Rockets Notes: Durant, Offseason Plans, Sheppard, Harden

Injuries to Fred VanVleet in September and Steven Adams in the midst of the season affected the Rockets far beyond their on-court contributions, according to Ramona Shelburne and Tim MacMahon of ESPN. With their two veteran leaders not in the lineup, there were fewer buffers against Kevin Durant‘s “moodiness,” which had an effect on the team’s younger players as the season wore on, sources tell the authors.

Durant provided the elite-level scorer that Houston was lacking during last year’s playoff appearance and was the team’s top player throughout the season, averaging 26.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 78 games. However, the fit behind the scenes became “increasingly complex,” according to Shelburne and MacMahon, highlighted by a burner scandal that emerged during the All-Star break.

A Twitter profile reportedly belonging to Durant posted several messages criticizing current teammates Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr. along with former teammates Devin Booker and Stephen Curry, as well as Steve Kerr, Durant’s coach during his time with Golden State. Durant called the situation “Twitter nonsense,” but sources tell the authors that the team took the posts seriously and believed Durant was associated with them at the very least. Durant addressed the controversy after the break in “more of a team discussion than a meeting” before moving onto other topics, and a Rockets source told Shelburne and MacMahon that the team moved past it.

“I’ve heard that there were a couple people who were bothered by what he said on the burner account but none of them were in our locker room,” the source said. “I think Kevin might’ve been worried about it being a distraction to the team. But literally no one cared about it. The guys [he] mentioned are not sensitive about stuff said about them online.”

There’s more from Houston:

• The Rockets traded for Durant last summer because his price became low enough that they considered it affordable, not because they’re looking to move on from the young core they assembled over the previous four drafts, Shelburne and MacMahon add. After this year’s first-round exit, there has been speculation that Houston might try to deal for another star such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard or Donovan Mitchell, but a high-ranking team source downplayed that possibility, saying the organization will be “opportunistic” this summer but hopes to follow Oklahoma City’s example and build a long-term contender around its young talent without making a blockbuster trade. “We aren’t thinking, ‘We’ve got to win now because we’re in KD’s window,'” the source said. “We are hyperfocused on our young core. Our five guys have a chance to win a lot of games together for a long time. We don’t want to make the mistake other teams have of giving up on guys too soon. We want a 10-year run.”
• The Rockets remain high on Reed Sheppard‘s long-term potential despite an up-and-down performance in this year’s playoffs, according to the authors. The team believes he could develop into an all-time great point guard in the mold of Steve Nash, which is why he was selected ahead of Stephon Castle in the 2024 draft. There’s less confidence around the league, with one scout comparing Sheppard more to Kerr than Nash.
• There has been mutual interest in a reunion with James Harden several times since he forced his way out of Houston in 2021, and sources tell Shelburne and MacMahon that Harden and his representatives explored a return this season after his Clippers team got off to a 6-21 start. There’s still affection for Harden in the organization, but Rockets officials were concerned that his presence might limit the development of Sengun, Sheppard and Amen Thompson. “We’re not really looking for a heliocentric player, as great as James still is,” a team source said. “We want to develop Reed, we want to develop Amen and we want the ball in Alpy’s hands.”