The Houston Rockets made one of the biggest splashes this summer when they traded for All-NBA forward Kevin Durant. Houston now heads into this season looking to capitalize with Durant joining young stars Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun.
Houston brought in Durant to fix their offense. Yes, the Rockets were the second seed in the West last season but flamed out in the first round to the Warriors. They were relying on Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green to create consistent perimeter offense, which led to mixed results.
That is where Durant comes in. Despite entering his 19th NBA season, the All-Star forward has shown no signs of slowing down. He is coming off a season where he averaged 27 points per game and flirted with 50/40/90 splits, a common theme in his career.
However, Durant is not only entering his age-37 season, but he is also entering the last year of his contract. Durant is set to be a free agent in the summer of 2026, but Houston is reportedly willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that is not the case.
The Rockets must lock Durant in now rather than later in the season
All signs point to Houston and Durant agreeing to an extension before training camp begins. The Rockets want to prioritize homegrown draft pick Tari Eason first, as he is also entering the last year of his deal. Houston wants to be able to lock both forwards in so they can see what their financials look like in the coming years, especially with Thompson’s likely extension next summer.
In order to ink both Durant and Eason while having money left over for Thompson, Durant is likely going to have to take less than the max. That would be a two-year deal worth about $120 million.
The Rockets cannot afford to have Durant as a rental
We saw what happened the last time Durant entered a season on the last year of his deal. It was during the 2018-19 season with the Golden State Warriors, and after his infamous dustup with Draymond Green, Durant ended up leaving after the season.
Houston did not give up a lot to get Durant, as they only gave up Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, and the tenth pick in this year’s draft that ended up being Duke big man Khaman Maluach. However, it is not like they got him for pennies on the dollar either. They brought him in to help this team get closer to a title in the short term.
Durant hasn’t stated how long he wants to keep playing, but a two- or three-year contract with a player option would make the most sense for both parties.
