Rockets’ Fred VanVleet cited as potential target for Lakers

The Houston Rockets have drafted point guards in back-to-back drafts, albeit very different types, with Reed Sheppard and Amen Thompson doing very different things. Despite those two promising young talents, Fred VanVleet should once again be a major player.

In fact, last season the Rockets moved Thompson to the wing, allowing him to share the court with VanVleet, who ranked sixth in minutes played in 2023-24. VanVleet served as a vocal leader and guiding force for a relatively young group last season.

Does the franchise need the same from him this season or could it look to sell the 2019 NBA champion, who has value as an expiring contract? If it’s the latter, what teams would be interested?

According to Maxwell Ogden of Lake Show Life, the Los Angeles Lakers could be a team to watch as the trade deadline approaches.

“If the Lakers are struggling before the trade deadline, then cutting salaries and potentially starting from scratch in 2025 wouldn’t be the worst idea. It would be costly for Los Angeles, but it would also allow it to shed multi-year salaries if it hopes to do so.”

That could include Rui Hachimura’s $18,259,259 for the 2025-26 campaign, the $11.5 million owed to Gabe Vincent for 2025-26 and the entirety of Jarred Vanderbilt’s four-year extension that begins this season.

That’s unlikely to happen, as the Lakers would have to give the Rockets reason to believe this trade actually works for them. That might require including first-round draft compensation and a belief in Houston that a combination of Hachimura, Vanderbilt and Vincent can improve the quality of the roster.

Still, if the Rockets are looking to make a splash and the Lakers are hoping to shed salary, trading for VanVleet and declining his team option would completely change the outlook for the franchise.

Interestingly, VanVleet is represented by Klutch Sports Group, which is run by Rich Paul, a longtime friend and business partner of Lakers superstar LeBron James. James and Anthony Davis are both represented by Klutch, and the Lakers have developed a bit of a history of targeting Klutch’s floor generals, as the franchise set its sights on Dejounte Murray last season.

But as always, it takes two to tango. And the Lakers don’t have much to offer. Not to mention the difficulty of matching VanVleet’s $42.85 million.

It will definitely be worth paying attention to, though.

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