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Adam Wexler: #Rockets have recalled Isaiah Crawford from @RGVVipers . Houston at Indiana tonight with Adams (ankle), VanVleet (knee) & Durant (left ankle sprain) OUT.
Fred VanVleet: “The only funny thing is when I was in Toronto and uh like Masai just moved like Batman. Like he’s just like a super boss. So he come in and out and he wasn’t real like active in day-to-day practices and [__] like that. But he was just real executive like. But man, around this time of the year he come in — he’d be there. And he walk around that gym on that phone.” “Man, listen. [laughter] You working out in the morning before practice start and that man walking around the baseline, walking around the gym, working that phone, coming in out of that office. M— is like, ‘Man, somebody getting traded today.’ And more often than not, he didn’t do nothing. Like he was real not — you know, not active at the deadline for my years that I was there.”
VanVleet also used the same platform to praise Rockets head coach Ime Udoka, drawing a direct line to his coaching roots under Gregg Popovich, Basketball Network reports. “He gets credit for the stern face and holding guys accountable,” VanVleet said. “But I really just call him the black Pop. He came up under Pop.”
But with VanVleet likely not returning this season, folks say the Rockets need to get one, at least to finish the year. Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade gave the Rockets a hint. "Blake said, standing around. UD, they need an organizer. They need a quarterback. They need a conductor. They need a guy who can get guys into their spots. They need a guy who can play with bigs. They got Sengun, they got Adams... Chris Paul out there. You need a veteran. They need a guy who don't need to score. Chris Paul out there. Just throw that out there…These are all the things that Chris Paul does well," said Wade.
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Houston, meanwhile, wanted Brooks to influence its young core. The Rockets banked that Brooks' toughness and work ethic would set the tone, alongside fellow free agent acquisition Fred VanVleet and recently hired head coach Ime Udoka, as the franchise's rebuild entered what owner Tilman Fertitta termed as "Phase II." After dwelling in or near the West cellar the previous three years, the Rockets made a leap to 41-41 in 2023-24 and 52-30 last season. Brooks embraced his role as a mentor and defensive menace, accepting that he was usually the fifth offensive option in Houston's starting lineup. "He helped change the culture over here," said Rockets guard Amen Thompson, a rising star who was a rookie when Brooks arrived in Houston. "I feel like Houston loves him. They embrace him and that's my guy. That's like a big brother to me."
Bobby Marks: Re: VanVleet A player is allowed to return from an injury even if a team is granted the Disabled Player Exception. The lone impact is the DPE goes away if a player comes back early. In this case it doesn’t matter since the exception expires on March 10.
Re: VanVleet
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) January 8, 2026
A player is allowed to return from an injury even if a team is granted the Disabled Player Exception.
The lone impact is the DPE goes away if a player comes back early.
In this case it doesn’t matter since the exception expires on March 10. https://t.co/g8fZ7s2b7d
SiriusXM NBA Radio: "I know for a fact that Fred VanVleet is working very hard to at the very least to put a late season return on the table" @TheSteinLine discusses a potential boost for the #Rockets with @talkhoops Hear Deals and Dunks weekdays from 1-2 PM ET https://sxm.app.link/DealsAndDunksListen…
Fred VanVleet: People are not going to appreciate Kevin Durant fully until he's not playing anymore. We see this with all of the greats. But I remember my favorite Allen Iverson interviews. I remember my favorite Kobe Bryant interviews. And I'm just thinking about it from like a KD fan perspective. I think that'll be an interview that people can go back to, where you can get a great look at his mindset and who he is, his personality as a man. I think it showed his comfort in his own skin. So that part was dope.
Prior to the season, much was made about the Rockets' point guard situation given the ACL injury sustained by Fred VanVleet. Thus far, Ime Udoka has shown increased trust in second year guard Reed Sheppard to handle the ball, which has eased those concerns for now. However, recently, former NBA All-Star Jeff Teague took to his Club 520 podcast to drop some advice for Houston on how to get better in that department. “They need to trade for James Harden… Tell James you want him to play like he was in Brooklyn. Be the point guard… Him and [Kevin Durant] being together… They got a real chance,” said Teague.
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Fred VanVleet: Kawhi Leonard changed my view on a lot of sh*t, but it was one thing in particular that I overheard and he didn't say it to me. I just overheard it and it was a conversation that was being had and the sentiment of the conversation because I ain't going to quote nobody, but the sentiment of the conversation was when we won the championship in 2019 about all that sh*t he’s like ‘I’m better than Kobe Bryant’… [Durant reacts] Right? I had the same reaction because Kobe is my man. Like Kobe is… that's it for me. That's as good as it gets for me as a as a little kid up into a man. Like my eyes what I seen. But I started thinking to myself like I know how I feel about where I stand because I'm on the court and I'm playing against some of these guys and the your favorites and who people might you know what I'm saying? And when he said it, I said, "Well, if I'm him," and that right, just those three words changed how I look at the game. If I'm him, how do I feel? Kevin Durant: It's not a bad thing to feel that way. But I don't like it like use dudes as example and say like, "Oh, since I did this, I'm better than this." But I get that mindset.
As has been the case so often in recent years, the Rockets found a way to get what they wanted without shortening the team's shelf life by making desperate moves. That’s been a mantra of sorts for Stone, who values this young core greatly and has frequently resisted the temptation to reach for overpriced roster shortcuts. Case in point, league sources say they’re not interested in pursuing Memphis’ Ja Morant despite having lost veteran point guard Fred VanVleet for the season with a torn ACL.
Fred VanVleet: "I’m reading my Twitter... they killing me. They sending me death threats. They saying, 'N*gga, you suck, man. We [ __ ] hate you. [ __ ] your family. We want Jeremy Lin to play over you!' Woo woo—this, that, and the third. All this [ __ ], man. "Oh man. Toronto is vicious when it comes to that. They’re great when you’re winning—and they’re vicious when you’re not doing what you’re supposed to do. So I was internalizing all of that. It’s funny, because I’m so crazy—I’ll look back through my phone and I had videos from the game where [ __ ] weren’t passing me the ball. Like, this was a shot I needed, and I’m getting looked off. You know what I’m saying? But all people see is the stats at the end. I was shooting like 11%. And you know, I’m already small. So I wasn’t able to get my shot off. Wasn’t getting any pick-and-rolls. They didn’t need me."
