Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet intends to sign a two-year, $50 million contract to remain with the franchise, with a player option for the 2026-27 season.
According to sources, the Rockets will decline the $44.9 million team option for next season, and are now finalizing a new agreement with VanVleet’s representative, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul.
VanVleet, 31, returns to a Rockets roster recently strengthened by the stellar trade that included Kevin Durant, a 15-time All-Star.
The player, who was an All-Star and NBA champion (2019 with the Toronto Raptors), has helped lead the Rockets’ turnaround, going from a lottery team to a playoff contender during his two seasons in Houston.
After signing a three-year contract with the team in the summer of 2023, VanVleet helped Houston improve from 22 wins to 41 in his first year. Then, the Rockets won 52 games to secure the second spot in the Western Conference last season, ending a four-year playoff drought.
He averaged 14.1 points in the 2024-25 season, his lowest in a season since 2018-19, but averaged 18.7 points per game in the playoffs. The Rockets were eliminated in the first round by the Golden State Warriors in seven games, but that wasn’t due to VanVleet, who averaged 24.3 points with 56% shooting and 64% on 3-point attempts in the last four games of the series.
VanVleet is a relentless defender who succeeds on offense through playmaking and three-point shooting. He was second on the team in three-point attempts per game last season, with 7.7. However, he tends to struggle with efficiency and shot below 40% from the field in the 2024-25 season for the fourth time in his career.
The nine-year veteran has averaged 14.9 points and 5.7 assists in his career.
