Ime Udoka: Rockets’ starting five still has one open spot

The Rockets know four-fifths of their starting lineup. Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson and Fred VanVleet are locked in. It’s that fifth spot that will be up for grabs when camp tips off later this month.

Coach Ime Udoka isn’t tipping his hand.

“It’s to be determined,” Udoka told Ben DuBose of RocketsWire at a team event in Houston. “We feel we have incredible depth this year and a lot of versatility, so we could go a number of different ways.”

The most obvious candidate is Jabari Smith Jr., who started 39 games last season before a broken hand derailed his year. He eventually slid into a sixth-man role after Thompson proved too good to send back to the bench. At 6-foot-11, Smith offers size next to Durant and Sengun, plus enough three-point range to keep defenses honest.

But Udoka has other options. Steven Adams became a postseason staple against Golden State and could reprise that role in a double-big look. Free agent pickup Dorian Finney-Smith is a defensive ace who shot 41.1 percent from deep with the Lakers last season, while Tari Eason made 16 starts of his own and brings plenty of disruptive energy on the wing.

Bottom line: Durant is the headliner, Sengun is the hub, and VanVleet and Thompson are the engines. But Houston’s fifth starter? That will be decided in camp — and Udoka seems to like it that way.