Apr 30, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; From left to right, Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) guard Jalen Green (4) and guard Fred VanVleet (5) smile from the bench as their teammates play against the Golden State Warriors in the third quarter during game five of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Houston Rockets and Veteran Guard Could Reach Agreement Soon

Originally posted on Houston Rockets on SI
By Alec Elijah | Last updated Jun 15, 2025 12:30 PM ET

One of the Houston Rockets' priorities this summer was figuring out whether or not they would opt in to veteran guard Fred VanVleet's $44.9 million team option.

The veteran guard had a solid season for the Houston Rockets as they secured the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. VanVleet played in 60 games for the Rockets this season, starting in each game, putting together an average of 14.1 points, 5.6 assists and 3.7 rebounds. Like many other Rockets players, VanVleet was also a legit two-way player, logging a 1.6 steal average per game this past season.

While his number may have taken a small hit compared to the season prior where VanVleet was averaging 8.1 assists per game, the veteran guard could be the Rockets long term plan as the head of their offense if a deal can get made this offseason, which could not be too far away according to NBA Senior Insider Shams Charania.

Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

"The Rockets and Fred VanVleet have mutual interest in signing a new long-term contract," said Shams. "Houston holds a $44.9 million team option on VanVleet, which they can decline to sign him at a lower figure for multiple years.

If this is the case, where the Houston Rockets are able to land VanVleet at a lower price for the future, this could significantly help them in landing an NBA Superstar like Kevin Durant, being able to offer the 36-year-old a decent deal to potentially end his career in Houston.

This could however tear into the Rockets young core as five of Houstons talented players under 25 are still on rookie contracts.

Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

"The Rockets have five players, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, Reed Sheppard, Cam Whitmore andAmen Thompson-- on first-round rookie contracts," Bobby Marks of ESPN.

Fans on social media have debated whether or not keeping VanVleet will be worth it long term, considering the potential that is on Houston's bench with their young players, so it will be interesting to see how this scenario plays out.

We will continue to monitor this potential agreement between VanVleet and the Houston Rockets this summer.

This article first appeared on Houston Rockets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: