Blockbuster Fred VanVleet trade can rescue the Rockets' season from disaster

The Houston Rockets are reeling in the wake of losing Fred VanVleet for the season. Could they turn disaster into a bold move to remake the roster and contend for a championship right now? If so, their top target might just be Boston Celtics guard Derrick White.

NBA teams need stars, and contending teams need multiple stars. Yet it's not so simple as merely adding great players; you need players that fit well together. The Houston Rockets know that well; Fred VanVleet was so valuable to this team because of his ability to play on-and-off the ball, to run the offense and space the court for others. He wasn't good enough on his own to be the best player on a title team, but as the third banana he was perfect.

Finding a replacement doesn't just mean looking for another star; it means finding a player who can replace all or at least most of what VanVleet did for this team. It means finding a guard who can handle and run the offense, but who can also shoot well enough to space the court, and who can defend at the point of attack to key one of the league's best defenses. Those are big shoes to fill.

Yet if the Rockets need a finishing piece for a contending team, perhaps looking to the rosters of recent title winners is the way to go. The Oklahoma City Thunder likely aren't selling Alex Caruso; the Indiana Pacers are committed to Andrew Nembhard. The Boston Celtics, however, are selling off the pieces of their 2024 title team -- and still boast the exact player that the Rockets need.

The Rockets should make a trade offer for Derrick White

Derrick White is exactly the type of player that the Rockets need. He is one of the best defensive guards in the league, he is a capable ball-handler and has developed into an elite shooter. Last season, White shot 38.2 percent from deep and hit 265 total 3-pointers, fourth-most in the NBA.

Could the Rockets actually pull off such a trade? The Celtics are looking to offload salary and are not prioritizing winning this season, but they also see the 31-year-old White as a core part of their roster and understand his value to them and to the rest of the league. It would need to be a mammoth trade offer.

Houston has a deep war chest of assets; they likely have been holding them for a run at a Top-10 player such as Giannis Antetokounmpo. If they believe in their young pieces and their star upside, however, finding the perfect complementary piece may be in order. That could mean pushing some chips in for White.

What would a Derrick White trade look like? Let's build one out that seeks to compensate the Celtics enough to move off of White, with all three of picks, prospects and financial relief enticing them to trade their two-way guard to Houston.

The Brooklyn Nets have the flexibility under the salary cap to take on money, allowing the Rockets to stay under the first tax apron and the Celtics to drop out of the luxury tax entirely. They not only get a first-round pick for their troubles, they can flip VanVleet for value next summer once he has recovered.

The Celtics get back a haul for White. They get a young guard in Reed Sheppard to develop into a future starter or flip during the season for a veteran star. Haywood Highsmith can either hang around as a rotation wing or be moved, but his contract is a bargain. The 2027 swap with the Nets offers the upside of some previous Nets swaps the team once held, and they get a second pick from the Rockets' own collection.

Is this move worth making for the Rockets? It mostly comes down to an evaluation of their current roster. Kevin Durant is ready to win now, but the Rockets didn't invest too heavily in trading for him -- indeed, they are paying more for White here than they did for the future first-ballot Hall of Famer. If Houston believes that Sengun, Jabari Smtih Jr. and Amen Thompson are ready to win now, they shouldn't waste the season with an injured VanVleet on the bench.

If they aren't sure, pushing in the chips now for a non-star lowers their chances of winning a bidding war for a superstar in the next couple of years. Derrick White is a finishing piece; Houston needs to be confident the rest of the roster is ready to contend.

This deal isn't legal until a few weeks into the season; no substantive deal for Houston will be. That gives the team some time to evaluate the roster and decide whether it's time to go all-in or bide their time for another star. If they decide to make a run, it's hard to argue with adding a player like Derrick White.