Rockets have made their stance on Aaron Holiday crystal clear

As the Houston Rockets enter the season with an entirely revolutionized offense, a serious weakness still remains in their lack of bona-fide ball-handlers behind veteran guard Fred VanVleet.

Yet, with the departure of Jalen Green in the trade for Kevin Durant, it is likely that 28-year-old Aaron Holiday will be asked to take on a larger role in the backcourt this season, and, given the team's decision to sign depth at other positions this offseason, it is evident that they trust Holiday's numbers to hold up at higher volume.

Although Holiday, at this point in his career, has certainly settled into his spot as a role player, he has a solid perimeter shot, and increasing his minutes could be a gamble that pays off for the Rockets.

Aaron Holiday is slated for a larger role in the Houston offense this season

When sending out both Green and Dillon Brooks in the trade for Durant, Houston knew that they were radically re-shaping their rotation, not only by the departure of two starters but also through the resultant trust they were placing in their role players to pick up some of the slack.

With Durant on the roster, it is likely that Amen Thompson will now slide to the two-spot alongside VanVleet. While Thompson is a dynamic offensive player and is emerging as one the most electrifying defensive players in the league, his ball-handling and outside shot still need time to develop, and the team would be sacrificing an aspect of their offense in order to keep him in the starting lineup.

Therefore, the team's bench unit keeping their offense steady in the non-Durant minutes will be paramount to their success, and the Rockets have placed their trust in both Holiday and Reed Sheppard to take on this task.

Last season, through 62 games, Holiday averaged 5.5 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in just 12.8 minutes per game. More importantly, however, he shot 39.8% from beyond the arc on 2.9 attempts per game: his fourth-straight season approaching or surpassing the 40% threshold.

Now, however, Holiday will likely take on a more significant part of the team's bench minutes, splitting opportunities with Sheppard and likely forming a backcourt tandem with the second-year guard.

In order for this plan to succeed, Holiday will need to up his 3-point volume and his minutes to levels never seen before in his career, and the Rockets, as a result of their refusal to sign additional help on this front, evidently believe that he is capable of doing so.