3 Reasons Houston Rockets’ Fred VanVleet signing opens door for Kevin Porter Jr. trade

1. Kevin Porter Jr. is being effectively demoted

The Houston Rockets didn't sign Fred VanVleet to a $100-plus million contract to have him come off the bench. The writing was on the wall as soon as it was reported that the Rockets were in the market for VanVleet. After starting nearly every game for the Rockets since he was acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers, it's going to be difficult for Porter to embrace a completely different role than he's used to.

That's not to say that he won't be open to it; perhaps this is something the Rockets ran by him before they even went fully in on the idea of signing VanVleet. Still, there's a good chance it ends up being a difficult transition for Porter. Going from almost 35 minutes per game to 23-25 isn't an easy pill to swallow for any young player that is just coming into his own in the league.

And you can't imagine that it will be for Porter. After being a starter for almost three seasons, Porter is going to be asked to come off the bench. At best, he'll be a sixth man. I can't imagine that's the career trajectory a 23-year-old wants. Objectively speaking, that could be a problem.