Questions Around Kevin Durant Carve Path for Houston Rockets

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The NBA trade deadline has long passed, but that hasn’t stopped rumors from swirling about potential star destinations.
On NBA Countdown, ESPN’s Shams Charania offered up the newest details on the pairing between longtime superstar Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns, which appears to be dwindling quickly.
Reporting for ESPN NBA Countdown on the Suns, Kevin Durant and what's at stake: pic.twitter.com/69UeeowSOP
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 2, 2025
The Rockets have long shown interest in the Phoenix sharpshooter — even going as far as trading for the Suns’ picks with Brooklyn to make a deal even easier. Any news on Durant is likely music to the Houston front office’s ears.
"Durant was blindsided when he was involved in trade conversations.” Charania said. “But this offseason, from my understanding, what it would look like is Durant and the Suns would work together on any potential trade to a contender in a trade scenario. I would expect four to six contending teams to have some serious involvement with Durant."
Having had previous interest in Durant, all signs would point to the Rockets being on that shortlist. And it would make plenty of sense given Houston’s core of young players is one of the biggest and most talented in the league.
Should Phoenix begin exploring packages for Durant, the Rockets’ would likely rank near the top. And Durant, too, might vie for a trade to Houston given the team is set to contend with youth for the next several seasons.
For now, the Rockets will continue trudging through the 2024-25 season, hoping to make the postseason for the first time since 2020.
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Derek Parker covers the National Basketball Association, and has brought On SI five seasons of coverage across several different teams. He graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma in 2020, and has experience working in print, video and radio.
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