“Reed (Sheppard) is going to have to be really good for us,” Rafael Stone tells SportsTalk 790. “We’ve penciled him in for a big role, and everything we’ve seen… is that he’s ready for it.”
On occasion, second-year guard Reed Sheppard may have seen his name in trade speculation during the 2025 offseason. But it wasn’t because the Houston Rockets had any interest in moving him.
In a conversation with Matt Thomas, radio play-by-play voice of the Rockets and host of The Matt Thomas Show with Ross on flagship radio station SportsTalk 790, general manager Rafael Stone was asked about some of the speculation.
“His name was being bandied about not because of us, but because other teams wanted him,” Stone said. “We were not very interested. We definitely want to play this out and give Reed a chance to develop.”
Sheppard played only sparingly as a rookie, which is unusual for a player drafted at No. 3 overall (as the Kentucky product was in the 2024 first round). But, as Stone explained, it is also unusual for a team as talented and deep as the 2024-25 Rockets to have such a high pick. (Houston drafted Sheppard with a selection obtained from the Brooklyn Nets).
“He came into a very full formed and super deep team last year,” Stone said of the Rockets, who finished at 52-30 and with the second-best record in the Western Conference. “We were able to carve out a little niche for him, and just as he started playing great, he broke his thumb.”
Based on that limited playing time, that may have mistakenly led other teams — or media members or fans following those teams — into thinking Sheppard was potentially available this offseason.
Looking ahead to 2025-26, Sheppard is now fully healthy, and the Rockets are expanding his role for a team that suddenly has championship aspirations following its blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant.
“Reed is going to have to be really good for us,” Stone told SportsTalk 790. “We’ve penciled him in for a big role, and everything we’ve seen in practices and everything else is that he’s ready for it. But practices aren’t games, so he’s going to have to transfer it.”
Sheppard’s sophomore season will start with a stint at the NBA’s 2025 summer league, which opens for the Rockets on Friday night in Las Vegas.
“It’ll be a little bit of a barometer to see where he’s at,” Stone said of the upcoming summer-league games. “But he’s been in the gym every day. He’s working on his physicality, which I love. He works really hard, and he’s really smart. And I do think he’s absurdly talented.”
Sheppard shot 40.6% on 3-pointers from February onward, and the Rockets are looking for the 21-year-old to further develop and refine his point-guard skills over the coming days and weeks. When the 2025-26 season begins in October, Sheppard is expected to enter Houston’s regular playing rotation as the backup to incumbent starter Fred VanVleet.