Rockets nation, how are we doing after that offseason gut punch? If that’s not hurting enough, here comes Bill Simmons. Now, the analyst has never been the ‘yay Rockets’ kind of guy. You’d even think he’s hyped that Houston lost Fred VanVleet as an option. By his own admission, he felt VanVleet was a hurdle to Houston’s title chances. This time he’s doing a U-turn. But is he giving the Rockets the benefit of the doubt? Never.

For those who didn’t get their afternoon ruined, Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet is out indefinitely from the 2025-26 season after suffering a torn ACL. VanVleet, who signed a $50 million extension in June, a price worth the turnaround he brought to the team despite what Simmons says.

With Amen Thompson and now Kevin Durant, the Rockets were the frontrunners for a championship. That’s completely changed. Simmons very bluntly laid it out on his podcast immediately after the news: “I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that this injury by itself takes the Rockets from a team that could plausibly win the championship to a team that might not be able to win, slash maybe can’t win, the championship. Like he’s that important.”

The Rockets still have their young core and now veteran leadership in KD. But without VanVleet, the dynamic shifts in a way that will amp the pressure on Slim. “I just think they have just nobody like Fred VanVleet and no sort of traditional point guard who can calm you down,” Simmons further noted. “They have Durant now, and I think one of the ripple effects of this is like the risk of overtaking Durant in the first 40 games of the season, like running a bunch of pick and rolls, all that stuff. So I think it’s like, I think it’s a disaster for the Rockets.”

KD’s handled worse, a seasoned fan would say. He has. He’s painfully familiar with this scenario. And the toll it takes. Simmons’ scenario implies Kevin Durant landed in the same situation he escaped from.

Kevin Durant is once again the reluctant shot-caller

Houston, we may not have a problem. As the veteran on the team, the youngsters might not only defer to Kevin Durant, but the playmaking might just fall on him, too. He’s a forward but not exactly inexperienced in this.

The Rockets were one of the few rosters not in the positionless basketball setup. Every player had a well-defined role, including VanVleet. Once more, Durant is in a situation without a point guard, the very defining problem of his time in Phoenix.

The Suns put three ball-dominant players on one team without a point guard. Most gravitated to KD for playmaking. He wasn’t bad. But the score-first mentality, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal’s styles, and the design of the team made the rotation very confusing. Not surprisingly, this Big 3 was disadvantageous to the Suns.

It’s exactly why KD and Beal took an out, and the 2x NBA champ landed in Houston. But it might not be the worst thing. The Rockets are younger and built differently than the Suns. Alperen Sengun — a big with playmaking abilities. Amen Thompson has point guard experience before he shifted to more of a forward in Houston.

Strategically, the Rockets still have the capacity to distribute plays among their roster. However, Simmons still thinks they should fill VanVleet’s void with a very bullish trade. He recommends the Rockets send Reed Shepprad to the Celtics to get Derrick White. But the Celtics refused to trade White earlier in the offseason. Unlikely they’d give up on him now.

Besides, Houston has very limited resources and is restricted in the first apron. They have about six trade-eligible contracts they have to hang onto for the future. Ime Udoka will have to make the core he’s got work without VanVleet. Whether KD has the biggest role in that big picture, we’ll know when the season begins.