing for Houston next year. The Rockets blew him away with an offer he couldn't refuse back in 2023, and another team could so the same when/if he hits the open market this offseason. If VanVleet does become an unrestricted free agent, which teams outside of Houston would make the most sense for him to sign with? 1. Orlando Magic Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner recently signed big deals with the Orlando Magic, and Paolo Banchero will be getting a mega contract extension here soon. Because of that, the Magic no longer have money to blow like they have had in recent years. That will make a deal for another big ticket free agent hard to pull off, especially considering the team signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope last year. If Orlando can make the money work, though, then Fred VanVleet would be a great fit with the Magic. The Magic finished dead last in 3-point shooting this season, and VanVleet has made at least 2.5 deep balls per game in every season since 2018-19. VanVleet can hit shots form behind the arc off of the bounce or in catch-and-shoot situations. The Rockets were heavily reliant on his shooting expertise, so the guard would have plenty of familiarity getting up deep shots with high volume if he signed with the Magic. While undersized, VanVleet is a pesky defender, so he'd fit right in with a Magic team that has one of the best defensive units in the league. VanVleet could play alongside Suggs and give opposing teams fits. Ultimately, though, the Magic just need more shooting to get to the next level, and VanVleet is arguably the best shooter who could be available on the open market this offseason. 2. Brooklyn Nets A more realistic option for a VanVleet destination would be the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets are set up to have the most cap space this offseason, and they have a major need at point guard. With D'Angelo Russell and De'Anthony Melton hitting free agency this offseason, the Nets don't have a true point guard under contract for next season. Brooklyn needs to spend big this offseason, and they'd be smart to offer VanVleet a contract big enough that he'd have no choice but to leave Houston. VanVleet averaged 14.1 points per game last season, which was his lowest mark since 2018-19. He is trending the wrong way, but he still has enough left in the tank to give the Nets a few good seasons. 3. Portland Trail Blazers In the same way that the Rockets were looking to take the next step in 2023, the Portland Trail Blazers could use VanVleet's presence to get over the hump. The Trail Blazers have plenty of big man depth, as centers Deandre Ayton, Donovan Clingan, Robert Williams, and Duop Death are all under contract next season. Portland also has a lot of wing depth. Deni Advija started to look like a star late this past season, Toumani Camara is an elite defender, Shaedon Sharpe is a freakish athlete, and Jerami Grant is a proven scorer. The team is thinner in the backcourt, though. Anfernee Simons is a solid scorer, but Scoot Henderson has looked like a fringe draft bust since being drafted third overall. Portland shouldn't give up on Henderson completely, but there wouldn't be any harm in signing another guard. Like the Magic, the Blazers were one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the NBA. VanVleet would improve that weakness, and in a stacked Western Conference, Portland needs all of the help they can get if they are to compete for a playoff spot.
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“They bring a ton of things to the table already,” Udoka said, via The Rookie Wire. “The thing I stress to them is a defensive mentality, which they both naturally have. Shooting is always at a premium, so that is the thing I've been stressing to them to build and work on but also in summer league. That'll be something we definitely stress. Just becoming all-around players, using their athleticism to their advantage and adding the shooting piece.”

Whitmore said he wanted to be in Houston during a Monday interview with AT&T SportsNet Southwest.

“I told them, I wanted to be here,” Whitmore said, via Rockets Wire. “I wanted to be in Houston.

“I was working out after that, we met, and I told them that this is where I wanted to be. The fit, the people, I fell in love with the people right then and there. They were just very respectful. They just felt cool. I was just so comfortable.”

Selecting Whitmore later in the first round can take away some of the risk of taking a chance on the 18-year-old forward. The Rockets were also able to take Thompson, a player who can fit well with Smith, Green and Porter Jr. as a player Houston can invest in for the foreseeable future.

With both selections, the Rockets can start investing more in veteran players who can work well with the team's younger players. Only time will tell if rolling the dice on Whitmore will be a worthwhile gamble for Houston in the future.