The Case for and Against Kevin Durant as a Houston Rocket

When the news came out last offseason that the Rockets were interested in trading for Kevin Durant, there was a wide variety of reactions from basketball fans. Amongst outsiders, there was the belief that the Rockets lacked sufficient assets for this trade. Within the Rockets' fanbase, there was division on whether the Rockets should prioritize their young core's development instead.

At the time, I saw the trade as being far-fetched. A player such as KD, who has ring contention aspirations, would never sign off on a trade to an 11th seed. The prospects of this trade, however, have only increased as time has passed.

The Rockets suddenly seem to be the optimal destination for Durant as they have risen to the 2nd seed of the Western Conference with a gritty brand of basketball. Antithetically, the Suns have been riddled with dysfunction, currently 5 games under .500 and devoid of any semblance of teammate chemistry.

From the Rockets being a superstar away from contention to Durant's untenable situation with the Suns, this trade could be mutually beneficial for both parties. But just as there are valid reasons for the Rockets to pursue Durant, there are just as valid reasons for them not to.

The Case for Pursuing Durant

The case for getting Durant is fairly straight forward. He is a consensus top 15 basketball player ever and scores at a level which only a handful of players ever, if any, are capable of. Aside from elevating a currently average Rockets' offense, Durant would provide size and fit perfectly within the Rockets' domineering defense.

Durant would also provide a solution to one of the main criticisms that has been levied against the Rockets: their playoff inexperience. Obviously Rockets' fans don't need to be reminded of Durant's playoff tomfoolery (euphemistically speaking), but he is a 2x Finals MVP, even averaging 35.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg, and 5.4 apg in one of these finals. Over his 18 year career, he has averaged an extremely impressive 29.3 ppg and 7.8 rpg on 47.7 FG% in the playoffs.

Adding someone as lethal on the big stage as Durant to the current 2nd seed could catapult the Rockets to Finals contention and also have a positive impact on the young core mentality-wise.

KD's relationship with Coach Udoka is another factor that could make Houston a worthwhile destination for him. From their time together at the Brooklyn Nets when Udoka was an assistant coach to their time with Team USA, the two have a strong relationship. Having the leadership of two basketball savants such as Durant and Udoka would undoubtedly provide the Rockets with a great foundation for success.

The Case Against Pursuing Durant

Irrespective of Durant's immense ability as a player, there are other factors which suggest that he might not be worth what the Rockets would have to give up to get him. The biggest factor would be his recent failures with purported superteams along with the terms on which he's left many of his former teams.

When KD initially signed with the Nets in the 2019 free agency along with star guard Kyrie Irving, the Nets were expected to be championship contenders. Following the blockbuster trade which allowed them to acquire James Harden, the Nets' status as championship frontrunners increased even more. With this hype culminating in a semi finals and first round exit, KD's Nets fell drastically short of their expectations.

To be fair, this superteam's failure wasn't on Durant, especially once one considers that the Nets were obliterating their competition prior to Harden and Irving's injuries in the 2021 playoffs. I mean if Durant's shoe size was half an inch less, we might not even be having this conversation. These injuries combined with Kyrie's choice to not play for a bulk of the following season almost completely absolve Durant of any fault.

On the other hand, Durant does have some culpability regarding the failure of this Suns' "superteam." In 2023, KD was traded to a Suns team that had been 64-18 the prior year, joining the likes of Chris Paul and Devin Booker. Once again, this team fell flat of the extremely high expectations set for them, being eliminated in the semi-finals and first round in successive years and currently being on the brink of missing the playoffs altogether.

Aside from the Suns' overall failure as a unit in the KD era, they are emblematic of one of Rockets' fans main concerns about a trade for him. The Suns are a cautionary tale on the detriments of trading an ambitious future for an aging superstar. In order to acquire Durant, the Suns traded promising young players such as Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson along with multiple first round picks. This, in turn, has left them in a worse place than they were prior to the trade.

With history suggesting that the Rockets may be better off preserving their ambitious young core, the Kevin Durant question is not one that can be answered solely based on his basketball prowess. The current toxicity plaguing the Suns in what seems to be the last year of Durant's tenure was even present towards the end of his time with a much more successful Warriors squad. It may be inconvenient to acknowledge, but Durant has a history of rocky exits from his former teams.

What Should the Rockets Do?

I think the best course of action currently would be to wait and see how the Rockets look in the coming playoffs. If they're competitive enough in their current form, they should prioritize the young core's development over this trade. If, however, they look a clear step behind their Western Conference competitors, then they should seriously consider a Durant trade. Regarding their pursuit of Durant, the Rockets must consider if the prospects of a championship outweigh the potential disarray that may befall their franchise should his stint fail.