In a blockbuster deal, the Houston Rockets dealt Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks along with the 10th pick in the draft this summer to Phoenix for all-world forward Kevin Durant. It was the kind of deal that pushes the Rockets into win-now mode while still somehow maintaining a solid bunch of assets for the future. There are still stories to be written, but the move certainly feels like a fleecing of the Suns’ new front office for one of the top 100 players of all time, even if he is about to be 37 years old.
It’s a big day for Rockets fans as the NBA season officially winds to a close. Let
Going from a losing team to a winning one is great. Doing so when you get to call the shots is better. Durant pulled off the deal he really wanted by forcing the hand of the Suns and getting a destination in the Rockets who are prepared to win right…NOW. The second seed in the Western Conference last year is poised with Durant to challenge OKC for a title and anyone else interested in testing them. Durant goes to a team whose needs perfectly match his skills. It’s a win-win for Durant and the Rockets.
The single biggest problem the Rockets had last season was their inability to hit threes and play well in the half court. Enter the literal perfect solution. Durant can still get his own shot, hit better than 40 percent of his threes in 2024 and gives the Rockets a go-to option in the half court. Add in his experience and it’s a damn near perfect fit. This is a team that should now jump near the top 10 in offense to go with their already insanely good defense.
If we were Whitmore, we’d be busting out the champagne right now. Two guys who were in his way for playing time are now gone and he gets to play alongside a guy who will dominate the attention of the opposing team. Whitmore has a chance to jump from a deep down the bench player to the rotation in one offseason. And there is good reason to think that may benefit the Rockets if he can continue to improve his shooting and become the explosive scorer off the bench they need.
Say what you will about the Rockets organization, but they have gone from three of the worst years in franchise history to the second seed in the West, acquiring a Hall of Fame talent without giving up the entire farm, and a boatload of future draft and player assets. It was a masterful maneuver by the Rockets general manager and the kind of deal that, if it ultimately works out, puts you on the map as one of the best front offices in basketball.
It’s hard to imagine being the Phoenix Suns and realizing you’ll probably be awful the next few years, AND you don’t have your draft picks. Somehow, the best deal they could get for Durant did not include the rights to what are likely to be lottery picks after this summer. Sure, they get a young and talented Green as well as the 10th pick in this draft (which is widely considered about four deep in terms of big time talent), but they didn’t get a center, which they desperately needed, or any real improvement defensively. Tough to be a Phoenix fan right now.
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