The Houston Rockets have not made as much of a splash this summer as they did last year, when they acquired Kevin Durant in a blockbuster trade with the Phoenix Suns.
This offseason has been all about adding veterans to the mix, which is why the team signed point guard Marcus Smart from the Los Angeles Lakers and Bogdan Bogdanovic from the Los Angeles Clippers. They are also getting Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams back into the mix, which will hopefully make the Rockets a more complete team. Because of this, their lack of major moves shouldn’t be viewed as a negative, at least not yet.
“Houston is banking on Fred VanVleet’s return from injury (torn right ACL) and another year of collective development for its young players to translate into postseason progress. It’s not a terrible bet given that the Thunder, Lakers and Timberwolves all lost key players this summer, but it will require Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun to function more effectively as a partnership in their second season together,” [ESPN contributor Ben Golliver wrote.](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/49425930/what-learned-all-30-nba-teams-offseason)
“This much is clear: The pressure will quickly mount on Stone to make changes if Houston can’t fix its clunky offense, which fell to pieces in the playoffs.”
The Rockets have been building this team together for several years, so their lack of progress from 2025 to 2026 isn’t going to lead to a massive breakup. However, the pressure is now on for the team to perform in the upcoming season.
Houston hopes that VanVleet’s presence back in the lineup will organize the offense and keep the team focused on that end of the floor. In terms of defense, improvements from Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun, Reed Sheppard, Tari Eason and Amen Thompson will be key.
There are still several flaws with the Rockets, but the path is there for them to be one of the best teams in the Western Conference, giving them a chance to compete with the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder to challenge them in a playoff series.
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