Kevin Durant is a Houston Rocket
6”0, 6”7, 7”0, 6”11, 6”11
As of June 22, 2025, that will be the height of the Houston Rockets’ starting five to start the 2025-2026 season. This morning, the Rockets traded Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, and the #10 pick in this year’s NBA draft to the Phoenix Suns for Kevin Durant. The Durant-to-Houston rumors had heated up in recent weeks, but had been present since around this time last year. They swelled again at the trade deadline, but the Suns’ stubbornness to find the ‘right’ package for the nearly 37-year-old future Hall-of-Famer ultimately was their downfall and led to the Rockets…really not giving up much to take a swing at the former MVP. Some thoughts on the trade:
The Rockets offload Jalen Green, a long-discussed move within the franchise and the fanbase. The former number-two pick never molded into what he was billed as coming out of G-League Ignite - and maybe in a different situation, he’ll blossom into the Kobe-prototype that scouts fawned over when he was coming out of high school. But ultimately, Green’s bloated shot attempts on subpar true field goal % will be an addition by subtraction for the Rockets going into next year.
Green’s departure also opens up more minutes + shots at the 2 (shooting guard) position, which lends itself niceley to an advanced role for last year’s number three overall pick Reed Sheppard, who struggled to find time off the bench for the Rockets this year but who has shown flashes in his limited playing time and that the organization is very excited about and is eager to get into a more significant role in the rotation. Sheppard’s ability to play off-ball and spot up accurately from deep should open up the half-court offense a lot more for Houston (two things not at all in Green’s arsenal).
The Rockets don’t have much value in picking at #10 in the draft this year - Houston has one of the most exciting young cores in the league, and aside from Green, has drafted incredibly well in recent years. As mentioned above with Sheppard, and as is the case with guys like Cam Whitmore and Tari Eason, the Rockets have a stable of young talent that is already thirsting for minutes off the bench. The hit rate at #10 is relatively low, and there’s likely not enough minutes in the rotation for another young, lottery-level talent.
Houston also retains its own draft picks (aside from a few second round picks sent to Phoenix as sweeteners in the deal) and still controls Phoenix’s 2027 and 2029 first round picks by way of Brooklyn (from the Kevin Durant trade from Brooklyn to Phoenix, and the James Harden from Houston to Brooklyn deal before that). In that, the Rockets still keep the more valuable Suns assets, as Phoenix slides into the bottom crop of the Western Conference after a dismal year and, well, trading Kevin Durant for Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks. Production levels don’t even out there, particularly with what Phoenix currently has on their roster (seemingly a team of 12 shooting guards?).
And so you could make the argument that if KD never plays a game in a Rockets uniform, the Rockets still make out pretty well in this trade for what they were able to offload in terms of Green’s minutes. It’s low risk.
But it all really comes down to Durant’s impact on the Rockets’ pursuit of a ring - even at 36, he was a top ~8 player in the NBA this season. I’ve said in past posts - the Rockets desperately need someone who, late in a close game, is guarded by the other team’s best defender, and can get you a bucket or two to keep you in it - OKC has it with SGA, Denver has it with Jokic, Boston has it with Tatum. While Jalen Green couldn’t be that bucket-getter for the ascending Rockets, you could argue that Kevin Durant is one of the foremost late-game bucket-getters in NBA history.
Fred VanVleet, Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr, and Alperen Sengun as the starting five. Reed Sheppard, Tari Eason, Cam Whitmore, and Steven Adams off the bench. There’s a reason the Rockets’ 2026 Finals odds jumped from ~18-1 to 8-1 today. That’s a stacked 1-9 on paper, even in a tough West. As a Rockets fan, I think GM Rafael Stone played this one perfectly - low risk, high reward, and a triumphant “we’re all-in” to the rest of the NBA.
(This excitement surely won’t come back to bite me. Kevin Durant will finally be happy in Houston, not like his last few stops)