In line with Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports activities (X link), VanVleet suffered a proper knee damage at an unofficial workforce minicamp within the Bahamas. The one-time All-Star and 2019 NBA champion will endure surgical procedure this week, Iko provides.
It’s a devastating blow for each Houston and VanVleet, who re-signed with the Rockets this summer season on a two-year, $50M contract.
VanVleet will earn $25M every of the following two seasons, with a participant possibility for 2026-27. He appears prone to train now that he seems destined to overlook all the 2025-26 marketing campaign with a significant knee damage.
What Fred VanVleet’s absence means for the Rockets
VanVleet, 31, has been one of many keys to Houston’s dramatic turnaround. The Rockets went 17-55, 20-62 and 22-60 within the three years earlier than he signed with the workforce as a free agent in 2023. With VanVleet as the place to begin guard, Houston had a 41-41 report in ’23/24, adopted by a 52-30 mark final season.
Whereas VanVleet took a minor statistical step again final season in a number of classes, averaging 14.1 factors, 5.6 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals whereas capturing 34.5% on three-pointers in 60 regular-season video games, the Rockets have been constantly higher when he was on the courtroom (+6.2) than when he was off it (+2.9).
VanVleet additionally had a robust playoff displaying in Houston’s first-round loss to Golden State, averaging 18.7 PPG, 4.4 APG, 4.1 RPG and 1.1 SPG whereas capturing 43.5% from lengthy distance within the seven-game sequence. When he was on the courtroom within the playoffs, the Rockets had a +3.9 web ranking in 280 minutes; within the 56 minutes he didn’t play, their web ranking was an abysmal -17.1.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via X), the Rockets will probably apply for a disabled participant exception within the wake of VanVleet’s damage. Nonetheless, they’re hard-capped on the first apron and at present solely $1.25M beneath that threshold, which suggests they wouldn’t be capable of use the DPE proper now so as to add a fifteenth participant to their customary roster even when it was granted.
Reed Sheppard, Amen Thompson and Aaron Vacation are among the many candidates to obtain extra minutes and ball-handling duties for Houston within the wake of VanVleet’s unlucky damage.
