Bleacher Report Predicts Kevin Durant to be One-Year Rental for Rockets

The Houston Rockets have been desperately seeking a superstar, dating back to the James Harden trade in 2021. The Rockets had grown accustomed to having multiple superstars on the roster throughout the Harden era.

Dwight Howard. Chris Paul. Russell Westbrook.

All three were co-stars on the Rockets, alongside Harden.

Houston's brass even tried turning back the clock on John Wall and Victor Oladipo post-Harden, hoping the two former All-NBA guards who had been decimated by injury would be able to resort to the healthy, productive version of themselves.

Which was a bit of a reach.

The Rockets also realized the importance of a surefire closer, which they had in Harden for a decade. In the waning moments of the game, they knew who the ball was going to.

Since then, Houston has turned to a myriad of players during "winning time". Alperen Sengun, Fred VanVleet, Amen Thompson, Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr. -- all players who have hit game-winning shots for the franchise over the last several years.

Meaning Houston hasn't had a surefire closer.

Enter Kevin Durant, who the Rockets acquired this summer in a deal that essentially saw Durant acquired for pennies on the dollar.

However, Durant is only under contract for one more season, meaning he'd be a free agent after 2025-26. There's been talk that the Rockets and Durant are close to coming to terms on an agreement.

Rockets General Manager Rafael Stone was unwilling to divulge details of Houston's contract negotiations with Durant, however Durant himself revealed that he believes the deal will get done.

Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey seems to think otherwise. Bailey was giving his contract predictions for the players on the final years of their deal and predicted Durant and the Rockets not to agree to an extension.

"The Houston Rockets started driving a harder bargain than most on extensions a couple years ago. 

So, Kevin Durant getting a full $175.2 million over three years or $120.5 million over two felt unlikely even before Fred VanVleet tore his ACL.

That should have the Rockets thinking more long-term, and such an extension for a 37-year-old with an injury history as robust as Durant's may not make a ton of long-term sense."

This feels like a bit of a hot take. 

Especially since all of the reporting has been quite the opposite. Again, Durant himself stated the same.

We don't usually get that from players during contract negotiations. Not superstars, at least.

They don't want to risk losing any semblance of leverage. And agents typically advise their players not to share details.

The Rockets wouldn't have traded Dillon Brooks, a major culture shifter and hard-nosed wing defender, and Jalen Green -- who they gave an extension to and has proven capable of scoring in bunches (albeit inconsistently) if they were only going to have Durant for one season.

But everyone has to get their takes off. After all, we're still in the offseason.