Rich Paul Dials In $50,000,000 Klutch Athlete to Uncover His Potential Rockets Return With Kevin Durant After ACL Scare

Rich Paul and Max Kellerman discussed the chances of the Rockets winning the championship on Monday's episode of the "Game Over with Max Keller and Rich Paul" podcast. Kellerman showed some faith in Houston but was skeptical of Fred VanVleet's return.

To ease his skepticism, Rich Paul dialed VanVleet during the episode and asked him about his status. (Timestamp: 35:05)

"We are just going to ask Fred, 'how are you feeling?' and are we optimistic," Paul said. "I feel great. I am actually in the middle of rehab right now. I had to answer the phone for Richie P but yeah, I feel great. I am feeling strong and I won't get my hopes high. We'll see where we at in the end," VanVleet said on the phonecall.

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Kellerman said that he would start VanVleet as the sixth man after Paui hung up the phone call. However, the Klutch Sports CEO did not agree with his co-host's idea. He argued that his client was a winner and would start in the lineup if he returned.

Fred VanVleet signed a two-year $50,000,000 contract with the Rockets before the start of the current NBA season. However, he tore his ACL during an offseason workout and has yet to make his debut with the updated squad.

The biggest move the Rockets made during the offseason was to bring in Kevin Durant from the Suns. The two-time NBA champion has proved his worth as a great investment. He is leading the franchise in the points leaderboard, while averaging 25.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists on 50.9% shooting.

Fred VanVleet and Kevin Durant show confidence in the current Rockets squad to do 'something special'

The Houston Rockets defied expectations when they finished in second place in the West. However, they lacked some pieces during the playoffs, which led to their first-round exit at the hands of the Warriors.

However, Houston's front office did its homework during the offseason to fix those shortcomings. On Wednesday's episode of the "Unguarded" podcast, Fred VanVleet and KD expressed confidence in their current group and the possibility of doing something special with them. (Timestamp: 2:01:05)

"We got a good group, man. We got a good group," VanVleet said. "We got a good group of n*****, like good solid dudes," Durant said. "We good solid coaching staff... when you just got good people around, its just like, 'alright, we got a chance to do something special'."

The Rockets (17-9) are in sixth place in the Western Conference standings. They will face the Clippers as their next opponents on Tuesday.

Edited by Avi Shravan