Heading into the 2025 offseason, it was clear that Kevin Durant wanted out of the Phoenix Suns. His two year stay in the Valley had failed miserably, and he was looking to join a team that was ready to compete for the title with him as centerpiece. In came the Houston Rockets with a blockbuster offer, sending Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green and a bunch of draft picks over to the Suns.
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KD is now a Rocket, and is the veteran superstar in a team full of young talents. As far as ESPN’s Tim Bontemps is concerned, it was a perfect trade for Houston, who have in particular, shipped off the reason they couldn’t get past the Golden State Warriors in Round 1 of the playoffs this year.
Green is a phenomenal player, but lacked heavily in the scoring side of things against the Dubs. He shot below 30% from three, and that, Bontemps feels, helped the Steph Curry led franchise over the line. KD, on the other hand, is still elite at 36 years old.
“That is an unbelievable upgrade for the Rockets,” Bontemps said on NBA on ESPN. “Big part of why Houston lost in the first round of the playoffs was Jalen Green simply wasn’t good enough as a scorer… under 30% from three, under 40% from the field..”
“Kevin Durant, while he’s not the player he was in the past, he’s still a 50-40-90 guy, that’s an easy 25 on any given night,” he added. “He completely slots in the role as his team’s primary scorer.”
Another player who went away to the Suns to make space for Durant was Brooks, a polarizing figure in the NBA. His fans love him, but opponents hate him and he’s just the kind of player winning teams need, someone willing to hustle and put it all on the line.
Bontemps feels that the Rockets won’t miss him much, as there are players who can fill in for the Canadian. “Guys like Jabbari Smith, Amen Thompson and Tari Eason can easily fill in the minutes of Dillon Brooks, who was vacated by being part of that trade,” he said.
Suns, as part of the Draft picks, also got Khaman Maluach, a South-Sudanese youngster who’s poised for big things in the NBA. But the Rockets wouldn’t mind. They have a mixture of youth and stardom, and that’s the real recipe for success.
