When the Suns and Rockets agreed a week-and-a-half ago to a deal that will send Kevin Durant to Houston, they negotiated it as a two-team trade. However, after the July moratorium lifts on Sunday and that trade can be officially completed, it’s expected to be finalized as a seven-team mega-deal, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (YouTube link).
Marks specifically mentions the Hawks, Timberwolves, and Nets as teams who will be involved, referencing the Rockets’ sign-and-trade deal for Clint Capela and Atlanta’s sign-and-trade for Nickeil Alexander-Walker as agreements that may be looped into this trade. Brooklyn made a minor draft-night deal with the Suns that includes a couple picks Phoenix is acquiring from Houston as part of the package for Durant.
While Marks didn’t name all seven teams, Fred Katz of The Athletic says the Warriors and Lakers are expected to play a part in the deal too.
The No. 59 overall pick (Jahmai Mashack) that was originally sent from Houston to Phoenix in the Durant agreement got rerouted by Phoenix to Golden State (who later sent it to Memphis), while No. 36 pick Adou Thiero will end up with the Lakers following a series of swaps involving the Nets, Suns, and Timberwolves.
There may also be a pathway to turning Dorian Finney-Smith‘s four-year, $53MM agreement with Houston into a sign-and-trade from the Lakers, though Katz’s report suggests Finney-Smith (and Alexander-Walker) aren’t being discussed in the current framework.
Theoretically, other previous trade agreements involving some of these teams could be roped in to expand the deal even further if it proves advantageous (or if it just streamlines the process of finalizing trades). We also still have more than 72 hours before the moratorium lifts on Sunday at 11:00 am Central time, so if more deals are reached in the coming days, it’s possible they could be attached to this one too.
To be clear, while putting together these swaps as a single mega-trade could result in minor additional pieces such as cash, a draft-rights player, or a two-way player (Katz mentions Daeqwon Plowden of the Hawks) being involved, it won’t meaningfully alter the players and picks changing hands.
It simply means that several trade agreements previously reported separately will be combined into one move to get them all done at once. That should make life easier for the league, which won’t have to process a bunch of separate trades that include certain players or draft picks.
It also means the trade will likely set a new NBA record for most teams involved in a single deal. That record was last set a year ago when six teams got together to complete the transaction that sent Klay Thompson to Dallas, Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield to Golden State, and Josh Green to Charlotte.
Our breakdown of 2025 offseason trades can be found right here if you want to try to figure out how to get eight, nine, 10, or all 30 teams somehow involved in this deal.
“Having played against Kevin and coached him before, I know he’s the type of competitor who fits with what we’ve been building here in Houston,” head coach Ime Udoka said in a statement. “His skill level, love of basketball, and dedication to his craft have made him one of the most respected players of his generation, and my staff and I are excited to work with him.”
9:10am: The Hawks are signing free agent wing