The Houston Rockets had a blockbuster of a 2025 offseason with the obvious headline being the addition of aging star Kevin Durant. Houston went from a young, developing core to a franchise with lofty playoff expectations. While this is exciting, it does erase patience with young players and requires a level of focus from each member of your roster. This includes young Rockets guard Reed Sheppard, who is now in an interesting position heading into the 2025-26 season.
While it is only year two, the Rockets are gunning for a championship or at least the Western Conference Finals. Anything less is going to be viewed as a failure with the current veteran core. This speeds up the timeline for Sheppard. Already, the guard was dealing with limited minutes and seemed to be a bit of a frustration at times last season.
There were consistent flashes of the ability, but not enough production to earn minutes. This sets up a sense of urgency for Sheppard to show instant growth in camp and the preseason. Winning minutes on this team is still incredibly difficult, looking at what is now a far more veteran roster.
Rockets Will Have Little Patience For Any Struggles from Talented Guard
How the Rockets are going to deploy the second-year player will be one of the more interesting stories to watch when the season first tips off. It wouldn't be shocking to see Reed become possible trade bait to add a final piece to what is a franchise with championship aspirations. For this to change, Sheppard needs to show instant growth from last season and win a contributing role off the bench.
If this doesn't happen, patience isn't going to be at the same level as a season ago. A higher sense of urgency and understanding of the value of every game could cut Sheppard's time with the franchise a bit short. At the very least, it will put the guard at the end of the bench with little hope of earning consistent minutes.
All of this adds up to Sheppard needing to understand how vital a hot start to the year will be. Any more of last year's inconsistencies and it seems the guard is likely going to be stuck on the bench or become a trade option for a team looking to add a reclamation project. No question, the pressure is on for the young guard thanks to Houston's splashy offseason additions.