Insider: Rockets, Kevin Durant Have 'Mutual Interest'

PHOENIX -- It remains a mystery of which team is going to trade for Kevin Durant this summer if the Phoenix Suns do decide to move on from him.

After Phoenix finished the 2024-25 season 10 games below .500, missed the playoffs and fired first-year coach Mike Budenholzer, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Monday:

"Multiple teams will seriously pursue Durant, who finished another stellar season, and the franchise is expected to work with Durant and his business partner and Boardroom CEO Rich Kleiman on the next landing spot for the future Hall of Famer."

Charania later added on NBA Today, as many figured, that Durant's market would be determined by the playoffs and which team "feels they're a Kevin Durant away from winning a championship."

The Houston Rockets have long made sense as a trade partner for Durant, as they are have a good coach in Ime Udoka, are loaded with young talent and own Phoenix's first-round draft picks this year, in 2027 and the right to swap for the Suns' first rounder in 2029 after trading for them from the Brooklyn Nets last summer. Brooklyn originally acquired the capital from the Suns in the trade package for Durant in Feb. 2023.

Houston took a huge leap this season from missing the playoffs in 2023-24 to now the No. 2 seed in the West. Charania explained that how the Rockets fare in the playoffs could play into their interest in Durant.

"This is a Houston team we need to keep an eye on in this playoff run," Charania said on NBA Today Wednesday. "Because when you think of monitoring who does well in the playoffs and who might struggle, there is going to be a level of mutual interest, there has been already with them and Kevin Durant with the Suns.

"Listen, if they win a couple rounds, they might be good where they're at. If you lose early, you don't win enough to where you want, could (Houston) look at a guy like Kevin Durant once again this offseason? Monitor them."

"If you lose early ... could [the Rockets] look at a guy like Kevin Durant? ... Monitor them." 😯 @ShamsCharania says KD and the Rockets have a "level of mutual interest" in working together 👀 pic.twitter.com/DmDStOsUIc
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 16, 2025

Houston begins the playoffs Sunday night against the No. 7-seeded Golden State Warriors, who many are picking to upset them with their veteran-level talent.

According to Arizona Sports insider John Gambadoro on X, the top three teams he believes "would have interest in Kevin Durant barring big runs this year in the playoffs are Houston, Minnesota and the Knicks. Maybe the Spurs maybe. But I would expect another 2-3 teams to emerge as suitors as well."

Safe to say, these playoffs are going to have a huge effect on Durant's market, and he can pretty much dictate where he wants to go given that he has one year left on his contract and can choose which team(s) he would be willing to sign an extension with.