The Houston Rockets could be in a position to make a trade amid losing Fred VanVleet due to a torn ACL; however, that won’t be any time soon, according to one NBA insider. It’s a tremendous blow to the Rockets ahead of a highly anticipated 2025-26 campaign. This is the season Houston is positioned to make a deep playoff run after trading for All-Star Kevin Durant and coming off a 52-win regular season.
Still, the Rockets will most likely enter the upcoming season without making any significant trades, Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor, who spoke to various NBA executives, said.
“So Houston is in a position right now where I talked to a bunch of executives over the last 24 hours since the injury happened. I asked, ‘What do you think Houston’s going to do?’ All of them said they’re likely going to go into the year with the team they have, play the young guys, then come December or January, that’s when you think about making moves or trades.”
That’s the most likely path for the Rockets, considering what it cost them to trade for Durant, which included Jalen Green, the 10th overall pick in this year’s draft, Dillon Brooks, and a handful of future second-round picks.
Insider shoots down Rockets trade idea after Fred VanVleet injury
While losing Fred VanVleet is a tremendous loss to the starting lineup, the Rockets aren’t desperate to make a trade. It’s still too early at this time of the year, as The Athletic’s Kelly Iko noted.
“Yeah — not at this time. I don’t. I think it’s still pretty raw in their minds. I talked to them the other day, and they said, ‘Look, this is the bed that we made. If we’re going into the season, these are the guys we’re going to battle with,’” said Iko, via HoopsHype. “Come December, you might have different conversations. Clint Capela is making a team-friendly salary — you could see something happen with that.”
All signs point to the Rockets making a move at some point in the regular season. Filling the void left in VanVleet’s absence will most likely be answered at some point.
