Overview

• Fred VanVleet tore his ACL and is expected to miss the entire 2025–26 season, removing Houston’s starting point guard from a win-now roster built around Kevin Durant.
• Analysts have pitched Derrick White as the premier replacement, but Celtics executive Mike Zarren said there has been nothing close to serious on trading him and reporting pegs the price near the Mikal Bridges haul.
• Houston sits about $1.2 million under the first apron with several newly signed players ineligible to be traded until Dec. 15, and VanVleet’s one-plus-one deal gives him leverage that complicates any swap.
• Other names discussed as options include Jrue Holiday in Portland, Payton Pritchard, and Anfernee Simons, with internal solutions centering on larger roles for Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard.
• Coverage frames the decision as a balance between an accelerated push with Durant and the realities of asset cost, contract structures, and short-term roster immobility.