Former Player: Suns Will Trade Durant to Rockets

With the conclusion of the Houston Rockets' season, trade rumors for their potential pursuit of Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant will only grow over the coming days.

The Rockets and Suns find themselves in vastly different spots moving into the offseason, as Houston has assembled a young corps that might just be a superstar away from truly competing while Phoenix finds themselves in second-apron wasteland.

With the Rockets owning several of Phoenix's future picks, the two franchises have been linked together as potential trade partners this summer - especially with Durant reportedly looking for an exit from the desert.

It's not often where a trade of this caliber makes sense on both ends, though Houston could land the final piece to their championship puzzle while the Suns could net back younger players with some of their coveted draft capital back, too.

Despite the Rockets' interest in Durant being overstated (as one insider puts it), NBA analyst and former teammate of Durant in Kendrick Perkins says he'll absolutely end up in Houston:

"Kevin Durant is going to end up in the Houston Rocket uniform. They have the pieces. If I’m the Rockets, I’m going all in. Jabari Smith, Jalen Green, Cam Whitmore, and some picks for Kevin Durant. And don’t come give me Kevin Durant don’t have it no more," said Perkins (h/t HoopsHype).

"The one thing Kevin Durant will do when he gets to Houston is respect Ime Udoka because we know they have a great relationship. You pair him alongside the Thompson twin with Sengun, Fred VanVleet, the Rockets looking to make some noise. That was the one thing that they were missing in this series was a closer and Kevin Durant provides that."

Durant has just one year remaining on his deal and was reportedly not happy with the Suns after Phoenix included him in trade negotiations at the past deadline.