Could Fred VanVleet’s Injury Prevent Kevin Durant's Contract Extension with Rockets?

The Houston Rockets have had quite an offseason. They pulled off the deal of the summer, in the blockbuster trade that saw Kevin Durant -- one of the league's all-time greats -- change coasts.

Houston also added Dorian Finney-Smith, to replace Dillon Brooks, who was thrown in the Durant trade for salary purposes. They also lost their leading scorer in Jalen Green, but again, Durant is a better scorer than Green.

In fact, he's the league's eighth all-time leading scorer already, and he's clearly got a lot left in the tank, based on last season --26.6 points, 52.7 percent from the field, 43 percent from deep, 83.9 percent from the foul line, 59.8 effective field goal percentage, and 64.2 percent true shooting.

Houston also lost their leader in Fred VanVleet, due to an untimely ACL tear that will likely cause him to miss the entire season. 

That injury amplifies Houston's lone order of business on the Durant front: his contract extension.

Durant's contract, that was originally inked with the Brooklyn Nets, to the tune of $194.2 million over four years, expires after the 2025-26 season. The future Hall of Famer carries a price tag of $54.7 million this season.

Houston certainly wants to extend the 37-year-old superstar. They wouldn't have parted with a potential All-Star talent in Jalen Green and a defensive ace in Dillon Brooks if it was just going to be a one year rental.

The reporting prior to VanVleet's injury was that Durant was wiling to take less than the max -- giving Houston a team-friendly deal to help the Rockets.

Has Durant's calculus changed after the injury?

No one knows. And there's not been any reporting to suggest that it has.

But Durant has to be questioning whether he'd want to commit long-term to an unsure situation. He's done that before.

Remember? He was the first (and only) of the Brooklyn Nets' Big Three, consisting of Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden to extend.

And it imploded. Does Durant want to do that again?

He was also part of a Phoenix Suns big three model with Devin Booker and Bradley Beal for several years and saw that implode.

Once again, does Durant want to commit multiple years to uncertainty? Although medicine and technology are both advanced, an ACL tear for a 31-year-old like VanVleet could be career-altering.

Would anyone blame Durant for wanting to see how Houston's front office is able to move forward and patch things up? Would anyone blame Durant for wanting to keep his options open for the chance of signing with the team of his choice next summer, where he'd likely be the biggest fish in free agency?

Surely not. Which is why this is a significant question for Houston's brass.