Rockets' Kevin Durant extension may have shockingly saved Fred VanVleet

As starting point guard Fred VanVleet went down late in the offseason with a devastating ACL injury, the Houston Rockets' championship hopes took a major hit.

Yet, while this led to certain speculation that the team could be willing to trade VanVleet in order to maximize their chances in their singular guaranteed year with Kevin Durant on the roster, Durant's extension now widens the team's championship window, dramatically lessening any chance there was of VanVleet being dealt in the first place.

While it will be a risky proposition for Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard to take over point guard duties for the team, there is enough upside present in the current iteration of this roster that a deep playoff run is still possible, and, once VanVleet returns next season, this team could be as dangerous as ever.

The Rockets now have a bit more comfort in their pursuit of a championship

When the Rockets trade for Durant this offseason, they were making an obviously aggressive, and somewhat risky, move to accelerate the timeline of their budding young core, giving themselves a chance at bona-fide championship contention much earlier than many thought they would be able to.

Yet, when they traded for Durant, Durant was able to essentially force his way to Houston as a result of the fact that he was on an expiring deal, meaning that there was always the reality that things could go south with the Rockets and that he would depart after just one season.

Therefore, up until Durant signed his two-year, $90 million extension with the organization yesterday, the current championship window for the team, at least with its current outlook, was open for just this season.

When VanVleet went down, therefore, this led to abounding speculation about the organization's willingness to move his $25 million AAV deal in order to bring in a point guard who could help bring this roster back to the level it once projected to be at.

These rumors were further inflamed by the fact that Houston has virtually no flexibility to go out and get another player due to their proximity to the second apron and the trade restrictions on players they signed to new deals this summer.

However, with Durant signed to an extension, any urgency that might have caused these rumors has now dissipated, whether or not the organization would ever have seriously considered dealing such an integral piece of their team.