Fred Future in Flux: Rockets Star Guard Fred VanVleet Faces Massive Free Agency Decision
Houston Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet could hit free agency this offseason as he embarks on a team option in his contract.
If the Rockets opt in with VanVleet, they will owe him $44 million in the 2025-26 season, but Bleacher Report writer Eric Pincus thinks that the Rockets will opt out of their deal with the former All-Star point guard and sign a new one.
“The Rockets took a significant step forward this year, in part because of the leadership of Fred VanVleet. Since no suitors are armed with competitive spending power this offseason, they’ll probably decline his $44.9 million team option and look to do what the Minnesota Timberwolves did with Rudy Gobert—a multiyear deal at a lower price to continue a fruitful marriage,” Pincus writes.
“The question is how high? A three-year, $97.2 million contract starting at $30 million might do. Houston would probably want another team option for the last year. That figure could dip, especially if the Rockets need room to execute trades while staying under one of the aprons. Perhaps it’d fall to a $25 million starting salary ($81 million total with a team option).”
The Rockets have Amen Thompson waiting in the wings to be the point guard of the future, but VanVleet’s impact on the team may force Houston to kick that rock down the road a little longer.
The Rockets will want to get some value out of VanVleet, so if they opt out of the contract and don’t want to bring him back, a sign-and-trade could take place.
However, nothing has suggested that Houston wants to move on from VanVleet, so a new deal is the expectation.
