Houston's bargain contracts carried a top-five payroll, and two returning veterans now have to close the gap

2026-09-28

Houston's biggest offseason addition is two returning names: its lead guard and its backup big.

Fred VanVleet tore his right ACL and meniscus in a preseason workout and missed all of last season, which ended in the first round. Steven Adams had season-ending ankle surgery in January after a Grade 3 sprain.

The Houston Rockets also added Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanovic, and all seven main rotation players return, including Kevin Durant, Alperen Şengün and Amen Thompson.

Last season, 38% of the payroll sat with players rated Steal!, so the best-value end of the sheet did the carrying. This works because that end held: the 5th-highest payroll bought the 8th-most wins.

The team WAGE Score did slide to 66 last season from 81 in 2024-25, but it slid without the starting point guard.

I like the ask: neither veteran must carry the offense, only steady it. It's early, and knee and ankle rehab can look clean in October and complicated by March.

Zoom out: matching the spending rank means turning the 8th-most wins into top-five wins, a gap for two returning veterans to close, not a roster to rebuild.