Rockets must not let Desmond Bane blockbuster dictate KD terms

The Houston Rockets are subject to the trade market like every other team in the league.

Player value doesn't exist in a vacuum. It changes. One trade can set a tone for an entire summer.

If that's true, the Magic's recent acquisition of Desmond Bane could be problematic for the Rockets.

Rockets shouldn't overpay for anybody

The Magic sent Memphis four unprotected first-round picks, a pick swap, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Cole Anthony in exchange for Bane.

Let's be clear - Bane is a fantastic player. In 2024-25, he averaged 19.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. Bane had a True Shooting % (TS%) of 60.0% and a Box Plus/Minus (BPM) of 3.2. He is terrific.

He's not Kevin Durant. That's the most prominently rumored Rockets target at the moment, so it's got people talking. If this is what Bane went for, can you imagine Durant's market value?

It's a fair question. It's also an oversimplification of how the trade market works. Bane's value doesn't directly determine Durant's:

There's plenty of circumstantial distinction between the two.

Rockets have leverage in talks with Suns

The Grizzlies were not desperate to give Bane away. They could have run the same roster back next year, and nobody would have blinked an eye. This is a team that underperformed in 2024-25 at least partly due to injuries.

By contrast, the Suns must move Durant. They have no excuses for a dreadful 2024-25. They're sending the Rockets the 10th pick for their troubles. Phoenix needs to change something, at any cost.

On that note, the Rockets have two more incoming Suns picks. Those picks should hold extra value for Phoenix. Controlling one of their own selections should be equivalent to two unprotected picks from another franchise.

It's possible that the Suns don't see it that way. If they have no intention of tanking, they may not value those picks. However, the Suns would have the flexibility to do a mini-tank in 2027 or 2029 if things went poorly. More broadly, if the Suns don't see their 2027 and 2029 picks as holding extra value, the Rockets shouldn't deal with them anyway.

Remember: The Suns are desperate. The Rockets should not be. They won 52 games this year. Durant would make them better, but they're not so desperate to improve as to overpay for a 37-year-old.

That's another large distinction between Bane and Durant. Bane is just 26. The Magic brought him in to (hopefully) contend alongside Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner for a decade. They're making an all-in move with a decade in mind. Given Durant's age and the Suns' position, the Rockets shouldn't be willing to pay the same price for Durant.

They may have to reset the market instead.