Kevin Durant Taking Less Money Shows How Rockets' Reputation Has Changed

The Houston Rockets have had an interesting last five seasons. Over the previous five seasons, the Rockets were dismantled in one of the strangest seasons in NBA history when they lost 4-1 to the eventual NBA champions, the Los Angeles Lakers, in the bubble.

Their general manager and head coach, Darryl Morey and Mike D'Antoni, both decided they no longer wanted to be part of the organization, and Russell Westbrook, who had just joined the team the year prior requested a trade.

However, the biggest change occurred a few months later, after the above-mentioned moves that really changed the course of the entire franchise. James Harden, who many believe is the second-best player in franchise history, uttered the now-famous words, "This situation is crazy. It’s something that I don’t think can be fixed."

That press conference marked the end of Harden's time in Houston as new general manager Rafael Stone traded Harden to the Brooklyn Nets as the moved signaled to everyone that the Rockets were going complete rebuild for the foreseeable future. The three seasons after the Harden trade, the Rockets would win only 61 games, which was the worst three-year stretch in franchise history.

That three-year stretch of losing basketball did damage to the Rockets' reputation around the league. The national media saw them as a poorly run franchise, and some players around the league saw them as a team to stay away from. The Rockets front office, however, had a plan all along as they knew that starting in the summer of 2023 that it was time to end the rebuilding phase and change the perception of their franchise.

The last two seasons has seen the Rockets franchise do a complete 180

That change started with the hiring of Ime Udoka, who last coached the Boston Celtics to an NBA Finals appearance where they came up just short to the Golden State Warriors. The Rockets also wanted to bring in a more veteran team and they did just that by signing Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks to lead the offense and the defense.

The changes in the offseason led to an immediate impact on the court as the Rockets improved by a league best 19 games in the 2023-24 season narrowly missing out on a play-in berth. The next season would see the Rockets take the next step up the ladder, winning 52 games and making their first playoff appearance since 2020.

That two-year improvement helped change the narrative around the Rockets, going from a team no one wanted to play for to a team known as a tough-minded team on the rise with young talent but also a professional-run organization. The Rockets really started to see the effects of this in the 2025 offseason as the biggest trade target on the market chose their franchise over every other team in the NBA.

The Rockets landed Kevin Durant, the former MVP and future Hall of Famer. Despite not having a no-trade clause, Durant still controlled where he would be traded to as he was entering the final year of his contract. Durant chose the Rockets in part because of their success the last two seasons and also the direction the team was going in.

In two seasons, the Rockets went from a team having to overpay marginal free agents just to get them to join their team to a team where one of the greatest players of all time picked them out of the entire NBA to join in possibly his last opportunity to win another ring. Reputation plays a big part in team's pursuit of free agents and in trying to make a trade.

The Rockets for years were a team not on most people's radar, but now they are seen as the prime destination, and they hope that eventually translates to an NBA championship. The Rockets open on the road as they travel to Oklahoma to take on the Thunder on Tuesday night.