Rockets' blockbuster trade is unquestionably the best move of the offseason

The Houston Rockets shocked the NBA world by acquiring Kevin Durant this summer. ESPN says it was the best move of the offseason - by a long shot.

It was certainly the flashiest move. It was the headline-grabber. In a relatively quiet NBA summer, the Rockets made a splash.

Sure, there was movement. There always is. Desmond Bane's move to Orlando is significant. Denver's acquisition of Cameron Johnson merits lots of conversation. They're both outstanding rotational players, but Kevin Durant is Kevin Durant.

That said, the biggest move isn't always the best one. Overpaying for an aging superstar can easily wind up looking like a mistake. Fortunately, that's not what the Rockets did:

ESPN seems to concur.

Rockets' blockbuster named summer's best deal

The Rockets' Durant deal received 11 votes as the best move of the NBA summer in ESPN's survey. The next leading vote-getter was Bane-to-Orlando with 5 votes. After that, the Hawks' acquisition of the Pelicans' 2026 first-round pick got a pair of votes.

That sounds like a firm consensus. The experts at ESPN thought the Durant deal was by far the best move of the summer.

It's not hard to see why.

In 2024-25, the Rockets' offense was notoriously rudimentary. Dominant offensive rebounding compensated for a poor perimeter attack. The Rockets missed a lot of shots - they were just able to retrieve more of those missed shots than any other team in the NBA.

So, flipping one of the league's least efficient high-volume perimeter scorers (Jalen Green) for one of the most efficient jump shooters in NBA history makes intuitive sense. The Rockets correctly identified their biggest issue, and they fixed it. That alone is worthy of praise:

But the small cost they paid to fix that issue clinches the deal.

To reiterate, Green was one of the least efficient high-volume scorers in the NBA last year. So, flipping him with Dillon Brooks, a 10th overall pick that turned into Khaman Maluach and some second-rounders for Durant helps them revolutionize their short-term prospects without significantly hindering their long-term goals.

Sure, Green could still pan out, but a safer projection suggests that the Rockets won't badly miss him. Maluach has potential, but he's years away from reaching it. Prospects as raw as the Duke product are always a gamble.

All told, it was as safe a bet as can be to acquire Durant at that cost. The Rockets will be in the mix for the NBA title in 2025-26, and if it doesn't work out, they've got more than enough assets to make additional moves. That sounds like the best possible move of the NBA offseason:

Just ask ESPN.