The Houston Rockets fell prey to the Golden State Warriors for the third time in their first-round series on Monday night via a score of 109-106. However, it was not because of the lack of effort from point guard Fred VanVleet.

The diminutive Wichita State Shockers product was among the bright spots for Houston in the team's Game 4 loss to Jimmy Butler and company, as he dropped 25 points on an efficient 8-for-13 shooting from the floor. He also hit eight of his 12 tries from behind the arc to tie an NBA Playoffs career-high. He also had eight makes from deep when he was still with the Toronto Raptors in a 2020 NBA postseason game against the Brooklyn Nets — also in the first round.

Also, the 31-year-old VanVleet's performance in Game 4 of the Warriors series was reminiscent of his heroic showing for the Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals against the Golden State.

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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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It can be recalled that VanVleet had an awful start to the 2019 NBA Playoffs. During the first two rounds of that postseason, VanVleet averaged just 4.2 points while shooting an atrocious 27.6 percent from the field and 20.0 percent from 3-point distance across 12 games versus the Orlando Magic and the Philadelphia 76ers. His woes continued into the first three games of the Eastern Conference finals against the Milwaukee Bucks, during which he averaged just 3.3 points on a 20.0 field goal percentage.

But by Game 4 of the Bucks series, VanVleet started to find his rhythm. In the final three games of that series, he torched Milwaukee for 16.0 points while draining 14 of his 3-point attempts. He carried that terrific outside shooting form into the NBA Finals versus the Warriors, where he averaged 14.0 points and sank 40.0 percent of his tries from deep. In the title-clinching Game 6, VanVleet had 22 points with five 3-pointers to help Toronto bring home its first-ever NBA championship.

The Rockets need VanVleet to have that kind of performance — if not better — on Wednesday when their series against Golden State shifts back to Houston for Game 5. Facing elimination, VanVleet and the Rockets can't afford to have a cold spell on offense and a subpar effort on defense if they are to fight for at least one more game in the 2025 NBA Playoffs.