Starting Point Guard Fred VanVleet Tearing His ACL Is Not Only A Huge Deal For The Rockets, But Also For What It Could Mean For The Entire Western Conference

Alex Goodlett. Getty Images.

Of all the teams that made improvements this offseason, few teams in the NBA had a better summer than the Houston Rockets. After what was a rather impressive 2024-25 season which saw the Rockets go 52-30 and finish 2nd in the Western Conference. Granted, it wasn't exactly the best look that they lost in the 1st round, but given the progress that their young talent showed, it gave them a very clear objective as they entered the summer. All they really needed to add to this roster was that legit #1 offensive option. A go-to guy at the end of games, if you will.

Their solution? How about one of the greatest individual scorers the sport has ever seen

After trading for Kevin Durant to solve their glaring offensive issues (12th during the year, 18th in the clutch), this roster on paper doesn't really have a lot of holes. They have legit size, great length on the perimeter/wing, versatile defenders, shooters, a good coach, the list goes on and on. It's largely why many considered the Rockets to be one of the teams that won the summer and could provide a real challenge to the defending Champs in what is an absolutely brutal Western Conference. 

But as we've seen in the NBA, everything can change in the blink of an eye. Just ask BOS/IND/DAL/Dame etc. Unfortunately, the same is now true for the Rockets

God dammit. Between Kyrie's ACL, and Tatum/Haliburton/Dame's Achilles, what is with all of these contending teams enduring (potentially) season-ending injuries to key rotation players? From the sounds of it, it looks like FVV got hurt at a team workout in the Bahamas

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Now, even if you find yourself not being the biggest Fred VanVleet fan, there's no denying his importance to how the Rockets play and their overall roster. All it takes is a quick look at their depth chart to see why this is sneaky a pretty big deal

As you can see, there are not a ton of ball handlers on this roster as of now, once you remove FVV from the equation. At this stage of his career, I'd be wary of putting so much of that on KD's plate, which leaves you with a very unproven Reed Sheppard and then Aaron Holiday as a depth piece. Maybe Maine Celtics legend JD Davison finally gets legit minutes when he's up from the G-League. For a team with NBA Finals/title aspirations, that's a bit of an issue. There's always the chance Sheppard shows the world he's ready (he was legitimately awesome in Vegas Summer League), but losing your starting point guard and floor spacers in FVV right ahead of training camp opening is a bit of a kick to the dick.

So the question now becomes, how do the Rockets find a replacement/depth from outside of their current roster? This is where things get tricky

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If you look at the current free agent point guard market, it's not pretty. There are players like Russell Westbrook, Cory Joseph, Gary Payton II, Cam Payne, Delon Wright, Markelle Fultz, and Dalano Banton available, but none of those sound all that appealing. My guess is the Rockets see what they have with their guard rotation internally, and then once we get to January/February we see them address the position if it's a disaster by flipping some of their wing talent. There just aren't a ton of avenues at the moment to significantly improve the position, and you never know what things could look like around the league come that time of the year.

To me, this now puts even more pressure on the internal development of someone like Amen Thompson. He's a player who is already poised to make another massive leap in Year 3, but now this leap is also going to have to include improved shooting and playmaking. Without FVV on the floor, everyone's spacing just got a little tighter. KD's gravity will still help generate clean looks, but in my opinion, there is now much more pressure for Thompson to be a more complete player right away. Then of course, there's the Reed Sheppard angle. If he turns out to be a hit, this may all be a blessing in disguise. He was drafted as a shooter, well now it's time to show you can produce while being in a real NBA rotation. 

You also have to remember how tight the seeding race is set up to be in the West. Last year, there was just a 3 game difference from the 52 win 2 seed and the 49 win 6 seed. Chances are, it's going to be just as much of a gauntlet this year. If something like this takes the Rockets from the low/mid 50s to the mid/high 40s, that could very well be the difference in homecourt. So yeah, I'd say this news is a pretty big deal not just for the Rockets, but for the entire landscape of the West.