Mar 16, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) leaves the court after the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Mar 16, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) leaves the court after the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Western Conference Gets Even Tougher For Lakers With Kevin Durant Being Traded From Suns To Rockets

Originally posted on Lakers Nation | By Daniel Starkand | Last updated Jun 22, 2025 1:09 PM ET

After a first round playoff exit, the Los Angeles Lakers know they need to make significant moves this offseason in order to get back into championship contention.

The Western Conference is as loaded as it has ever been, and other teams are looking to improve as well.

Arguably the biggest domino to fall this offseason was Kevin Durant as it was known that the Phoenix Suns would be trading the future Hall of Famer.

A few teams were in the mix, but ultimately it was the Houston Rockets to came to an agreement on a deal with the Suns for the 36-year-old, per Shams Charania of ESPN:

BREAKING: The Phoenix Suns are trading two-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in the 2025 draft and five second-round picks, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/EwrbA2ES9O

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 22, 2025

The deal places Durant on the No. 2-seeded Rockets and elevates the team’s positioning for title contention in the West. The Suns land a 23-year-old scorer for a high-powered backcourt with Devin Booker, a tough 3-and-D player and now have 3 firsts and 8 seconds to use in trades. https://t.co/2rZedTD6q1

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 22, 2025

Blockbuster trade on the final day of the NBA season. The Suns engaged in deep conversations with the two Durant finalists — Houston and Miami — over the last 24 hours and reached agreement on the deal Sunday morning. https://t.co/2rZedTD6q1

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 22, 2025

Similar to the Lakers, the Rockets are coming off a great regular season in which they earned the No. 2 seed in the West before being defeated in the first round of the playoffs.

They have a lot of young talent but lacked the veteran scorer needed to win in the postseason, and now they are getting that with Durant.

As things currently stand, just about every team in the West has visions of competing for a championship in 2025-26. The Rockets have now made their move to vault themselves into contender status, and it will be up to Rob Pelinka and the Lakers to do the same in the coming weeks.

Lakers’ talks for Walker Kessler have not reached serious stage

It’s no secret that the center position is a huge need for the Lakers, and they have had interest in Utah Jazz big man Walker Kessler for a while now. He is expected to be available for trade this offseason, but according to recent reports, talks between the Lakers and Jazz have not yet reached the serious stages.

This article first appeared on Los Angeles Lakers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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