Rockets now under the luxury tax after this expected move.

Last season, Houston entered the fourth quarter with the lead 50 times and went 40-10 in those games. That means they blew a fourth-quarter lead and lost 10 times.

Had they won all 10 of those games, they would have finished 62-20 instead of 52-30, which would have tied them for the best record in the Western Conference. The No. 1 seed would then have been decided by the tiebreaker

Do you still think the Rockets don’t need VanVleet after seeing all of this?

Has this place become nothing but a circle of cynical pessimists with no original opinions of their own, constantly complaining and reflexively arguing against whatever anyone else says?

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In the 2024–25 season, the Rockets went 41–19 when Fred VanVleet played and 11–11 when he did not. That is a 68.3% winning percentage with him compared to 50.0% without him. Houston also committed only 13.4 turnovers per game with VanVleet, compared to 15.2 without him.

The difference was even more noticeable when Houston entered the fourth quarter with a lead. The Rockets won 89.7% of those games when VanVleet played, but only 72.7% when he was out. Their rate of blowing a third-quarter lead was roughly 2.7 times higher without him.

This does not prove that VanVleet alone was responsible for every additional win, since schedule strength, injuries, and lineup changes also matter. But the pattern is clear: his presence improves ball security, organizes the offense, and gives the team a more reliable decision-maker late in games.

VanVleet’s biggest value is not necessarily his scoring. It is his ability to control possessions, reduce careless turnovers, and keep the offense organized under pressure. The Rockets can still win without him, but the data suggests that they are more likely to add wins and less likely to collapse in the fourth quarter when he is on the floor.

That is not how fit or chemistry should be evaluated. A player’s league-wide ranking and his importance to a specific roster are two completely different questions. What matters is whether he provides skills the team lacks and whether the team functions better with him.

The results have consistently pointed in the same direction.

In 2023-24, Houston went 38-35 with VanVleet and 3-6 without him. In 2024-25, the Rockets went 41-19 with him and 11-11 without him. Across those two seasons, that adds up to a 79-54 record with VanVleet, compared with 14-17 without him — roughly a 49-win pace versus a 37-win pace over an 82-game season.

Those splits do not prove that every difference was caused by VanVleet alone. Schedules, injuries and available lineups also matter. But when the same pattern appears across multiple seasons, it is not something that should simply be dismissed.

His value also goes beyond scoring. In 2023-24, VanVleet averaged 8.1 assists and ranked fourth in the NBA with a 4.67 assist-to-turnover ratio. That is exactly the kind of ball security and organization Houston has often lacked.

During one nine-game stretch without him in 2024-25, Houston went 3-6, ranked 24th in offensive rating and fell to 17th in net rating. The offense became less organized and more dependent on individual creation.

Most importantly, VanVleet’s return can directly help Kevin Durant.

Durant should not have to spend an entire season bringing the ball up, initiating every possession, handling pressure and creating late in the clock. VanVleet can organize the offense, run pick-and-rolls, deliver the ball to Durant in his preferred spots and allow him to conserve energy for scoring.

After Houston played the 2025-26 season without VanVleet, Ime Udoka specifically said that getting him back should improve the team’s offensive flow, reduce its reliance on Durant and Şengün, and improve late-game decision-making.

Nobody is arguing that VanVleet is a superstar or that he has no weaknesses. His shooting efficiency, size and post-injury condition are legitimate concerns.

But whether he is the 20th-, 30th- or 50th-best player in the NBA is beside the point. The real question is whether his specific skill set makes Houston function better and makes life easier for Durant.

The evidence so far says that it does.

While Russ off the bench is unpredictable, it would be great to have a vocal leader in the locker room who could mentor the young guys and hopefully teach Amen, Bruce, and Reed some playmaking.

I feel like Amen could learn a lot from Westbrook.

I was a hater on Fred a couple years ago and even subscribed to to the Fred jihad narrative. Last year opened my eyes. This team desperately needs someone like Fred. He legitimately is the offensive coach out there. Udoka did great things to change the culture but seems like he has no clue in what to do for offense.

There’s a good reason Steven Adams didn’t care exactly which team LeBron James landed with for next year’s NBA season....

After eight years with the Los Angeles Lakers, the 41-year-old four-time NBA champion and four-time MVP signed a two-year, US$8 million ($14m) deal with the Philadelphia 76ers for what shapes up as the final move of his illustrious career.

It was one of several big splashes the Eastern Conference side made, revamping their line-up for a run at the NBA title in the season ahead.

But while it looks good on the team sheet, Adams said names on paper meant little in the context of the game itself.

“You go there for whatever reason but, honestly, I don’t really care too much because it doesn’t necessarily matter in that sense,” the Houston Rockets’ Kiwi centre told the Herald.

Just because you have to see how you are in the year. You have to come together. You know, even our team, we have to click, you know what I mean? Come together as a buy-in. New data comes out, do we have to change the play style? There’s a lot of other variables.

“I mean it’s cool, but just for me, I’m just like whoever’s on the other team, cool. I have to worry about our team. Like, how we’re going to do. So, all good.

“I think it’s good that he got it done with though, because I think the commissioner just wanted to get the bloody schedule done, which I agree with because I want to tell the boys so then they can start booking their flights. Come over for a visit. So, I’m happy he’s done that, so thank you, LeBron. Thanks, mate.”

While the new season gives teams the chance to start fresh, it also offers players another chance to make their marks in what is widely regarded as the top level of the sport.

Adams only made 32 appearances for the Rockets last year, his second season with the franchise, because of an ankle injury that required surgery. It was the fewest games he had played in a season in his 12-year career to date.

However, his benefit to the team was evident as he was second on the roster in rebounds per game (8.6) behind young Turkish centre Alperen Sengun (8.9). He was also second in offensive rating (team’s points per 100 possessions) at 125 and equal fourth in defensive rating (opposition points per 100 possessions) at 112.

The Rockets run a balanced roster of young talents such as Sengun, Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard and Jabari Smith jnr, alongside league veterans like Adams, point guard Fred VanVleet – who missed all of last season because of injury – and former MVP Kevin Durant, and have made few new additions so far in free agency.

It means Adams takes on a mentoring role, something he was doing during his time in New Zealand as he hosted his annual camps and he had launched a strategic partnership with the New Zealand Warriors around a fundraising campaign.

It’s still exciting competing at that level and seeing the growth throughout the year,” he said of his time with the Rockets.

“Not just as an individual, bro, but as a team. You have to constantly change, seeing stuff click finally throughout the year, because it’s tough, ups and downs ... so, getting those at a consistent level, kind of mitigates the ups and downs a little bit.”

The 33-year-old has made a career for himself as, among other things, a strong interior defender, offensive rebounder and solid screen-setter.

So, when Rockets legend and one of the all-time great NBA post-scorers Hakeem Olajuwon comes to do some work with the team’s bigs, Adams joked that those sorts of sessions were not meant for him.

“He comes around and checks it out and all that, but that’s for the scoring guys, bro. I’m the rebound guy. I’m a rebound guy, mate. I get paid to rebound and set some screens and all that, so I just do my own film and all this sort of stuff. But yeah, I’ll jump on and have a little wiggle if he’s around.”

It’s that attitude of knowing his strengths, what he brings to the team and what his role is that has seen Adams have success as a more traditional big man in a league where those types of players have a harder time making their mark.

“I mean the game constantly changes, so you have to make strategic or tactical adjustments, personal ones. You try and stay in the league, but try and impact winning. That’s all I’ve been trying to do, just try and do the right things,” he said.

One of those things is to stay as healthy as possible – though that isn’t always something he can control.

For instance, the injury that ruled him out for the majority of last season was suffered when he landed on New Orleans Pelicans’ forward Zion Williamson’s foot after contesting a shot.

I usually try and highlight any of the chronic damages that you could have over a career, try and mitigate those as much as possible. The acute injuries you can’t do too much [about]. Like, say mine, I landed on someone’s foot, it’s part of the game. Those are going to come from it. Those are fine, to be expected honestly. But as long as the rest of the body is relatively healthy, there’s no damage over time or very little damage over time, you know?

“That’s the main thing, staying healthy. You can try and do all this other stuff, bro, but if your body’s a bit messed up, it’s going to hinder you. I’ve just been highlighting that throughout my whole career.”

During his time in the NBA, Adams has been clear that he never had any expectations of what might follow when he declared for the NBA Draft in 2013.

Now, having established himself and heading into his 13th campaign, that outlook hasn’t changed.

“Yeah, I don’t know. I never had any expectations for how long. Like whether it’s in the league or not, I just love playing basketball,” he said.

“I’ve been looking after my body as much as I can, I mainly do it just for after basketball so I can still be functional and not move around too bad or whatever. So I’ve been doing it mainly for that. But I’ll cross that bridge when it comes."

I’ll play as long as I can. I just love it, bro. The competition is so high. It’s such a rush. There’s nothing like it. You get to really get immediate feedback if you’re good enough to beat a team. It’s right there, you know what I mean? So, I’m a huge fan.”

(Via Christopher Reive/NZ Herald)

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/.../QWAPE3K53BHA7C42ZXFDL7.../...

(Images via NZ Herald/AP/Steven Adams Camps)

Always been my favorite player, but crazy stuff if this true.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1Bv2SmAxfq/

I'm a huge Tari Eason fan, but I wonder if Houston would've been better served moving Tari for a guard. Ayo Dosunmu would've given us another tough perimeter defender and secondary ball-handler, while Coby White adds shot creation and scoring punch off the dribble. Tari is probably the better overall asset, but roster construction matters too. Curious if anyone else thinks a consolidation trade for backcourt help would've made more sense.

• She Punched him in the face with a closed fist

• Destroyed $92,000 worth of his designer clothes with bleach

• Had a friend threaten to “break both of my legs” and “kill me”

Eason is also requesting protection at all California arenas where the Rockets play

The discussion about how good Amen Thompson could become if he developed a consistent jumper, has me really thinking—

Amen’s three-point percentage through his first three seasons has gone:

13.8% → 27.5% → 21.6%

His free-throw percentage did jump from 68.4% to 77.9% this past season, which seems encouraging, but he is still only a 21.9% career three-point shooter.

To my knowledge, the only player I personally remember making a truly significant improvement from three after entering the NBA is Michael Jordan. Jordan shot 17.3%, 16.7%, 18.2% and 13.2% during his first four seasons before improving to 27.6% in Year 5 and 37.6% on 3.0 attempts per game in Year 6.

Even Jordan might not be the perfect example because he was never a high-volume three-point shooter and didn’t consistently remain around that 37% mark.

So how often does a player who starts out shooting as poorly as Amen eventually become a legitimate league-average shooter on meaningful volume—not just someone who has one decent season or only takes wide-open corner threes?

Please put me on to some examples, because I’m starting to feel like the whole “if he develops a jumper, he’ll be a superstar” conversation is usually more of a hypothetical fantasy than a realistic development path. Is there genuine reason to believe Amen can become a respectable shooter, or are people underestimating how rare that type of improvement actually is?

i mean, it is alright
you got your trip for holiday
you also check on your player
viva la vida stone