A cruel twist of fate for Fred VanVleet and the Houston Rockets has thrust not only their 2025-26 season into doubt, but their bigger picture as well. Could the end result be a rekindling of the Miami Heat’s interest in Kevin Durant?
VanVleet is undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee, and expected to miss the entire 2025-26 campaign, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. This news is a devastating blow for the Rockets, who were being ranked among the league’s foremost contenders after beating out Miami and other teams in the KD sweepstakes. It isn’t clear how good they will be now, and how that will impact Durant’s view of their future.
Kevin Durant could hit free agency in 2026 after all
Houston is deep and talented enough to remain more than respectable without FVV. But the Western Conference is a bear, and the offense's fate will now be more prominently tied to the performance of sophomore Reed Sheppard, and reserve Aaron Holiday than it's supposed to be.
This says nothing of the defensive hurdles the Rockets must clear. VanVleet spent more time guarding primary ball-handlers last season than any other regular rotation player on the roster, according to BBall Index. With Dillon Brooks now on the Phoenix Suns, Amen Thompson’s job just got a whole lot more complicated. Houston will need either Holiday or Sheppard to hold their own, otherwise it’ll be hitting the Josh Okogie button.
Moral of the story: There is officially more variance baked into the Rockets’ 2025-26 season. That is an uncomfortable spot in which to be when Durant has yet to sign an extension, and wants to spend his remaining days contending for titles.
It’s not like this is a one-season issue, either. VanVleet will be 32 in 2026-27, and attempting to come back from a major injury. That may be part of KD’s calculus when assessing Houston’s immediate future.
The Heat should monitor Durant’s situation within reason
There must be limits to Miami’s KD pipe dream—tighter restrictions than it showed even in trade talks with the Suns.
Durant is about to turn 37. He will be 38 when the 2026-27 campaign tips off. Whether it’s to create enough cap space or land him via trade, Durant is not someone for whom the Heat should be mortgaging the future. You can easily make the case that they should avoid targeting him altogether.
One way or another, Miami should get clarity on Durant’s availability soon. Planning around his free agency becomes moot if he signs an extension with the Rockets. In the event he doesn’t, the speculation floodgates will open.
Rest assured, the Heat will be watching. They are nothing if not infatuated with acquiring superstars, and have the ability to carve out gobs of cap space as early as next summer.
Monitoring the situation is perfectly fine. Making it the primary endgame is not—both because KD isn’t necessarily going to be available, and because even if he is, he’s nothing more than a temporary solution to Miami’s superstar void.