Fred VanVleet On Future With Rockets: ‘This Is Where I Want To Be’

Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet was asked about his future with the team following Sunday night’s Game 7 loss to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference first-round playoff series.

“Obviously, I put my heart and soul into this, and this is where I want to be. It’s definitely a family situation,” VanVleet told reporters in his postgame interview.

“I’ve got a lot of love for our coaching staff, Rafael [Stone], the Fertitta family, what we set out to do when I had my free agent meeting two years ago, and we’re on that track. It was never a short-term vision. It was a long-term goal. We’re on track. We’re on schedule.”

Rockets guard Fred VanVleet on his future: “Obviously, I put my heart and soul into this, and this is where I want to be. It’s definitely a family situation. I’ve got a lot of love for our coaching staff, Rafael (Stone), the Fertitta family, what we set out to do when I had my… pic.twitter.com/L4neTBAeEk

— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) May 5, 2025

Fred VanVleet, 31, signed a three-year, $128.5 million contract with the Rockets during the 2023 offseason. Per Spotrac, his deal includes a 15% trade bonus and a $44.88 million club option for 2025-26.

The Rockets have until June 29 to exercise VanVleet’s option for next season. If Houston picks up his option, the All-Star guard will once again be the highest-paid player on the roster.

In 60 games (all starts) with Houston this season, he averaged 14.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.6 steals, and 35.2 minutes per contest while shooting 37.8% from the field, 34.5% from deep, and 81% at the free throw line.

Rockets Were Outplayed By Warriors

The Warriors became the seventh No. 7 seed in NBA history to advance to the semifinals and eliminated Houston in the playoffs for a fifth time. Golden State defeated the James Harden-led Rockets four times between 2015 and 2019.

Houston forced Game 7 with back-to-back wins in the series. VanVleet scored a combined 55 points in the last two games, but he was held to under 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting on Sunday.

Amen Thompson led the Rockets with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting, and Alperen Sengun finished with 21 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. VanVleet recorded 17 points, seven boards, three assists, and two steals.

Golden State outscored Houston 33-27 in the fourth quarter and shot an impressive 18-of-43 from 3-point range. The Rockets shot just 6-of-18 from beyond the arc.

“We had our chances in this series,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “We all expected to continue to be playing, so it’s a letdown. It’s going to sting now, but use it as motivation and let’s all come back better.”

The Warriors will now face the Timberwolves on Tuesday night in Minnesota.