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Magic Johnson Makes Prediction for Rockets After Kevin Durant Trade
Kevin Durant has found a new NBA home on Sunday as the Phoenix Suns traded the 36-year-old star to the Houston Rockets in a blockbuster deal that sent Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in the 2025 NBA draft and five second-round picks to Phoenix.
Durant, who learned about the news while sitting on stage at the Fanatics FanFest in NYC, is coming off a season in which he averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists.
The Rockets are hoping his addition will be enough to make them contenders for a NBA title. This past season they made the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the West but were knocked out in the first round by Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
Magic Johnson thinks Durant will put them right in the mix.
"Two-time NBA champion and future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant being traded to Houston will make Rockets one of the favorites in West next season," Johnson tweeted Sunday afternoon.
The Rockets' potential starting lineup with Durant looks to be a solid one. Still, with some powerful teams in the West, they'll once again need to bring it every night if they want to make a run for a title.
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Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.