Ime Udoka, the coach of the Houston Rockets, has stated that he would prefer the team to sign Fred VanVleet in free agency over James Harden. The preference, according to Udoka and ESPN’s Zach Lowe, was ball dominance—or, in VanVleet’s case, lack of it. Although VanVleet is a fantastic spot-up shooter, he will start at point guard to give the Rockets’ young guards, Jalen Green and Amen Thompson, more opportunities to create plays with the ball in their hands.
“Nothing against James, but Fred is just a better fit,” Udoka stated. “In Brooklyn, I was James’s coach. He’s among the most astute players I’ve ever encountered. I never said, ‘Ime doesn’t want James,’ either. It was, ‘Let’s see which one fits the best.’ Jalen and the young guys need to have the ball if we want them to advance. It was never my intention to indicate that I don’t want James. Fit was the key.
Udoka is contesting some of this reporting, but he is primarily arguing over semantics; he is arguing that Harden wasn’t what he wanted on this specific squad, especially when there was a less-used option. The fact that Udoka was certain VanVleet would dominate on defence and guide the Rockets’ younger players was undoubtedly helpful as well.
Everything about this makes sense! In a podcast with Green, Paul George stated that it would have been strange for a rebuilding team—even one attempting to advance—to bring back its previous franchise player at the age of 34 and impede Green’s development. There were plenty of basketball-related reasons to select VanVleet over Harden, including Udoka’s desire to create a defensive culture and move the ball quickly on offence.
