Where do Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks and others fit: Rockets depth chart 2.0

The initial wave of free agency has come and gone and the Rockets were able to get the bulk of their business done, signing their top point guard and wing targets in Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks.

It took a serious chunk of their available $66 million in cap space — VanVleet signing a three-year, $130 million deal and Brooks getting $80 million over four years via sign-and-trade — not to mention the additions of recent NBA champion Jeff Green and Jock Landale — but Houston was able to add four veterans who are ready to step in and contribute to winning from day one.

Now, the real fun begins.

Late last month, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka spoke about the prospect of adding several veterans to the roster and highlighted “the level of competition” which would naturally be raised with the changes on the horizon.

“Nothing is handed out anymore,” Udoka said regarding playing time. “We’ve stressed that to the guys. For us, it’s just adding the right guys, raising the level of our organization and I think those veterans will help. We love the young talented guys and it’s a balance. It might not be the starter or the finisher, it’s how we can balance those lineups out.”

Free agency also ultimately came at a different price — Houston parted ways with former first-round picks TyTy Washington Jr., Josh Christopher and Usman Garuba and 2020 second-round draftee Kenyon Martin Jr., a talented, athletic wing. Punting on the development of three first-round picks in the middle of a rebuild is questionable but given where the Rockets wanted to pivot to, it was a necessary sacrifice. There simply was no easy route to straddle the development/depth chart fence. You could argue that all three should have been given more time on the floor but that was also under an entirely different regime. Moving on from Martin, who stepped into Houston’s starting lineup following Eric Gordon’s departure will hurt to some degree given his upside and athleticism but again, a necessary move to reduce a logjam.

Training camp is still a far away, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t at least some early outline of a Rockets rotation. Let’s take a stab at it…

• I understand Udoka’s comments about nothing being handed to his new players in terms of playing time. VanVleet and Brooks are exceptions to the rule. The days of deploying Porter as a makeshift point guard are over now with a legitimate lead ballhandler and NBA champion under center now. VanVleet will get his teammates organized in the half court and more importantly, he’ll be a capable extension of Udoka on the floor. The combination of VanVleet’s demeanor, intelligence and experience make him the perfect mentor for Amen Thompson as he grows into the league. I still think Houston will utilize Porter as a ballhandler but it’s more of a luxury now than a necessity. The Rockets have done a decent job helping him develop into a player who can create for others, but he”ll be much more effective without the weight of carrying an offense on his shoulders.

• In a similar breath, Brooks slots in as Houston’s primary ball-stopper from this point onward. Udoka is probably already cooking up aggressive coverages as we speak. Antics aside, Brooks didn’t waltz into an All-Defense selection last season — he snatched it, a theme we’ll see routinely for the foreseeable future. We’re talking about a switchable, sturdy wing who is going to annoy you like Patrick Beverley and Marcus Smart, has the upper body strength of a prime P.J. Tucker and the hands and footwork of a top cornerback. Brook’s new deal comes with incentives and bonuses, according to league sources.

• There was genuine internal disappointment in not being able to land Brook Lopez in free agency. With that being said, assuming we don’t see another Deandre Ayton situation where Landale was consistently eating into his playing time, Alperen Şengün should be able to lock that starting center job by the time the dust settles. The talent and upside are just too much to ignore at this point. There should be a solid role for the incoming Landale — he was a sneaky good rim protector last season for the Suns and caught the attention during the postseason. But I don’t think he’s nearly as dynamic enough as Şengün to displace him. That being said, Şengün needs to take additional steps in his development, notably on the defensive end but if the rumors of his mini-growth spurt are true, he should be in a good spot for improvement. Jeff Green is internally regarded as a small ball center, stemming from his 2019-20 stint.

• Recent summer scuttlebutt points to the duo of Tari Eason and Jae’Sean Tate as early defensive standouts. Houston, at least on paper, seems to be in a much better defensive culture than this time last season. The likes of Eason, Tate, VanVleet, Smith and now Brooks are a good starting point for a team that has dwelled at the bottom of the league in defensive efficiency. Eason’s impressive defensive effort as a rookie — an 88th percentile impact per Cleaning the Glass — should only continue to ascend. If Tate is able to recapture some of his rookie season two-way form and assuming Thompson’s versatility translates, the Rockets’ second unit is set up to have some intensity and aggression that can consistently push the starters. Training camp battles will be interesting.

• There’s a plan for Cam Whitmore, the Villanova product taken with the 20th pick in last month’s draft but I would stress patience. There’s no need to throw him into the fire right away, especially given the number of players presumably ahead of him on the depth chart. Again, Udoka’s presence gives reason to believe there’s an equal opportunity once camp opens but don’t be surprised if he’s brought along on a similar path to Martin, where he spent some time with the Rio Grande Vipers, Houston’s G League affiliate.

• At a glance, the Rockets could still use another veteran combo guard. Houston is still surveying the market for guard depth, team sources say, with their full room mid-level exception still available ($7.7 million) and about $4.5 million left in cap space after their early spending spree.

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