Rockets fans won’t get answer on Russell Westbrook call until after opening night

As the Houston Rockets enter the season, their biggest challenge will be attempting to cope with the loss of starting point guard Fred VanVleet, who suffered what is likely a season-ending ACL injury in a team mini-camp late this offseason.

While some combination of Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard will take on that role to start the season for the Rockets, it could quickly become apparent that a more veteran presence is needed to take the reins, but, due to their proximity to the second apron, Houston will need to wait to add any more players to the roster.

Although Russell Westbrook remains unsigned, and his signing could represent a sort of storybook reunion for recent addition Kevin Durant, the team must wait and see how the dominoes fall this season before they can make any moves to bolster their roster.

The Rockets cannot add any players for now due to their being hard-capped at the first apron

Undoubtedly, their backcourt is going to present a major hurdle for the Rockets this season. Even before the VanVleet injury, depth and experience was slim, and, now, with a set of guards who might not be ready to take on that significant of a role, they certainly could need to look for outside help.

However, according to NBA Insider Jake Fischer on the latest edition of his Insider Notebook, Westbrook must wait for further developments if he wishes to come back to Houston: "[The Rockets] are hard-capped at the first apron and are pinching pennies there... there's going to be some type of date where the Rockets would need to wait for a prorated amount of the veteran minimum in order to bring him on board."

Although the Rockets remain in a solid spot to compete for a championship this season, they also lack a certain degree of financial flexibility as a result of their aggressiveness this offseason. Their sign-and-trade for Clint Capela has hard-capped them at the first apron, and the extensive money they owe to players such as Durant, Alperen Sengun and even Fred VanVleet has used up essentially all of that sum.

To make matters worse, they likely cannot make a trade until December, as all of the players they would be willing to trade or that could retrieve any sort of serious value are ineligible to be traded for the time being as a result of the deals they signed this Summer.

If a Westbrook reunion is in the cards, therefore, he must be willing to wait until Houston can free up their books, and, if another opportunity presents itself in the meantime, no one could blame him for taking the route of certainty.