Kevin Durant traded to the Houston Rockets: the NBA's new super team for the 2024/25 season

The Phoenix Suns have agreed to a blockbuster trade: 15-time NBA All-Star Kevin Durant is joining the Houston Rockets.

According to sources, the trade will be finalized when the new league year begins on July 6. The deal puts Durant on the second-seeded Rockets, who won 52 games under Ime Udoka as coach, heading into the 2024/25 season and elevates the team's position for a Western Conference championship contender, with Durant teaming with 2025 All-Star Alperen Sengun, promising two-way player Amen Thompson, and veteran point guard Fred VanVleet.

Durant and Udoka have a strong relationship dating back to their shared stints with the Brooklyn Nets and USA Basketball. Last week, Udoka agreed to a new long-term contract extension with the Rockets, making him one of the highest-paid coaches in the league.

Durant, who turns 37 in September, averaged 26,6 points, 6,0 rebounds, and 4,2 assists in 62 games this season. The future Hall of Famer has averaged at least 25 points, 50% shooting from the field, and 40% from 49.7-point range in three consecutive seasons, the longest streak in NBA history, according to ESPN Research. As a shooter, Durant remains prolific, posting NBA-best jump shots (53.1%) and mid-range jump shots (50.9%). He also had the best shooting percentage off the dribble (XNUMX%), according to GeniusIQ.

Durant is a key acquisition for the Rockets, especially in providing them with an excellent jump shooter and shot creator who fits seamlessly into the lineup.

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Last season, the Rockets ranked 27th in effective field goal percentage off the dribble and 24th in effective field goal percentage on all shots, according to GeniusIQ. The Rockets also ranked seventh in isolations per game this season, but only 27th in direct isolation points. By contract, Durant is a reliable shooter and remains one of the league's best isolation players: He led the NBA in direct isolation points among players who took 200 isolations this season, according to ESPN Research.

The Suns held serious talks to trade Durant this week, primarily focused on the Miami Heat, Houston Rockets, and Minnesota Timberwolves, according to sources. Other wild cards also emerged, including the Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers, LA Clippers, and Denver Nuggets, according to sources. However, with Durant's $54,7 million contract expiring and eligible for a new two-year extension after the trade, the league's market for him clearly demonstrated his ability to decide whether he wanted to play for a franchise long-term.

The Suns' talks focused on the Rockets and Heat in recent days, but both teams were reluctant to part with young mainstays Jabari Smith Jr., Houston's Reed Sheppard and Miami's Kel'el Ware in a deal for Durant, according to sources. The Heat made multiple offers for Durant but ultimately turned down the opportunity to include Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, Haywood Highsmith, the 20th overall pick and other draft assets in a deal, according to sources. Green averaged 21 points, 4,6 rebounds and 3,4 assists this season while shooting a career-high 35,4% from three-point range. The 23-year-old, the second overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft, played in all 82 games over each of the past two seasons. He made 234 three-pointers this season, the most in a single season for a Rockets player since James Harden in 2019-20. He now teams up with All-NBA star Devin Booker to form a potent duo at 20 years old.

Brooks shot a career-high 39,7% from three-point range and ranked third in total defensive faceoffs against 2025 All-Stars this season, according to ESPN Research. Whitmore, who turns 21 in July, averaged 0.46 points per touch, the fourth-best average among players who have reached 1,000 touches this season. For a team like the Suns that has stated it wants to promote toughness and determination going forward, with owner Mat Ishbia promoting a new culture, Brooks has embodied those attributes throughout his career.

Durant joined the Suns in a trade at the February 2023 deadline, and his 26.8 points per game as a member of the franchise are the highest in Suns history. Phoenix now has three first-round picks and eight second-round picks eligible for trade, recouping most of the assets they traded when they acquired four first-round picks for Durant.

The Suns went 36-46 this season and finished XNUMXth in the Western Conference with the highest payroll in NBA history, leading to organizational changes with the hiring of executive Brian Gregory as general manager and Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott as the new head coach.