Latest On Kevin Durant Trade

Kevin Durant had reason to believe that a trade was close before news broke Sunday that he was headed to the Rockets, writes Forbes contributor Adam Zagoria. Durant was in the midst of an interview with reporter Kay Adams at Fanatics Fest in New York City when audience members saw the first reports of the deal on their phones (Twitter video link).

“I had an idea (about the trade), but I didn’t know exactly when it was going to happen,” Durant said. “You know, when people can just hang your career in the balance like that and then just choose what they want to do with your career, it’s a nerve-wracking feeling but being able to kind of dictate what you want to do and being with a team that values you, I’m looking forward to it.”

Durant is being counted on to bring much-needed scoring punch to Houston and turn the team into a legitimate title contender. The Rockets won 52 games and claimed the second seed in the West this season, but their inability to generate half-court offense was exposed in a first-round loss to Golden State.

Houston was among three teams on Durant’s list of preferred landing spots, and he admitted to Adams that he played a role in determining where he ended up.

“Most definitely, yeah,” he said. “(The Suns) asked me where I wanted to go, some of my destinations. I gave it to them and here we are.”

Durant is looking forward to a new start after a disappointing two-plus seasons in Phoenix. There was hope that he could take the Suns back to the NBA Finals after being acquired from Brooklyn at the 2023 trade deadline, but they only won a single playoff series during his time there and fell short of the play-in tournament this season.

Durant countered Adams’ suggestion that “there’s a lot of heartbroken Suns fans.”

“I doubt that,” Durant said. “They wanted me to go so I’m glad they got what they wanted and I got what I wanted. We can move on, good luck to them going forward, and I’ll always remember my time there.”

There’s more on the Durant deal:

• The trade that was reported Sunday could get “much larger” before it becomes official on July 6, states John Hollinger of The Athletic. He notes that the Suns have nearly two weeks to negotiate deals with other teams involving Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks or any of the draft assets they’re getting from Houston. Meanwhile, the Rockets could pick up their $4.9MM option on Aaron Holiday and guarantee Jock Landale‘s $8MM deal for next season to help match salaries while adding another player from a third team. Cap expert Yossi Gozlan also believes there’s a “strong chance” the deal will be expanded to include more teams (Twitter link).
• The Suns may have considered the No. 10 pick in this year’s draft to be more valuable than the 2027 and 2029 Phoenix picks that Houston also holds, Hollinger adds. The Suns are looking for immediate help, and Hollinger notes that finding a contributor in the draft would take away some of the worst-case scenarios they might be facing. Phoenix may also put more stock in having a guaranteed lottery pick right now than a possible high selection later on. Hollinger also points out that keeping the Suns’ future picks frees up the Rockets to move their own first-rounders in 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030 and 2032 if the chance arises to land another major star.
• The Spurs had been considered among the favorites to trade for Durant and were one of the teams on his list, but they never made an offer, according to Phoenix sports talk show host John Gambadoro (Twitter link).
• Handing out grades for the deal, ESPN’S NBA insiders give the Rockets a B+ and the Suns a B.