NBA Rumors: Rockets Out on Kevin Durant Trade; Same Logic for Passing on James Harden

The Houston Rockets reportedly aren’t interested in pursuing Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant in a trade this offseason due to his age.

According to Sam Amick and Anthony Slater of The Athletic, if the Rockets are going to add a star to their roster, they want players “whose timelines fit better with their young core.”

Amick and Slater noted that the Rockets’ lack of interest in the 35-year-old Durant is a case of the organization applying the same logic they did last offseason when they passed on the opportunity to add James Harden despite his interest in returning to Houston.

Amick and Slater also reported that Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, Suns guard Devin Booker and New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson are all potential targets for the Rockets since they are each 27 or younger, but none of the aforementioned teams have shown interest in moving those players.

After being among the worst teams in the league for three consecutive seasons, Houston took a huge leap forward last season, going 41-41 despite playing in the stacked Western Conference.

Veteran free-agent signings in Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks played a big role in turning things around, as did the continued development of young players such as Alperen Şengün, Jalen Green and Jabari Smith.

Houston may be ready to take another step forward and reach the playoffs next season, but even with Durant in the fold, the Rockets would not be a championship team.

Durant is one of the all-time greats with 14 All-Star selections, four scoring titles, two NBA championships, two NBA Finals MVP awards and one NBA MVP Award to his credit, and he is coming off yet another strong campaign.

Playing in 75 games last season, which was his most since the 2018-19 season, Durant averaged 27.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.2 three-pointers made and 1.2 blocks per game, resulting in a ninth-place finish in the MVP votings.

However, despite having a core of Durant, Booker and Bradley Beal, the Suns were swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

That led to speculation that the Suns could look to break up their Big Three this offseason, but team governor Mat Ishbia seemed to put the Durant trade rumors to rest on Wednesday with the following post on X:

Ishbia’s post suggests that even if the Rockets did have interest in acquiring Durant, the Suns prefer to run it back with their core next season.

With any Durant pursuit seemingly out of the question, the Rockets will likely continue to survey the NBA landscape, waiting for their opportunity to strike on a star player in their 20s who can help keep their championship window open for many years to come.