After Shams reported that VanVleet suffered a serious injury with a torn ACL, salary expert Bobby Marks said on social media that the Rockets are currently unable to fill the hole at the point guard position directly by signing a free agent.

Bobby Marks wrote: "The Rockets can't fill the roster hole with free agents unless they make a trade first, and their current payroll is only $1.25 million below the first dirt line. The team can claim the injury exception (worth $14.1 million), but they can't use it because of payroll rule restrictions."