Houston Rockets’ Trade Deadline Plans Shift as Reed Sheppard’s Emergence Changes Everything
Just over a month left for the NBA trade deadline, and the Houston Rockets have a major problem–one that any team would love to have. Thanks to their decision to consistently give Reed Sheppard 20+ minutes in every game since November 7, the young guard has delivered some great performances. And now this drops Ime Udoka’s team into a dilemma, whether to trade a new point guard to cover for Fred VanVleet, who suffered an unfortunate ACL tear that ended his season before it could even kick off.
Let’s roll it back a little! The Rockets had a pretty busy offseason, and Kevin Durant’s historic trade was a testament to it. Although they started their 2025-26 NBA season with high hopes after ending a four-year-long playoff drought in the previous year, they soon faced some roadblocks that slowed down their progress.
Then entered the Reed Sheppard, the 21-year-old prodigy who happens to be in his sophomore year with the Houston Rockets. His blistering 28-point performance against the Denver Nuggets and 31-point game vs. the Golden State Warriors have left Ime Udoka and Co. jaw-dropped and wondering about what the future holds for the young Kentucky-born guard.
And The Stein Line’s Jake L. Fischer believes, “The Rockets are starting to regularly see the sort of production they hoped for from Reed Sheppard with Fred VanVleet lost for the season.”
Well, Fischer’s claims seem logical. Reed Sheppard’s performance has certainly grown ever since he has been getting regular game time! And his stats prove the same.
Reed Sheppard’s Rise Has Been a Boon in Disguise for Houston Rockets
There’s absolutely no doubt regarding Sheppard’s shooting abilities. Various analysts and experts have highly rated the Kentucky-born. Notably, his shots from 50 percent of the court’s depth garnered nationwide attention when he played for the University of Kentucky. Later, when he entered the 2024 NBA Draft, the Rockets got him as the 3rd overall pick.
Since then, Reed Sheppard played 79 games (as of December 25, 2025), out of which 52 games came in the 2024-25 season, where he averaged merely 4.5 PPG. However, things changed when the 21-year-old point guard started to get more time inside the court earlier this 2025-26 season.
The Kentucky-born star now averages 13.3 PPG in the 27 games he has played so far. Moreover, his field goal percentage is around 45.3 percent, indicating considerable growth from last season, when he had a 35.1 percent rate. Additionally, since he was sent to the court for more than 20 minutes, the Houston Rockets have recorded 12 wins and eight losses.
Well, these numbers do state Reed Sheppard has finally entered the big man’s league. And if he manages to upscale his game by twenty to thirty percent, who knows, he might turn out to be the Rockets’ regular point guard in the near future!
Houston Rockets’ Trade Deadline Plans Shift as Reed Sheppard’s Emergence Changes Everything
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