Well-Respected Insider Ranks Rockets' Kevin Durant Trade as Top Offseason Move

Kevin Durant has historically been one of the league's best plug-and-play players ever. We've seen him thrive in essentially every situation.

In his younger years, he found himself on a young, top-heavy team that was trying to make it out of the vaunted Western Conference. The Oklahoma City Thunder ultimately made it to the NBA Finals but weren't able to beat the Miami Heat's all-time trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.

Durant ultimately joined the Golden State Warriors via free agency and won consecutive championships and Finals MVPs. Although the Warriors were equipped with a bevy of Hall of Famers in Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, that can make it difficult for an all-time great player to find their niche and role on the team.

Especially a player like Durant, who had always been the best player on his team. Durant later had stints on the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns, leading both teams to deep title runs (although Phoenix missed the postseason in 2024-25).

Durant's next task will be leading a young, up-and-coming Houston Rockets team to a championship. This task will be more challenging, as the Thunder have become a powerhouse after winning the championship in June and keeping all of their impact players in the fold (at least for now).

Yet and still, the trade that sent the former MVP to the Rockets was ranked as the top move of the offseason by The Athletic's Es Baraheni, who joined Sam Vecenie on the Game Theory podcast to explain. 

"This Rockets team really struggled in the clutch and in the fourth quarter last year. Kevin Durant is a guy who fits in immediately to what they need.

I get the age concerns, I get the injury concerns, all of those are valid questions. But for the cost and what this Rockets team is around KD, it's a near perfect fit. 

And what he provides offensively, as a guy who can go and get them a bucket whenever they need to, I think that is a substantial upgrade to what Jalen Green was for this team during the playoffs. 

Not to mention, yes, Dillon Brooks was a good 3-and-D wing player for them, but KD is no chum defensively. He's a very good defender when he wants to be."

Baraheni continued.

"They still are leveraging against the Phoenix Suns. They still have the Suns' pick in 2027. Which is going to play out well for them regardless because of the way that Phoenix is headed towards a rebuild."