Rockets' Kevin Durant extension becomes painfully obvious by little known rule

As the Houston Rockets enter the season, one of their primary financial question marks revolves around their looming need to extend superstar acquisition Kevin Durant, and, in many ways, the extension of their current championship outlook depends upon their ability to do so.

Yet, as noted by Jake Fischer in the latest edition of The Stein Line newsletter, this extension can only be for two years as a result of the NBA's little known rule for players over the age of 38, meaning that, no matter what, these negotiations will not take on an outsized impact on the Rockets' flexibility in maintaining their young core moving forward.

Nevertheless, the team must first sort out an extension for soon-to-be restricted free agent Tari Eason before turning to Durant's negotiations, meaning that there could still be trouble looming on that front.

Kevin Durant's extension cannot be anything but short-term

In acquiring Durant this offseason from the Phoenix Suns, Houston knew they were taking on some amount of risk. Although Durant is still a superstar-caliber player, having averaged 26.6 points, six rebounds and 4.2 assists through 62 games last season, he is still only under contract for a singular year, with no full guarantee that he will return to the Rockets upon its expiration.

Still, this seems like the most likely scenario. Durant, at age 37 entering the 2025-26 season, is entering the fifth organization of his career, and, given the opportunity to help elevate a young core into title contention, it could be appealing to Durant to finish his career somewhere he is fully needed and appreciated.

Therefore, it is likely that there will be a mutual interest between the two parties and that this deal will get done at some point before the conclusion of the season, saving Rockets fans a healthy portion of the stress they would undergo were Durant to hit the open market.

Moreover, the fact that the deal would be limited to two years also removes a large amount of uncertainty from the equation. At the end of next season, budding young star Amen Thompson will hit restricted free agency, and, at the end of the season after that, Reed Sheppard will as well assuming he is still on the roster.

The only thing, therefore, that can seemingly prevent the team from concluding Durant's negotations with ease is Eason. Although he has been stellar off the bench in his three years in Houston, the team may find it difficult to pay him what a player like in-house developed player like Jabari Smith Jr. got and still afford whatever Durant might command on a two-year deal.

Therefore, while the length of Durant's deal has already been determined by NBA rules, there are still certain gray areas that the Rockets must navigate in the coming months in order to extend their time with this iteration of the team.