Kevin Durant's 'dope' reunion plan hit with reality check

Former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook is without a roster spot heading into the 2025-26 season, a development that has surprised his former teammate, Kevin Durant. 

The Houston Rockets star would love nothing more than to reunite with Westbrook, nearly a decade after their infamous split as teammates on the Oklahoma City Thunder.

"Russ is a legend," Durant told FanDuel TV's "Up and Adams Show" on Wednesday. "I think he deserves to be in the NBA right now. And I think he deserves to walk out of the NBA on his terms. So yeah, that [a reunion] would be dope."

Durant made it clear that it's not his decision to bring Westbrook on board, and he doesn't plan to influence the Rockets front office either way.

CBA prevents reunion

Unfortunately for the Rockets and Durant, the decision is not theirs to make. According to ESPN's Bobby Marks, the Rockets are ineligible to sign Westbrook until early 2026 due to the new CBA rules.

"You know who the decisionmaker is? First apron," Marks told "NBA Today" on Wednesday. "Houston does have an open roster spot, but they're $1.3M below the first apron, meaning they can't sign a player until January 8. So, a Durant-Westbrook reunion would have to wait until after Christmas."

The only path for the Rockets to acquire Westbrook would be to trade one of their role players in a salary dump to a team with cap space. However, the issue there is that they're ineligible to trade Steven Adams, Dorian Finney-Smith, Jeff Green or Clint Capela until the Dec. 15 trade restriction expires for newly signed free agents. The Rockets would essentially have to move one of their promising youngsters, such as Jae'Sean Tate or Tari Eason, to sign Westbrook — a move that doesn't make sense in the slightest. 

Rockets to share PG duties

The chatter of the Rockets potentially signing Westbrook gathered momentum after Fred VanVleet suffered a season-ending ACL tear. The injury created an opening for a starting point guard, fueling rumors of a Westbrook-Durant reunion. In VanVleet's absence, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka plans to entrust ball-handling duties to Durant, Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard and even playmaking center Alperen Sengun. 

"I think it will be different guys kind of thrust into a role," Udoka told ESPN's Michael C. Wright. "For instance, Reed, you take Amen, guys that have done it some with Fred being out at times on a smaller stage. We really leaned on [VanVleet] the first few years to be that experience, that IQ out there at the point guard spot. But I think it'll just be a committee, honestly, like different guys initiating offense."

Udoka's unconventional plan could work in the modern NBA, where the role of the point guard has changed drastically. Stephen Curry, for example, has not led the Warriors in assists since the 2014-15 season.