The Houston Rockets better hope forward Kevin Durant is the last piece they need to win their third championship.
The Rockets are trading guard Jalen Green, forward Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and five second-round picks to the Phoenix Suns for Durant, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Durant — a former Texas Longhorns star — is probably happy to be returning to the Lone Star State. But can he deliver Texas-sized results for the Rockets?
Durant, 36, averaged 26.6 points per game in 62 regular-season games this season, the sixth most in the league. The two-time Finals MVP, however, hasn’t carried a team to a championship since winning his second title with the Golden State Warriors during the 2017-18 season.
When Durant was with the Brooklyn Nets, they never made the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Nets dealt Durant to the Suns in February 2023. The team never reached the Western Conference Finals during Durant’s time in Phoenix. This season, the Suns went 36-46 and missed the playoffs.
Trading a promising player in Green, 23, could be risky for the Rockets. During the regular season, he led Houston in scoring, averaging 21 PPG on 42.3 percent shooting from the field in 82 games.
The Rockets could’ve used their first-rounder to build around Green. In Tankathon’s latest mock draft, the Suns take Maryland center Derik Queen — who logged 16.5 PPG in 36 games during the 2024-25 season— with pick No. 10.
Unlike Durant, Green may never become a playoff performer. His scoring average dipped to 13.3 PPG in seven postseason games, which is one key reason the Golden State Warriors eliminated the Rockets in seven games in the first round of the Western Conference.
Perhaps Durant will recapture his playoff magic in Houston, but if he doesn’t, the Rockets may wonder if they gave up too much for him.
