Kevin Durant Is Strongly Connected to the Rockets: Does That Mean He’d Entertain Playing in Houston?

Something’s gotta give in Phoenix. The Suns had championship aspirations at the outset of the season but are currently below .500 as we reach the All-Star break, on the outside looking in not only of the playoffs but of the play-in tournament. Nobody seems happy in Phoenix, and what’s worse is that there doesn’t seem to be any kind of coherent plan to improve.

The Suns pushed hard to acquire Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline but were unable to pull off a deal due to Bradley Beal’s no-trade clause. They then pivoted and tried to trade Kevin Durant away to the Warriors, only to give up when KD shot the idea of a Golden State reunion down.

They also traded Jusuf Nurkic to the Hornets and gave up their potentially invaluable 2031 unprotected first-round pick to pick up three lesser first-rounders.

Though Durant vetoed the idea of going back to the Warriors, there’s considerable momentum behind the idea that he’ll be looking to get out of Phoenix this summer. After all, the newest member of the 30,000 points club is 36 and may not have long to chase another championship, and it doesn’t look like staying in Phoenix will give him a good chance to do that.

One team with strong KD connections is the Houston Rockets. Durant played for head coach Ime Udoka in Brooklyn. He’s close friends with assistant coach Royal Ivey going back to their days at the University of Texas. He works out each summer with Jalen Green, Fred VanVleet, and Jabari Smith. Steven Adams was his teammate for three years with Oklahoma City.

Rockets sideline reporter Vanessa Richardson spoke about the Durant-Rockets connection during Thursday’s game.

Kevin Durant to the Rockets makes too much sense not to happen

Durant was supposed to be part of a “Big Three” in Phoenix with Beal and Devin Booker, but the on-court results have not been as good as anyone imagined they would be. Owner Mat Ishbia’s impetuous moves have made it difficult to imagine things getting any better in the coming year or two, which means that if Durant wants a real chance at a third ring, he’ll have to do it somewhere else.

Durant has shown a willingness to move around during his career, as he’s played for the Sonics/Thunder, Warriors, Nets, and Suns. He was heavily criticized for leaving OKC to join a Warriors team that was already stacked, but even the biggest haters would struggle to take issue with a potential move to Houston.

At 34-21, the Rockets are an up-and-coming team, but they lack the experience right now to be true NBA title contenders. The missing piece could be a veteran scorer like Durant. Houston has the young assets and draft capital that could entice the Suns to kickstart a rebuild, while from Durant’s perspective, he’d have the opportunity to get more respect than he ever got in Golden State if he could be the one to put the Rockets over the top.

Ever since leaving the Warriors, Kevin Durant has gone from one messy situation to another. A move to the Rockets is something we’d love to see.