“Even a lowball bid from the Rockets would likely clear most offers leaguewide,” The Ringer’s Danny Chau says of Kevin Durant trade negotiations.
Among all the rumored trade suitors for Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant, the cleanest fit could be with the Houston Rockets, The Ringer’s Danny Chau writes.
“Unless a dark horse emerges from the shadows, Durant’s fate appears tied to the leverage play between Houston and Phoenix,” Chau wrote in a story published Tuesday. “Houston certainly isn’t obligated to return any draft picks (from the Suns).”
A trade is reportedly possible within the next few days, though the Suns are said to be underwhelmed by Houston’s current offer.
Regarding what Durant’s potential fit with the Rockets, Chau writes:
If there is a clean fit anywhere in the league, it lies in Houston, where the Rockets’ architect, Rafael Stone, has been steadfast over the years in affirming a slow-and-steady team-building approach focused on in-house talent development and a longer view for any potential contending windows. But the best teams create championship windows through consolidation, making league-shifting trades by identifying the one piece missing all along.
Houston’s lack of a reliable, efficient fourth-quarter scorer was the most obvious weakness among playoff teams in the upper echelon of the standings; it played out exactly how everyone expected in the first round against the Warriors. If Durant’s Macrobian career remains consistent even as he creeps closer to 40, there might not be a more perfect player to address the Rockets’ glaring void.
Surrounded by young, bloodthirsty condors up and down the roster, Durant would be insulated from overextending on defense, while contributing as a helper in all the ways that have gone under the radar over the years. And with a relatively clean cap sheet plus plenty of young talent and future assets, even a lowball bid from the Rockets would likely clear most offers leaguewide.
The specifics of Houston’s offer have yet to be identified in a report. However, financial analysis from Rockets Wire points to a package headlined by Jalen Green or a combination of Dillon Brooks and either Jabari Smith Jr. or Reed Sheppard as the most likely starting point.
So, if the Rockets were to pull off a deal, they would likely have four of five starters returning from last season’s 52-30 team, which finished No. 2 in the Western Conference. And the fifth would be Durant, an All-Star and future Hall of Famer, replacing either Green or Brooks.
It’s a clear upgrade at either spot, if a deal gets done, and it likely would have been the difference in a playoff-series loss to Golden State that went to a decisive Game 7. But that’s still a significant if.