“The Rockets are realistic championship contenders after this trade – and that’s the whole reason the deal happened.” – Tim McMahon
“This elevates them to championship contention… Wouldn’t surprise me at all to see them in the Western Conference Finals… The Houston Rockets are instant title contenders.”
– Stephen A. Smith“When you put Kevin Durant on any basketball team, immediately they become right into the mix of contenders.” – Kenny Smith
These were just some of the national media reactions to
the Houston Rockets acquiring Kevin Durant in a “blockbuster” trade with the Phoenix Suns last summer. The reactions weren’t surprising, as many of them had been clamoring for the deal from the moment the Rockets were eliminated by Golden State in Round 1 of the 2025 playoffs. However one writer, from a humble but legendary blog in its own right, was far less enthusiastic of the prospect of trading away the leading scorer and the defensive heartbeat of a 52-win team that had just increased its win total from the previous season by 19 games, only to lose to a far more experienced team in playoffs.
“Kevin Durant is no doubt one of the greatest scorers the game has ever seen, and even at the age of 37, he can still get it done. But he is 37, and in the last three seasons, he has missed 62 total games due to injury. Kevin Durant going to a team that will depend on his availability in order to compete for a championship likely will suffer the fate of… well the Phoenix Suns…. Keep in mind that whoever trades for Kevin Durant will also have to give a contract extension … Paying a nearly 40-year-old Kevin Durant $60 million… These are the types of moves only bad teams make.” – Nick Stevenson
To be fair, the Rockets extension of Kevin Durant ended up being an average of $45-million per year, which under the circumstances was a very prudent move by them. So, in that regard, I was wrong. The argument could be made I was wrong about the risk of Kevin Durant’s injury history… until I wasn’t.
At the age of 37, Kevin Durant played in 78 regular season games in 2025-2026. That is the most games played by him since the 2013-2014 campaign. In those 78 games, he led the Rockets in scoring (26.0 ppg), he led them in minutes played (36.4 mpg), and he led them in field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and true shooting percentage. In the regular seaso,n he was everything as advertised on the court… a bucket. Early on, he even seemed to be willing to take on more of a leadership role amongst the young group surrounding him. Then came February.
That’s when the internet became suspicious that KD was using a burner account to trash his teammates. Wherever you land on this conspiracy, the fact that it’s even remotely believable speaks volumes. By that time, the Rockets were in the midst of losing games that they shouldn’t, blowing big leads, and proving themselves to be their most awful in the most critical moments of games. The one thing the national media told us was the reason the Rockets needed KD for was apparently taken as gospel by the coaches and players who seemed to have no other plan in crunch time other than, force the ball to Durant, then stand and watch.
There were some games where the strategy worked out, but early in the season, even when the Rockets were winning games at a high clip, it was clear that simply depending on Kevin Durant to bail you out in clutch situations was not a winning formula against the upper echelon in the league. The Rockets were not winning games against the best of the best because their offense became stagnant, predictable, and too often there was a lack of execution. This problem is not all on Kevin Durant, but throughout the entire season, he unfortunately never became a part of the solution either. The key injuries to Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams were contributing factors as well. Therefore, going into the playoffs it was clear that the Rockets were going to have no choice but to rely heavily on the iso creation of Kevin Durant to win playoff games, until…
On April 17, 2026, the Houston Chronicle reported that Kevin Durant was “Questionable” for the playoff opener against the Lakers, with a knee injury he reportedly got in a team practice, colliding with a teammate trying recover a loose ball going out of bounds. He would indeed miss Game 1 of that series, play 41 minutes in Game 2, scoring 20 of his 23 points in the first half, then would proceed to miss the last 3 games of the series with an ankle injury. As you well know, the Rockets lost the series in six games, averaging 98.6 points per game.
Those are all of the facts, sprinkled with some opinions from myself and others who cover the sport. Let’s be clear, the book is not closed on whether the trade for Kevin Durant was the right move. Not after just one season when Kevin Durant is at least contractually, going to be playing for the Rockets for two more years. However, for 2025-2026, we have to admit that this team and the impact that Kevin Durant would have, fell far short of expectations, or the expectations were unreasonable in the first place.
Whether you are in the camp of the national media who crowned the Rockets immediate contenders, or you were amongst those who were cautious if not skeptical… the fact is none of us are right and none of us are wrong. Not yet anyway, but those of us who were skeptical are very close to looking as if we were right. As more trade rumors continue to surround the Rockets this offseason, with names such as Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown being floated, it’s my opinion that any trade involving Kevin Durant would be an admission that acquiring him in the first place was a mistake. An even scarier thought is any trade that doesn’t include him will mean giving up more young talent for an older player to pair with a now 38-year-old Kevin Durant coming off yet another injury that cut his season short. Needless to say, Rafael Stone has work to do.
If you believed Kevin Durant made the Rockets instant contenders, then 2025-2026 was a failed season in your eyes. If you were skeptical that 37-year-old with extensive injury history could be counted on to put a team on his back and carry them to a championship, this is still a failed season in your eyes. It is still my opinion that in a perfect world, carrying this team on his back offensively was not what he was brought here for. At least it shouldn’t have been what he was brought here for. He should have been the compliment to Alperen and Amen leading this team. That’s not what happened, and if what did happen was the plan all along, then once again, it’s time to start holding the decision makers for this team to the fire.
Kevin Durant wraps up our player season in review series. It was a very disappointing end to the season, but now is the time to look ahead. Let the offseason truly begin! As always, thank you to the TDS faithful for rocking with us through thick and thin. We will continue to be here with you breaking down all the speculation, rumors, and news when it breaks. Go Rockets!
