Yesterday, the devastating news came out that Fred VanVleet, the starting point guard for the Rockets next season, tore his ACL and will likely miss the entirety of the 2025-26 season. This is a huge blow for the Rockets, as their point guard depth was already limited. But with Fred VanVleet out for the season, they have very few options at the point guard position. They could either A) slide Amen Thompson to point guard and then have a guy like Dorian Finney-Smith be the shooting guard. B) Move Reed Sheppard into the starting lineup and have him play alongside Amen Thompson. Or C) trade for a replacement point guard.

Before anyone says, "The Rockets have an open roster spot, why don't they just sign a free agent like Russell Westbrook?" That would not work, nor would it be a good idea for a couple of reasons. For one thing, they do not have the cap space to sign anyone, not even for the vet minimum. But also, even if signing Russell Westbrook was a possibility, it just wouldn't be a good fit. Russ is not the kind of point guard they need at all. What are the 2 glaring weaknesses in Russell Westbrook's game? His inability to shoot, and his frequent turnover issues. Even with their new additions in Kevin Durant and Dorian Finney-Smith, the Rockets, as a team, still are not good at shooting. They also desperately need a lead guard who can just take care of the ball. Signing a point guard who can't space the floor and is extremely turnover-prone would just be a disaster waiting to happen.

Now, back to the options that are actually viable, option B, which I listed earlier, is the one I find the most risky. Reed Sheppard had a relatively disappointing rookie season. Head coach Ime Udoka said that Reed would have to step up next season. That was before Fred VanVleet tore his ACL. Now, that statement rings true more than ever. That is a lot of pressure to be put on Reed Sheppard, and I just don't feel like he's ready to take on the role of the starting point guard for a title-contending team like the Rockets, so I would not go with that option.

I like option A a little more, but not much. Personally, I think Amen Thompson is more ready at this point in time to be the primary ball handler than Reed Sheppard. There were plenty of games where Amen was forced to be the point guard when Fred VanVleet was out. In the 26 games without Fred VanVleet as the point guard last season (that Amen Thompson played), Amen averaged 15.2 PPG, 9.7 RPG, and 5.5 APG, and the Rockets went 13-13. Obviously, Amen has had some experience being the lead ball-handler for this team, but I just don't think he's ready yet.

Option C is to make a trade for an experienced replacement point guard. This is the option that makes the most sense. The downside to this option is that Fred VanVleet would almost certainly have to be included in this trade. I was thinking about quality point guards that would be realistic trade options for the Rockets. The two options that I liked the most were Jrue Holiday and CJ McCollum. I decided to go with CJ McCollum because I think the Wizards would be more willing to trade for a guy like Fred VanVleet who will miss most, if not all of the 2025-26 season, due to the team being so early in their rebuild. And even though VanVleet won't play, just having him on the team would be very beneficial for their young guards like Bub Carrington and Tre Johnson. Many players on the Rockets have spoken about how good of a leader and mentor Fred VanVleet is even when he's not on the court. So even though the Wizards would not win any extra games because of this trade (not that they were going to win many anyways this season), I think it wouldn't be a bad trade for them. And they would also be getting one of the best backup centers in the league in Clint Capela, and a first round pick.

For the Rockets, I think CJ McCollum would be a great option because he's an experienced veteran, he's been to the playoffs many times in his career so he knows how to handle that pressure, he's a terrific shooter, and he's a solid playmaker. Is he the playmaker that Fred VanVleet is? No. But he has shown that he can be the primary ball handler.

The unfortunate thing about trying to trade Fred VanVleet is that due to signing an extension this offseason, he cannot be traded until December 15, so no matter what the Rockets will have to figure some sort of rotation at point guard, whether it's Reed being moved up to the starting lineup, or sliding Amen over to the point.

This was the best trade I could come up with that works financially for both sides (obviously it says failed because Fred VanVleet can't be traded yet, but I'm imagining this trade taking place once he can be traded). I also need to find a way to get the Rockets 1 more player in this deal, so it would have to be an end-of-bench guy just to keep the financial logistics of the trade intact.

If you don't like the trade for one side or the other, or both, and you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know in the comments.