Grading the deal: Houston goes all in, but did Phoenix get enough?

It's not each time the NBA satellite gets a Game 7 of the Finals and a aboriginal Hall of Famer changing teams via blockbuster trade.

But conscionable hours earlier the Oklahoma City Thunder and Phoenix Suns play for the 2025 rubric (8 p.m. ET, ABC), the Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets linked up to nonstop Kevin Durant to Houston successful a woody for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 wide prime successful Wednesday's draught and 5 second-rounders.

Which franchise won the trade? How volition Durant acceptable wrong the Rockets' young roster? Are the Suns going afloat rebuild? ESPN NBA insider Kevin Pelton grades the woody from each angle.

Houston Rockets: B+

There was a unusual opposition implicit the past period arsenic treatment of Durant's adjacent destination heated up astatine the aforesaid clip the 2025 NBA playoffs were reaching their conclusion. Youth and extent led the Pacers and Thunder to the NBA Finals, yet teams were competing to drawback them by giving up aggregate contributors to bring successful Durant, who volition crook 37 astir the commencement of grooming camp.

Coming disconnected finishing 2nd successful the West with lone 1 starter (guard Fred VanVleet) older than 28, the Rockets were surely champion positioned to thread the needle of surrounding Durant with capable endowment to contend for a title -- peculiarly arsenic the terms dropped to the constituent wherever they didn't person to see immoderate of their astir prized young players successful return.

The seven-game bid Houston mislaid to the veteran-laden Golden State Warriors successful the opening circular exposed the Rockets' request for much half-court scoring punch. The Rockets ranked 22nd successful points per play connected their archetypal effort to people extracurricular of transition, per Cleaning the Glass, up of lone the Orlando Magic among playoff teams.

During the regular season, Houston was capable to compensate with predominant usage of modulation and by dominating the violative glass. According to Cleaning the Glass, nary squad averaged much points per missed changeable connected 2nd chances. Both of those factors thin to adust up successful the playoffs, particularly precocious successful adjacent games. The Rockets went 0-3 successful "clutch" games against the Warriors, posting an disfigured 91 violative standing with the borderline wrong 5 points successful the past 5 minutes of those games per NBA Advanced Stats.

Although Durant is nary longer arsenic singular a scorer arsenic successful his prime, erstwhile helium posted a existent shooting percent (TS%) astatine slightest 15% amended than league mean 9 times according to Basketball-Reference, he's inactive arsenic bully arsenic conscionable astir anyone creating his ain offense. Among players with a usage complaint of 28% oregon higher successful astatine slightest 500 minutes past season, lone Denver Nuggets three-time MVP large antheral Nikola Jokic surpassed Durant's .642 TS%.

The opposition with Green particularly favors Durant. Also a No. 2 pick, Green had Houston's highest usage complaint past play with a below-average .544 TS%. (All-Star halfway Alperen Sengun, who had the team's second-highest usage, wasn't immoderate amended astatine .545 but makes much plays for others and has scored much efficiently successful the past. Green's TS% was a vocation high.)

All the Rockets' young stars faced a pugnacious accommodation to the playoffs, but nary much truthful than Green, who averaged 13.3 PPG connected 37% shooting. His 38-point Game 2 was the lone clip Green surpassed 12 points oregon changeable amended than 40% successful the series. Essentially, Golden State condensed each the fears astir Green's weaknesses arsenic a starring scorer into one, salient seven-game sample.

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The numbers down KD's commercialized to the Rockets

With Kevin Durant heading to Houston, cheque retired immoderate cardinal statistic and facts from his clip with the Suns.

The bigger nonaccomplishment for Houston successful the abbreviated word volition surely beryllium Brooks, whose accomplishment was cardinal to the Rockets' accelerated improvement from 60-plus losses successful some 2021-22 and 2022-23 to 52 wins past season. Along with VanVleet and manager Ime Udoka, Brooks helped alteration Houston's antiaircraft culture. And arsenic overmuch arsenic the Rockets utilized extent to decorativeness atop a crowded battalion of West contenders during the regular season, they're abruptly bladed connected the perimeter.

Amen Thompson volition undoubtedly beryllium a cardinal portion to solving immoderate issues this commercialized creates. Thompson, who got my ballot for Defensive Player of the Year, surpassed Brooks arsenic Houston's perimeter stopper past season. (Having 2 elite defenders was surely a luxury, 1 that helped the Rockets support some Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler successful the opening round.)

Because Thompson tin support connected the perimeter astatine 6-foot-7, swapping 2 wings for the 6-foot-11 Durant fundamentally moves him from the Rockets' powerfulness guardant to their shooting defender without fundamentally altering the operation of Houston's offense.

It volition beryllium absorbing to spot wherever Udoka settles connected a 5th starter alongside Durant, Sengun, Thompson and VanVleet. Jabari Smith Jr. could determination backmost into the starting 5 aft Thompson replaced him successful the lineup midseason, which would springiness the Rockets a frontcourt afloat of players listed astatine 6-foot-11. Alternatively, Houston's astir like-for-like replacement for Brooks would beryllium sixth antheral Tari Eason.

Promoting 1 of those players to the starting 5 does enactment much unit connected caller first-round picks Reed Sheppard and Cam Whitmore to measurement forward. Sheppard, the No. 3 wide pick, played conscionable 654 minutes arsenic a rookie, portion Whitmore was astatine the fringes of Udoka's rotation erstwhile everyone was healthy. Whitmore has been productive erstwhile he's gotten opportunities and Sheppard was my top-rated imaginable successful past year's draft, truthful the Rockets' beforehand bureau is justified successful believing some players are susceptible of contributing more.

Adding Durant, and presumably signing him to an hold beyond 2025-26, volition unit hard fiscal choices for Houston. Having signed halfway Steven Adams to a three-year, $39 cardinal extension, the Rockets are already pushing the luxury taxation this season. If they capable retired their roster with players making the minimum, they're astir $33 cardinal beneath the projected luxury-tax enactment earlier addressing VanVleet. Houston holds a $44.9 cardinal squad enactment for the seasoned constituent defender but could diminution it successful favour of a semipermanent woody that pays him little successful 2025-26.

Paying a tiny magnitude of luxury taxation this play wouldn't impact the Rockets much, but delaying the timepiece connected the repeater taxation could person immense ramifications down the road. Houston volition get overmuch much costly erstwhile Thompson's rookie declaration expires successful 2027. The Rockets are surely penciling successful a max woody for Thompson, portion Eason and Smith are eligible for rookie extensions now. Meanwhile, Durant's wage could summation connected an hold arsenic helium heads into his precocious 30s.

Those are problems for different day. Houston has moved connected to the adjacent signifier of an awesome roster physique without giving up immoderate of the team's astir invaluable draught picks. The Rockets retained Phoenix's unprotected 2027 first-round pick, positive the accidental to get the 2 champion of picks from the Suns, Brooklyn Nets and Dallas Mavericks successful 2029. They besides person a swap with the Nets successful 2027 that puts unit connected Brooklyn's rebuild to accelerate.

Based connected their operation of young endowment and the deficiency of a go-to scorer, Houston was ever the champion acceptable arsenic Durant's adjacent team. Now we'll spot whether helium tin assistance the Rockets to their archetypal playoff bid triumph since erstwhile Oklahoma City Thunder teammate James Harden was starring successful Houston.

Phoenix Suns: B

This Durant commercialized is surely the opening of a roster makeover alternatively than the completion of it. Phoenix got backmost a brace of wings, exacerbating the imbalance of a roster whose 5 highest-paid players (Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, Green, Brooks and Grayson Allen) could each beryllium called earthy shooting guards.

Pending those aboriginal moves, this Durant commercialized seems pragmatic for the Suns, who ne'er stood a accidental of recouping the worth they gave up to get him from the Nets astatine the 2023 commercialized deadline. Durant is much than 2 years older present and a twelvemonth distant from escaped agency, meaning Phoenix had acold little power of negotiations. And aft the team's narration with Durant frayed erstwhile the Suns discussed trading him successful February, bringing him backmost wasn't a realistic threat.

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What Kevin Durant commercialized means for Rockets, Suns

Tim Bontemps breaks down what the Rockets and Suns are gaining from the Kevin Durant trade.

The worst-case script for Phoenix was trading Durant for veterans who acceptable amended alongside Beal and Booker successful a misguided effort to triumph now. Again, let's not regularisation retired that happening down the line, but for present the Suns got what could beryllium the champion 2025 draught prime to alteration hands and the 23-year-old Green.

I ne'er liked the three-year hold the Rockets gave Green, which some pays him similar an above-average starter ($33.3 cardinal successful 2025-26) erstwhile he's not presently 1 and allows him to go an unrestricted escaped cause astatine property 25 successful 2027 if helium does interruption out. (That hold did service its intent for Houston, arsenic structuring this woody arsenic a sign-and-trade involving Green arsenic a restricted escaped cause would astir surely person been impossible.)

Still, it's surely imaginable Green tin pat into his upside if helium sticks around. He's ne'er played alongside a creator arsenic talented arsenic Booker, and Green could get much opportunities arsenic a "second-side guy" erstwhile the shot swings implicit to him aft defenses person loaded up to halt Booker.

Brooks would instantly go the Suns' champion perimeter defender, and it's amusing to spot him yet onshore successful Phoenix six-plus years aft the miscommunication implicit which "Brooks" the Suns were getting successful a woody involving Trevor Ariza, agelong since retired. If Phoenix is going to chopped payroll to debar exceeding the 2nd apron and having different first-round prime frozen from trades, however, Brooks is simply a apt campaigner fixed his worth passim the league.

In 5 years, the No. 10 prime volition apt substance astir to the Suns. They haven't picked that precocious since 2020, erstwhile they jumped from the lottery to the NBA Finals aft taking Jalen Smith No. 10, 2 picks up of Tyrese Haliburton. Phoenix, which has lone 1 first-round prime connected a rookie declaration connected the roster (Ryan Dunn), present holds a brace of first-rounders adjacent Thursday.

Acquiring Durant was evidently a nonaccomplishment for the Suns, who ended up winning lone a azygous playoff bid during his 3 seasons connected the roster and inactive beryllium their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks to that trade. Phoenix didn't person astir capable leverage to get those picks backmost from the Rockets.

That choice, positive the consequent Beal commercialized that further constricted the Suns' flexibility and others that mislaid power of their first-rounders done 2031, is successful the past. All they tin bash present is effort to support making amended decisions that incrementally brighten a gloomy aboriginal outlook.