Zach Lavine's expensive decision spared the Rockets from a tough conversation

The Rockets have faced a dilemma of adding more scoring talent this offseason, which could have only gotten tougher if Zach Lavine hit the market with a buyout. However, Lavine chose to return to the Kings next season on his nearly $49 million salary. That spared the Rockets front office from making a tough decision that could have led to a lot of regret either way.

Lavine would be a huge question mark for Houston

On paper, it's clear why the Rockets could covet a player like Lavine. He's been a great scorer for years, especially as a 3-point shooter. Lavine has shot 39% from deep for his career, including an astounding 41.6% on the lowly Kings since arriving there in 2025. And he's not just doing it on easy, wide-open shots either.

Lavine regularly takes some of the hardest 3-point attempts in the league and gets up 6-7 attempts per game while maintaining his stellar efficiency. He can also use his shooting threat to attack closeouts and consistently maintain a 20 points per game scoring average. Lavine's versatility as a multi-level scorer would gives the Rockets a lot more options to run their offense, especially against an intense playoff defense.

But playoff defense would also be a huge unknown for Lavine on the other end. He's never been known as a strong defender and his weaknesses on that end have often contributed to his teams falling short of expectations. In fact, he has the fourth-worst plus-minus in NBA history, fueled largely by his teams having such porous defense with him on the floor.

Lavine's scoring potential is an enticing thought next to Kevin Durant, who's only getting older and clearly needs help to prop up his team's offense on the perimeter. Despite his horrid defense, Lavine would have still been worth a look on the buyout market for the Rockets with his shooting and overall scoring profile.

Lavine's contract is an automatic dealbreaker

However, by choosing to remain on his current contract, Lavine has all but guaranteed that he won't be leaving Sacramento next season. He will be the 22nd highest-paid player in the league next season, far beyond his actual value. For comparison, he'll be making more than Durant himself or even rising superstar Anthony Edwards.

Obviously, the Rockets (or any other team for that matter) shouldn't consider trading for Durant under practically any circumstances. The only deal that would remotely make sense is taking on Lavine's contract along with future draft assets, but only rebuilding teams should be interested. That's an unlikely scenario though, so contending teams will need to wait until next summer to see if Lavine will join them on a more reasonable contract.

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