Breaking news! The Rockets have suffered a huge blow! The starting point guard may be out for the entire season! How can they still contend for the championship?

Shams:VanVleet suffered an ACL tear and is highly likely to be sidelined for the entire 2025-26 season.

A Rockets team reporter disclosed that he got injured recently during the mini training camp in the Bahamas and is planned to undergo surgery this week.

This...

The Rockets haven’t even launched, yet the team’s “engine” is already damaged.

Medical recovery time is expected to be9 to 12 months,VanVleet will most likely miss more than 41 games, so the Rockets can apply for a hardship exception from the league, which can cover up to half of the injured player’s salary, about $12.5 million.

This exception can be used until March 10th next year.

But the frustrating part is that the team has already triggered the first hard salary cap.

Currently, the team is only $1.25 million under the first hard cap and cannot sign veterans at the minimum salary. So any signing requires freeing up salary space through trades first.

Before December 15th, Adams, VanVleet, Capela, Finney-Smith, Smith Jr., Okogie, Tate, Holiday, and Jeff Green cannot be traded.

The only movable players are Amen, Shepard, Sheng, Durant, or Eason, but they likely won’t be moved either.

Therefore, it’s unlikely the Rockets will make any trade upgrades before December 15th.

This summer, VanVleet just signed a 2-year, $50 million extension with the Rockets, with the second year being a player option, and his contract includes a hidden no-trade clause.

Trading him requires his consent, which is just one aspect.

The bigger problem is that even if he could be traded, it would be hard to find a comparable replacement at VanVleet’s level.

VanVleet often got criticized by Rockets fans for low efficiency, but only when he’s absent do they realize how important he is.

One statistic alone proves VanVleet’s value:

During the seven-game playoff series against the Warriors this year, the team’s offensive rating was 115.3 when he was on the court, dropping to 86.3 when he was off.

Without talking about individual skills, just his importance to the team — VanVleet’s role on the Rockets is no less than Curry’s on the Warriors.

In the playoffs, he averaged 40 minutes per game, scoring 18.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1 steal, 1.9 turnovers, shooting splits of 43%, 43.5%, and 100%.

From playmaking, experience to outside shooting, no one in Houston can replace him.

Rockets fans were very optimistic during this offseason.

From acquiring Durant to witnessing Sheng’s breakout performance at the EuroBasket, they hoped to shout those five words next season.

But before the new season even begins, the most important player at point guard is down.

In yesterday’s chatroom, a brother asked me about the Rockets’ prospects, and I said: The backcourt is a vulnerability.

They are a top-heavy team with enough depth on the wings and inside.

Now... the risk has grown even bigger.

For any championship contender, losing the starting point guard is a major setback.

So what can be done next?

The regular season might not expose too many issues; the Rockets can still stay competitive.

During this period, Amen can take on more playmaking duties, Shepard is likely to get promoted (if he can’t perform with this chance, it’s time to give up), and Sheng also has playmaking ability.

The bigger problems exposed by VanVleet’s absence will probably surface during the Rockets’ playoff run.

After all, Amen has improved but isn’t a pure point guard.

Shepard is still a rookie, while VanVleet is a man who proved himself in the Finals, experienced and battle-tested — that’s the essential difference.

If you watched this year’s playoffs, you’d understand that Udoka’s team’s offense isn’t advanced, scoring is tough, and the most common initiation is VanVleet + Sheng pick-and-roll.

Now, VanVleet is down...

This isn’t something Durant’s arrival can fix.

Durant didn’t have a pure point guard in Phoenix, so he struggled; now coming to the Rockets, damn, it’s still the same...