Veteran guard Fred VanVleet isn’t an official member of the Houston Rockets just yet, since contracts agreed to during the opening days of the NBA’s 2023 free agency window can’t be signed until the league’s moratorium ends on Thursday, July 6.
Nonetheless, the 29-year-old is already getting to work this offseason with backcourt mate Jalen Green, who is expected to start next to VanVleet when Houston’s 2023-24 season begins this fall.
Multiple videos posted to social media on Tuesday, July 4, showed VanVleet and Green training with each other near Los Angeles. Green is a California native, and VanVleet recently met with Rockets’ executives in Los Angeles before agreeing to his new contract.
For Green, 21, working diligently with a 2019 NBA champion and now the franchise’s most-highly-paid player certainly can’t hurt as he looks to break out in the ensuing 2023-24 campaign.
Here’s a look at VanVleet and Green’s work together to date, along with reaction from fans and others across social media.