Eason can't be a starter even if it's the best thing for the team.
As the Houston Rockets enter the 2025-26 NBA season, their largest financial priority, extending soon-to-be restricted free agent Tari Eason, looms large over all of their future plans (including a potential Kevin Durant extension).
As a result of these ongoing negotiations, it remains highly unlikely that Eason will be allowed to take on a starting role, a development that would make negotiations exponentially more contentious, limiting the Rockets' strength in the ability of lineup combinations they are able to put forward in the absence of Fred VanVleet.