Rockets face a massive barrier to replacing VanVleet - and it could doom them

As the Houston Rockets face a disastrous scenario, with starting point guard Fred VanVleet possibly out for the season with an ACL injury and limited backcourt depth, the team is already in a sticky spot attempting to cobble together a rotation.

Yet, the situation has become even more dire with the revelation that, due to their proximity to the first apron, the Rockets are almost entirely hindered from replacing VanVleet through the open market.

Although they do have players like Amen Thompson, Aaron Holiday and Reed Sheppard who can perhaps take over the role for the time being, none of those players are proven playmakers, and it may be a long struggle until Houston can somehow find a way to fill that gap.

The Rockets might not be able to replace VanVleet because of their financial situation

Houston knew that, in taking on superstar scorer Kevin Durant and focusing their offseason energies on doubling down on their frontcourt, that they were leaving their backcourt relatively thin. While Holiday has proven himself as an underrated role player, there is almost no indication in his game that he can take on a larger workload effectively, and Reed Sheppard looked to be a rotation piece this season solely for developmental purposes.

Yet, the team as it was constructed was ready to contend. With a dominant scoring duo of Durant and Alperen Sengun along with one of the most versatile rotations in the league, the Rockets seemed poised to overcome that weakness through the sheer depth of their other positions.

This depth, however, has created a financial issue. Houston is hard-capped at the first apron, and, as of now, they will be unable to add anyone to the roster even if they exercise an exception to account for VanVleet's injury.

Moreover, they are ineligible to trade any players they signed this summer, including Steven Adams, Clint Capela, Jae'Sean Tate, or Josh Okogie, until December 15, limiting their ability to even dump salary in a trade or bring back a guard.

While potential solutions, such as polarizing guard Russell Westbrook, still remain free agents, Houston frustratingly has no power whatsoever to rectify this disastrous situation.

Therefore, they will need to lean heavily on Sengun and Durant to be playmakers for this team, slotting in a capable scorer such as Thompson at the point guard position and hoping the offense irons itself out.

Nevertheless, this is certainly a less-than-ideal scenario for a contending team, and the front office can only watch from the sidelines as it plays itself out.