The Houston Rockets were a relatively top-heavy ball club in 2025-26. Their only consistent performer was Kevin Durant, followed by Amen Thompson, although Thompson’s contributions extend far beyond the stat sheet.
Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Reed Sheppard and Tari Eason were all major contributors. However, they weren’t exactly consistent contributors, as each of them hit a lull at one point or another during the season.
Houston had two All-Star players in Durant and Sengun, although Sengun made
the All-Star team due to injuries (which still counts). Houston will have just one All-NBA player in Durant. Which likely isn’t enough, due to Durant’s age (although any talks about his decline can and should be neutered expeditiously).
Durant took on a myriad of roles, playing every position, ranging from point guard to shooting guard to small forward to power forward. To the tune of the third-most minutes per night and the second-most minutes in total.
Durant played 78 games –his most since the 2018-19 season. And after a disappointing postseason appearance, in which the Rockets were defeated by the undermanned Los Angeles Lakers in the first-round, the Rockets are rumored to be considering a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks to land two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
It’s believed that it would take Sengun, Smith and draft capital to land Antetokounmpo. If so, the Rockets will have to think long and hard about it.
The only two players that should be considered as untradeable are Thompson and Durant (in my opinion). Don’t get me wrong, Smith was the x-factor for Houston. When he played well, the Rockets usually did well also.
And Sengun made consecutive All-Star teams and is still just scratching the surface of his potential.
But we’re talking about Antetokounmpo, after all. One of the league’s 75 greatest players of all-time, who just averaged 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 65.8 percent true shooting and 63.6 percent effective shooting.
Antetokounmpo would’ve led the Rockets in scoring and efficiency, even in a season that saw him turn 31-years-old midway through the calendar year. Houston will certainly want to maximize Durant’s window, which will likely be just two more years, at most.
Neither Smith nor Sengun will likely become the player that Antetokounmpo is, even now. And again, both are fine, young players.
But Antetokounmpo’s presence will make life easier for Durant, which Houston has to consider, after asking Durant to do essentially everything in his first season in Houston. If Houston can get a deal done with Milwaukee by parting just Sengun and Smith (and draft capital), that would be tough to turn down.
Great things happen, historically, when you pair multiple MVPs together. And the Oklahoma City Thunder aren’t going anywhere.
Houston may as well load up. It’s their best chance of dethroning the Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.
