Rockets make their solution to their dire Fred VanVleet problem crystal clear

As the Houston Rockets have entered the season, they have felt the loss of starting point guard Fred VanVleet exceedingly hard, with neither Amen Thompson nor Reed Sheppard looking capable, as of yet, of taking over the facilitation duties that were left in his absence.

However, the Rockets have now made their plan to address this problem clear as they plan to apply for a Disabled Players Exemption (DPE), per Yahoo Sports, which could allow them, later on in the season, to bring in a player to bolster the depth of the backcourt.

While their receiving of the exemption will still need league approval, it has become clear that the team desperately needs an additional guard, and this is the first step they need to take to get one on the roster. Although they still will not be able to sign or trade for a player at the moment as a result of their proximity to the first apron, this exemption could lay the framework for a deal down the road.

The Rockets will hopefully use the Disabled Player Exemption to provide extra help to their backcourt, when they can

When VanVleet went down with an ACL tear in a team mini-camp late this offseason, anyone who was aware of Houston's roster construction knew that it was going to be a major issue. Although Thompson and Sheppard are both capable passers in their own right, they are liable to get sped up by pressure from point-of-attack defenders, and Sheppard's own defensive liabilities make it difficult to even give him minutes in the first place.

Beyond that, the Rockets have largely been unable to even sign or trade for an additional guard as a result of their various financial restrictions. As a result of their sign-and-trade for Clint Capela, the team is hard-capped at the first apron, and, as a result of the numerous players they signed or re-signed this summer, virtually every piece that could be used as tradeable salary is restricted from being moved until December.

Therefore, the DPE, which will allow Houston to sign a player making half of VanVleet's $25 million annual salary, is virtually their last hope to provide this roster with help before it becomes too late.

While they are still hard-capped at the first apron, and will likely not be able to use the exemption right away, it will also allow them to perhaps grab a player that is being salary dumped by another team, as long as that player is making $12.5 million or less and is on the last year of their contract.

If these options sound slim, it's because Houston is in relatively dire straits attempting to navigate this financial conundrum. However, applying for the DPE is the first step toward achieving any semblance of flexibility: a step that could turn out to be absolutely crucial to the team's chances at contention this season.