Inside The Rockets

NBA Free Agency: 'Legitimate Surprise' If Rockets Don't Sign Dillon Brooks, Fred VanVleet

Dillon Brooks and Fred VanVleet are reportedly set to sign with the Houston Rockets early in free agency on Friday.

Jeremy Brener

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With just over 24 hours until the start of the NBA's free agency, all eyes are on the Houston Rockets, the team with the most cap space in the league.

The Rockets are armed with over $60 million in cap space, linking them to some of the league's top free agents. NBA insider Marc Stein believes that at least two of them should sign with Houston in the early hours of free agency.

"It has reached the point when I speak to various teams that it would be a legitimate leaguewide surprise now if Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks don’t strike verbal agreements to join the Houston Rockets by Friday night," NBA insider Marc Stein wrote.

VanVleet and Brooks are expected to command most of the Rockets' cap space in free agency, but the team should still have room to sign other players.

VanVleet went undrafted out of Wichita State in 2016, but has become one of the more inspiring NBA success stories since. This past season, he averaged 19.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, a career-high 7.2 assists and 1.8 steals while starting all 69 of the games he appeared in.

Brooks played a major role in helping the Grizzlies obtain a 51-31 record last season averaging 14.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists. However, Memphis' early elimination in the playoffs prompted the Grizzlies to make a change, and the team reportedly won't re-sign him "under any circumstances."

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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