After over a month of speculation that included reported wish lists and interest from several teams, Kevin Durant has finally been dealt away from the Phoenix Suns to the Houston Rockets. What does this mean for Houston’s chances in the Western Conference next season and beyond, and how will this affect the Suns’ timeline of returning to contender status?
Grading the Blockbuster Rockets-Suns Trade for Kevin Durant
The trade was first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania on X.
“BREAKING: The Phoenix Suns are trading two-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in the 2025 draft and five second-round picks, sources tell ESPN,” Charania posted.
BREAKING: The Phoenix Suns are trading two-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in the 2025 draft and five second-round picks, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/EwrbA2ES9O
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 22, 2025
Let’s grade both sides of the deal, beginning with the Rockets who add arguably the purest scorer that the game has ever seen.
Houston Rockets
It was no secret that the Rockets entered the 2025 offseason needing more juice on the offensive end of the court next season. In their first-round series with the Golden State Warriors, they were held under 100 points three times, including in the decisive Game 7. They lacked a go-to bucket-getter.
The question was whether or not Houston would have to explore the trade market for that type of player or if one could emerge from the current roster, whether it be the further development of Jalen Green, Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard, or another young piece.
Clearly, Houston general manager Rafael Stone settled on the former in adding Durant.
At age 36, Durant had another terrific statistical season for the Suns, scoring 26.6 points, grabbing 6.0 rebounds, and dishing out 4.2 assists per game while shooting 52.7% from the field, 83.9% from the free throw line, and 43.0% from 3-point range. No doubt about it, the 6’11” forward still has it. The issue is that he’ll be 37 come next season.
In the modern NBA, we’re seeing players continue playing high-level basketball late into their 30s like we’ve never seen before. LeBron James was an All-Star and made the All-NBA Second Team at age 40. Durant, while showing slight signs of decline on the defensive end of the floor, registered his highest 3-point percentage across an entire season in his career on his third-most attempts.
He still can put the ball on the floor and get to the mid-range or get all the way to the cup and finish with his length and creativity. Simply put, he’s still a very effective player who can impact winning in the functional organization that the Rockets have.
Surrounded by a defense that was sixth in the NBA in points allowed last season, this looks poised to be a very successful pairing. But just how successful, and what does success look like? To answer that, we have to take into account what the Rockets gave up.
While Green, 23, was the team’s leading scorer at 21.0 points per game, he converted just 42.3% of his shots from the field and 35.4% of his triples. In the playoffs, outside of a 38-point explosion in Game 2, he averaged 9.1 ppg in the series and failed to score more than 12 points.
Four years into his career, Green was still plagued by inefficiency and questionable decision-making with the basketball.
The departure of Dillon Brooks, though, may have the biggest impact of all. In addition to starting 75 games at small forward and scoring 14.0 points per game, he provided the Rockets with a toughness and irrational confidence that noticeably lifted his teammates. That grittiness will be missed.
Then, the six draft picks. In reality, it’s a small haul, as just one is a first-rounder. It’s Houston’s No. 10 pick in this upcoming 2025 draft, meaning after that, the Rockets control their first-round picks. The five second-rounders are nothing when you consider that it’s going towards adding someone of Durant’s talent and ability.
Considering what they gave up, this isn’t necessarily a championship-or-bust situation — although if you asked Houston’s front office, they’d certainly say so, as that’s the nature of the sport. But with how much young talent the Rockets retained, they didn’t come close to compromising their future.
Twenty-two-year-old Jabari Smith Jr. was a trade candidate, with his name floating as a name in a potential Durant deal as a stretch 4 with more growth expected. Tari Eason, 24, meanwhile, is a spark-plug defender off the bench with a developing offensive game. And Amen Thompson was reportedly considered off the table in trade talks, but it’s still a huge win to retain the 22-year-old who has All-Star potential on both ends of the floor.
Houston was even able to keep Sheppard, who spent the majority of the season on the bench after being picked No. 3 overall in 2024. Plus, 20-year-old Cam Whitmore has revealed himself as a talented, explosive scoring wing, but didn’t consistently crack the rotation last year. Nevertheless, he was retained as well.
From the Rockets’ perspective, this is a sensational trade. Durant fits in perfectly alongside veteran point guard Fred VanVleet and All-Star center Alperen Şengün. Meanwhile, Thompson’s defense will be key in the starting lineup, with Eason potentially stepping in as well.
It’s a resounding victory for Houston, giving them a chance in the stacked Western Conference to compete against the best of the best now that they have a two-time NBA Finals MVP as their go-to scorer for the next couple years without giving up much young talent at all.
Rockets Grade: A
Phoenix Suns
On the flip side, it’s confounding how the Suns didn’t bring back any other significant draft picks or young talent in return for Durant. What’s also questionable is the timing. Why do the deal now?
The NBA Draft was expected to act as a de facto trade deadline in the Durant market, as picks were expected to be included. But the trade occurred three days prior to the draft. Why not wait and see if another team offers up a better deal or until the Rockets potentially crack on draft night and give up more talent or picks?
In the end, they recouped Green, Brooks, and a lottery pick with five second-rounders in tow.
The fit of the team will have to be figured out. All-Star shooting guard Devin Booker plays the same position as Green. They’re rather similar players, albeit with Booker worlds more efficient and mature as a player. Brooks should slot in at the 3 or 4 if Phoenix decides to downsize and go small.
The No. 10 pick in this talent-rich draft could be a nice piece, though the last time the Suns held a lottery pick (coincidentally, it was the 10th pick as well) was in 2020, in which they selected center Jalen Smith. He was traded just two years later. It’s a new regime with rookie head coach Jordan Ott entering the fold, but a cautionary tale nonetheless.
Bradley Beal also factors into this, with Forbes’ Evan Sidery reporting that “The Suns will explore maneuvers to offload Bradley Beal after acquiring Jalen Green.”
The Suns will explore maneuvers to offload Bradley Beal after acquiring Jalen Green.
Phoenix’s only plausible scenario to move Beal is via buyout, which he would need to agree to beforehand.
After trading Kevin Durant today, Phoenix’s next seismic move will be exiling Beal. pic.twitter.com/AAswjrq4hJ
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) June 22, 2025
That won’t be easy considering Beal has a no-trade clause in his contract and would have to agree to be on board with a buyout, as Sidery mentioned.
The direction the Suns look headed towards is what can only be described as a stale rebuild. Booker is more than likely not going anywhere, as he’s expressed his desire to stay with the franchise. With him still on the roster, it’s hard to see Phoenix losing 60 games and bottoming out in the lottery — he’s too good for that to happen.
But what we may see is the Suns fall in the seventh or eighth range as far as draft lottery odds, missing the play-in tournament in the West but still finishing above several bottom-dwellers in the NBA.
Without going full-on tanking, it’s a major question of where Phoenix goes from here. The hope is that Green can learn from Booker and develop into a long-term sidekick as an All-Star caliber guard, with Brooks contributing on defense and giving the Suns an edge. The 10th pick will also be vital in terms of adding young talent to a rather aging roster.
Truth be told, Durant wasn’t going to suit up for the Suns next year. He made it clear that it wouldn’t happen, and he wanted to finish his career elsewhere. Trading a soon-to-be 38-year-old was never going to result in what Phoenix gave up for him: two intriguing wings in Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson and, most importantly, four first-round picks.
But for the Suns to not pry away a single one of Houston’s young prospects outside of Green (who had been viewed as a trade candidate ever since he signed his contract extension last summer) is extremely disappointing. It’s doubly disappointing that they couldn’t get any significant draft picks past this year as well.
Due to all of that, plus the debatable timing of the deal, this simply can’t be seen as successful business for the Suns.
Phoenix Suns Grade: D
