As many predicted, the savvy, experienced Golden State Warriors eliminated the young, hungry, up-and-coming Houston Rockets in the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
While the Rockets entered the series as the higher seed and boasted home-court advantage, Golden State was widely considered the favorites, and oddsmakers agreed. However, Houston put up an admirable fight, forcing a Game 7 after going down 3-1.
The Rockets may not have advanced to the Western Conference semifinals, but they learned plenty about themselves heading into a pivotal offseason. Chief among their discoveries is that veteran point guard Fred VanVleet's time in Houston has run its course.
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Rockets' Game 7 loss vs. Warriors should mark Fred VanVleet's last hurrah with Houston
VanVleet has a massive $44.9 million club option for 2025-26. For context, that'd make him the sixth-highest paid player by average annual value among those at his position. He's been crucial to the Rockets' suddenly rapidly accelerated timeline. Nonetheless, it's hard to justify such a lofty price tag for an undersized, inefficient guard on the back nine of a successful career.
While VanVleet has served an extremely valuable leadership role that isn't properly reflected by the stat sheet, it's time to take the training wheels off. The upstart Rockets no longer need a babysitter; they need a certified bucket-getter to pair with their elite defense and ascending talent. Nonetheless, he provides Houston with multiple paths to landing the offensive alpha the team desperately requires to vault to reach its ceiling.
Houston has options. They can let VanVleet hit the open market for cap relief, though that doesn't open up much space to make a splash signing this summer. Alternatively (and more beneficially), his bloated salary gives the Rockets filler for a blockbuster trade, potentially surrounding a large Greek man or slender, sweet-stroking giant.
Rockets' budding star Amen Thompson has all but established himself as the squad's primary ball-handler/facilitator in waiting, rendering VanVleet redundant. The latter has helped Houston reach a point where they're not reliant on him anymore and can move on for the greater good.