This NBA Team Just Made The Worst Signing Of The Off-Season
The Houston Rockets have been on the offensive to begin the off-season. With an exceptional draft that landed them their point guard of the future, Amen Thompson, and the best overall steal, Cam Whitmore, the Rockets were flying high or blasting off. But that might've been all undone earlier today with the signing of Fred VanVleet.
Why Was This Such A Bad Signing In Today's NBA?
VanVleet is an excellent payer and is known for being consistent. However, the contract he was given needs to show that. It shows that the Rockets believe he is the next Steph Curry. The Rockets rewarded VanVleet with three years and 130 million dollars. The Rockets will be paying VanVleet an average of 43.3 million dollars per year over the next few seasons. This was a befuddling payment that not even VanVleet was expecting to get. The point guard expected something around 30 million and got much more.
But with this payment comes great expectations. VanVleet has always been solid and, for the past few seasons, has been a borderline all-star at times. But now that he is being paid like one of the best players in the NBA, the fans will expect him to play as such—one of the best players in the league. VanVleet has had the opposite of those expectations since entering the NBA, literally being undrafted and nobody expecting him to be as good as he would become. I wonder whether or not this big change will affect how he plays, and if it does and he is worse than expected, can he handle it?
If This Was So Clearly A Bad Signing, Why Did The Rockets Do It?
The Rockets might've had a few motives for making this egregious signing. Ime Udoka and the organization are worried about maturity and age in the locker room. Within the next expected starting lineup, all of them except VanVleet have been drafted in the last three seasons. This team is very young, a problem you cannot have if you want to win. VanVleet is an older player who worked his way up, something a lot of the Rockets players drafted top five still needs to do.
He'll be able to bring a new sense of veteran leadership and expertise to this young team that will help allow them to not only grow stronger but more effectively. While there were possibly more effective players for this role, like Draymond Green, VanVleet was still a good fit. This allows Amen Thompson to develop behind a more experienced guard and the rest of the young core to work with an older player who knows the game better.
So, How Will This Turn Out?
As I see it, it won't turn out well. Jalen Green is bound to make a jump here in the next few years, and if the other stars are also expected to do, this could strain the Rockets' wallet. VanVleet will not help this scenario at all, taking up a huge portion of the cap space that will eventually be needed. The only bright spot is that it is only a three-year deal. This means that more than likely, it will be up by the time the rest of the young core is due for massive extensions, and the Rockets will have to pay up.
This could have been much worse, but still a horrible signing for the price.
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