Kevin Durant Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Durant Trade Expected To Be Completed As Seven-Team Deal

July 2nd, 2025 at 9:56pm CST by Luke Adams

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.

Heat Rumors: Young Core, Adebayo, Herro, Rozier, Wiggins

July 2nd, 2025 at 4:31pm CST by Luke Adams

It has been a relatively quiet free agency period so far for the Heat, who agreed to re-sign Davion Mitchell on Saturday and worked out a sign-and-trade deal sending Duncan Robinson to Detroit, but haven’t made any veteran roster additions outside of Simone Fontecchio, who will be sent to Miami in that trade with the Pistons.

According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, Miami are content to “let our young guys show what they can do” this fall, with a full training camp together. As Jackson explains, the Heat believe they can’t accurately judge the current group based on last season’s results due to the Jimmy Butler chaos, changing roles, and Andrew Wiggins‘ health issues, among other factors.

The team also believes that its young prospects – Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez, Nikola Jovic, Pelle Larsson, and Kasparas Jakucionis – all have a chance to be “really good players,” with some of them set to take on increased roles this season, Jackson writes.

The Heat are remaining open to taking a bigger swing if a star hits the trade market, but would only be aggressive if a player in his prime is available, Jackson continues. That’s why Miami wasn’t willing to go all-in for Kevin Durant, with multiple sources telling the Herald that the team never thought it was close to landing the 36-year-old forward.

Whether or not the Heat have the assets to beat out rival suitors if an in-his-prime star such as Giannis Antetokounmpo is on the trade block is a fair question, Jackson notes.

Here’s more on the Heat:

Miami haven’t considered the idea of trading Bam Adebayo and/or Tyler Herro in order to launch a rebuild, a source with knowledge of the situation tells the Herald. The Heat believe that tanking fails more often than it works and doesn’t plan to rethink that philosophy, according to Jackson.
The Heat also aren’t weighing the idea of waiving and stretching the final year of Terry Rozier‘s contract, which will pay him $26.6MM this season, Jackson says. Unlike Milwaukee with Damian Lillard, Miami doesn’t need the immediate cap savings, so the plan is to either trade Rozier at some point or simply keep him for next season, Jackson adds.
Although the Heat are entertaining inquiries on Wiggins, there’s no urgency to move him, according to Jackson, who says the club acquired him from Golden State in February because it likes his game, not to use his contract in a subsequent deal. The Heat view him as a player who can complement Adebayo and Herro.
The Heat officially signed undrafted rookie Vladislav Goldin to a two-way contract on Wednesday. Our story on the deal can be found here.

Charania’s Latest: Durant, Celtics, Giannis

June 26th, 2025 at 4:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Kevin Durant will become eligible to sign an extension in July and there’s an expectation that he and the Rockets are going to explore that possibility once the trade sending him from Phoenix to Houston is official, ESPN’s Shams Charania said on Thursday’s episode of First Take (YouTube link).

“The goal right now for Kevin Durant and the Rockets is for him to retire in Houston,” Charania said. “They’re going to eventually, this offseason, discuss a contract extension and figure out where that lands.”

Durant, who will turn 37 in September, will make roughly $54.7MM during the final year of his current contract in 2025/26. Once he’s traded to Houston, he’ll be immediately eligible to sign a two-year extension worth up to about $122MM.

If he were to wait six months, he could get up to nearly $124MM on that two-year deal — the first-year max salary would be the same, but he could get an 8% raise for year two instead of 5%.

Given the minimal difference between those two hypothetical extensions, I’d expect the Rockets and Durant to try to get something done before the regular season begins rather than waiting until January.

Here are a couple more items of interest from Charania:

Although they reportedly spoke to teams with lottery picks ahead of Wednesday’s first round, the Celtics were “not close” to trading Jaylen Brown, Charania said on ESPN’s First Take (YouTube link). Charania reiterated that Boston isn’t looking to move Brown or Derrick White and would only consider it if it an offer “blows them out of the water.” While Sam Hauser and Anfernee Simons are still trade candidates to monitor, Charania suggests that the brunt of the Celtics’ cost-cutting moves are already done, with Jrue Holiday headed to Portland and Kristaps Porzingis going to Atlanta.
After reporting in mid-May that Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is “open-minded” about considering possible options for his future outside of Milwaukee, Charania said on ESPN’s Get Up on Thursday (YouTube link) that that’s still the case, even though the two-time MVP hasn’t requested a trade to this point. “He’s going to remain open-minded,” Charania said (hat tip to RealGM). “I don’t think his future is necessarily tied to this week, to free agency week. It’s going to be a process where you see how this team looks into July – well into July, potentially – and then ultimately he will see how the Bucks look and how the chess pieces look across the league and ultimately have some form of a resolution.”

Windhorst: Suns Asked For Darius Garland In Kevin Durant Trade Talks

June 25th, 2025 at 3:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Suns contacted the Cavaliers about Darius Garland while trying to put together a Kevin Durant trade, NBA insider Brian Windhorst reported in a discussion with Chris Oldach of ESPN Cleveland (YouTube link).

Windhorst emphasizes that Phoenix initiated the trade talks, stating that Cleveland isn’t reaching out to teams in an effort to unload Garland. He adds that the Cavs’ response was to ask for Durant and “other assets” in a potential deal, which likely would have been “multiple first-round picks.” Presumably that would have included a 2029 first-rounder that originally belonged to Cleveland (though the Jazz now control swap rights on that first-rounder, so there’s no guarantee the Suns will end up with the Cavs’ pick).

Windhorst states that Phoenix “didn’t hang up the phone” when presented with that scenario. He also notes that the Cavaliers would have needed to offload salary before taking on Durant, stating that they contacted at least one team to see if there was interest.

Ultimately, the talks ended before getting serious because Durant didn’t want to play in Cleveland, according to Windhorst, who points out that the forward had a limited number of desired destinations, reportedly Houston, San Antonio and Miami.

Windhorst indicates that several teams in need of point guard help have made inquiries about Garland, who will make $39.5MM next season and is under contract through 2027/28. He also states that Garland “might have been on the verge of asking for a trade” last summer, but he’s now happy in Cleveland after putting together an All-Star season.

Windhorst expects the Cavs to make “an aggressive offer” to keep free agent guard Ty Jerome, which means Isaac Okoro or Dean Wade may have to be moved to clear up salary. He adds that the team won’t trade any of its stars to save money, but it will face difficult decisions while operating in second-apron territory.

Trade Rumors: Giannis, K. Murray, Ellis, P. Williams, Heat

June 24th, 2025 at 4:40pm CST by Luke Adams

Superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo hasn’t requested a trade and the Bucks are reportedly focused on improving their roster around him, but teams around the NBA continue to monitor the situation, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who said on First Take (YouTube link) that potential Antetokounmpo suitors are hoping he won’t be thrilled by the moves Milwaukee makes in the coming days and weeks.

“The Bucks have seven free agents. Seven. Three or four of which I would refer to as core players,” Windhorst said (hat tip to RealGM). “The Bucks do not have salary cap space. The Bucks do not control their first-round draft pick for the next five years. They can’t trade it — they can’t trade the pick or the swap. The Bucks are in situation where they cannot count on Dame Lillard for next year. Maybe he can come back, but they cannot count on it. The Bucks are not interested right now in trading Giannis Antetokounmpo. And Giannis, to our knowledge, to my belief, has not asked for a trade. Those are the facts.

“We are also before the draft. We are before free agency. Will the Bucks do some things over the next two, three weeks to put themselves in a position where they can look like they could win the Eastern Conference, with those limitations? Maybe.”

Windhorst’s ESPN colleague Stephen A. Smith interjected at that point to say that the Bucks’ odds of reemerging as an Eastern Conference favorite seem “highly unlikely.”

“Right, so that’s why the league is waiting,” Windhorst continued. “People want to know why aren’t the Knicks going all-in for Kevin Durant? Why aren’t the Heat going all-in for Kevin Durant? Because, in part – there’s other reasons, but in part -they want to see what happens here with the Bucks. And we’re going to be watching closely.”

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:

Checking in on the Kings‘ roster situation and potential trade candidates ahead of the draft, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee reports that the team wants to add “length and athleticism” in its frontcourt and is hoping to add a power forward/center in order to slide Keegan Murray back to small forward. According to Anderson, Murray and Keon Ellis have been generating “strong” trade interest, but Sacramento isn’t enthusiastic about moving either player.
The Bulls‘ front office has been “more responsive” to trade conversations this offseason than in the past, a source tells Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Cowley suggests that forward Patrick Williams is viewed as a prime candidate for Chicago, though the former No. 4 overall pick – who hasn’t taken a major step forward in recent years – still has four seasons and $72MM left on his current contract, which will make it difficult to move him for positive value without a sweetener attached.
Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show on Monday (Twitter video link), ESPN’s Shams Charania provided a little more information on what the Heat would’ve have had to give up to get Durant from the Suns, supplementing prior reporting from The Miami Herald. In order to keep Kel’el Ware out of a Durant deal, Miami likely would have had to put Jaime Jaquez, Nikola Jovic, Haywood Highsmith, the No. 20 overall pick, and a pick swap in its package, according to Charania. The Heat’s final offer reportedly fell well short of that.

Stein’s Latest: Gafford, Irving, VanVleet, Collins, Thybulle

June 24th, 2025 at 9:02am CST by Arthur Hill

The terms of Daniel Gafford‘s three-year extension will keep him trade-eligible without a six-month waiting period, but that doesn’t mean the Mavericks are looking to deal the 26-year-old center, Marc Stein of The Stein Line writes in his latest column (Substack link). Stein confirms that Gafford’s new contract, which will start with the 2026/27 season and is projected to be worth about $54MM, contains no options for him or the team.

Stein states that Dallas’ front office expects “considerable” trade interest in Gafford, but is reluctant to part with him after injuries limited Dereck Lively to 36 games during his second NBA season. Stein notes that forward P.J. Washington is also eligible for an extension this summer and says the Mavericks plan to hold onto him as well.

This is an important day for the organization, Stein adds, as it’s the deadline for Kyrie Irving to pick up a $43MM player option. If Irving passes on the option, Stein views that as a sign that he has an agreement with the Mavericks on a new long-term deal that will likely be announced early in free agency. It’s also possible that Irving could pick up the option and negotiate an extension after the moratorium is lifted or he could decide to test free agency next summer. A source tells Stein that Irving remained undecided as of Monday night.

Stein shares more inside information from around the league:

The Rockets may decline their $44.9MM option on Fred VanVleet, but Stein states there’s “no scenario” where he won’t be with the team next season. A source tells Stein that Houston and VanVleet would “do a new deal” if the option is turned down by Sunday’s deadline. Stein points out that the original deadline on the team option was five days after the Rockets’ season ended, but VanVleet and the team reached an agreement to push it back to late June. Stein also notes that Kevin Durant will be eligible for a two-year extension once he officially joins the team next month, suggesting it’s possible that VanVleet and Durant will both be signed to new deals that cover the next three seasons.
Stein reports that Jazz center Walker Kessler has been “unavailable for some time” and speculates that could have led to recent rumors that the Lakers are interested in John Collins. Stein calls it a “mischaracterization” to suggest that L.A. is a trade suitor for Collins.
The Trail Blazers expect swingman Matisse Thybulle to pick up his $11.5MM player option by today’s deadline, Stein adds.

Scotto’s Latest: Thunder, Pacers, Kings, Barrett, Rockets, Wolves, KD

June 23rd, 2025 at 4:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Their seasons ended less than 24 hours ago, but the Thunder and Pacers will have significant roster decisions to make in the coming days, and executives around the NBA are keeping an eye on both teams to see how they’ll handle them, writes Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

The Thunder have the ability to essentially run it back with their same roster, since 13 of their players are on guaranteed deals for next season, while the team holds cost-effective options on the other two. However, Oklahoma City also has multiple first-round picks at No. 15 and No. 24 and could be facing a roster crunch.

According to Scotto, rival executives believe the Thunder may either trade the No. 24 pick for a future first-rounder or use it to select a potential draft-and-stash prospect like Hugo Gonzalez or Noah Penda. Execs also view former lottery pick Ousmane Dieng as a possible trade candidate as he enters the final year of his rookie scale contract, Scotto notes.

Meanwhile, with Tyrese Haliburton potentially sidelined for all of the 2025/26 season after tearing his Achilles, people in league circles are wondering if the Pacers and team owner Herb Simon are still prepared to go into luxury-tax territory in 2025/26 to re-sign Myles Turner and keep their roster intact, says Scotto. There’s an expectation that rivals will inquire this summer on the trade availability of role players like Bennedict Mathurin, Obi Toppin, and Jarace Walker, Scotto adds.

Here’s more from Scotto:

Although a Sacramento Bee report over the weekend indicated that the Kings haven’t yet engaged in trade discussions about Malik Monk, Scotto hears from sources that the team has gauged the market on both Monk and Devin Carter as it seeks a potential first-round pick and a point guard upgrade. Sacramento was unwilling to move Carter when the club talked to the Nets about Cameron Johnson prior to the trade deadline, Scotto writes, but Scott Perry has replaced Monte McNair as the Kings’ head of basketball operations since then and may not be as attached to last year’s No. 13 overall pick.
According to Scotto, the Raptors have continued to gauge the trade market for forward RJ Barrett. The former No. 3 overall pick hasn’t come off the bench since his rookie year in 2019/20, but could be the odd man out of Toronto’s starting five with Brandon Ingram set to make his Raptors debut this fall.
Rockets head coach Ime Udoka, who spent a season with Kevin Durant in Brooklyn, was in favor of the Celtics trading for Durant during his time in Boston and advocated for Houston to acquire the star forward this summer, per Scotto. In addition to reuniting with Udoka, Durant will be teaming up again with friend and fellow Texas alum Royal Ivey — the Rockets assistant interviewed for the Suns‘ head coaching vacancy and turned down interest from the Grizzlies and Spurs for assistant coaching positions, Scotto reports.
In addition to being concerned about Durant’s lack of enthusiasm for Minnesota, the Timberwolves didn’t want to lose Rudy Gobert, a Suns target in trade talks, which is why the Wolves didn’t end up beating Houston’s offer for the 15-time All-Star, Scotto explains. Giving up Gobert and potentially having Durant play alongside Julius Randle in their frontcourt wasn’t considered an “ideal pairing defensively” for the Wolves, Scotto writes.

Heat Notes: Durant Trade Offer, DeRozan, Kuminga, Robinson, Johnson, Smith

June 23rd, 2025 at 12:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat weren’t willing to part with rookie center Kel’el Ware, young forward Nikola Jovic or more than one future first-round pick in Kevin Durant trade discussions, a source tells Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Their source says the final offer included Andrew Wiggins, Terry Rozier, two bench players and the No. 20 pick in Wednesday’s draft. Another source tells the authors that Miami was willing to take an unwanted salary from Phoenix, and they note that Marc Stein recently reported that there was interest in Cody Martin.

Jackson and Chiang explain that the Heat are permitted to offer two future first-rounders prior to Wednesday, but would have three available if the trade wasn’t finalized until after the draft is over. Miami wouldn’t consider parting with its picks in 2030 or 2031 to get Durant, and its first-rounders for 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029 are in limbo due to obligations owed to Charlotte in the Rozier trade.

The authors add that the Suns could have opted for some tax relief by trading for Duncan Robinson and waiving him before July 8, leaving them on the hook for only the $9.9MM guaranteed portion of his 2025/26 salary. However, sources tell them that Phoenix never expressed any interest in Robinson. As we explained last month, Robinson’s partially guaranteed contract was never as valuable a trade chip in a Durant scenario as the Herald’s duo made it out to be.

There’s more from Miami:

Reports have linked the Heat to Kings forward DeMar DeRozan and Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, but neither player has been the focus of trade talks as of Sunday afternoon, Jackson and Chiang add in the same piece. They note that DeRozan, who’s believed to be on the trade market, will make $24.5MM next season, but only has a $10MM guarantee on his $25.7MM salary for 2026/27.
The Heat should have been willing to give up more of their young talent to add a player of Durant’s caliber, contends Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. He argues that Jovic, Jaime Jaquez, Haywood Highsmith and even Ware if necessary should have been sent out to add a star who’s capable of making Miami an instant contender in the East. While Winderman would have been hesitant to part with future draft assets beyond this year’s first-rounder, he believes Miami could have easily topped the package the Rockets are sending to Phoenix in exchange for Durant.
If the Heat can’t trade Robinson, it’s possible that he could decline his $19.9MM option and return on a new deal starting with the $9.9MM he has guaranteed for next season, possibly around $32MM over three years, Winderman suggests in a separate piece. He also examines the possibility of declining a $2MM option on Keshad Johnson and bringing him back on a two-way contact, as well as Miami’s options with Dru Smith, who is eligible for another two-way deal but appeared close to receiving a standard contract before suffering an Achilles injury in December.

Latest On Kevin Durant Trade

June 23rd, 2025 at 11:06am CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Durant had reason to believe that a trade was close before news broke Sunday that he was headed to the Rockets, writes Forbes contributor Adam Zagoria. Durant was in the midst of an interview with reporter Kay Adams at Fanatics Fest in New York City when audience members saw the first reports of the deal on their phones (Twitter video link).

“I had an idea (about the trade), but I didn’t know exactly when it was going to happen,” Durant said. “You know, when people can just hang your career in the balance like that and then just choose what they want to do with your career, it’s a nerve-wracking feeling but being able to kind of dictate what you want to do and being with a team that values you, I’m looking forward to it.”

Durant is being counted on to bring much-needed scoring punch to Houston and turn the team into a legitimate title contender. The Rockets won 52 games and claimed the second seed in the West this season, but their inability to generate half-court offense was exposed in a first-round loss to Golden State.

Houston was among three teams on Durant’s list of preferred landing spots, and he admitted to Adams that he played a role in determining where he ended up.

“Most definitely, yeah,” he said. “(The Suns) asked me where I wanted to go, some of my destinations. I gave it to them and here we are.”

Durant is looking forward to a new start after a disappointing two-plus seasons in Phoenix. There was hope that he could take the Suns back to the NBA Finals after being acquired from Brooklyn at the 2023 trade deadline, but they only won a single playoff series during his time there and fell short of the play-in tournament this season.

Durant countered Adams’ suggestion that “there’s a lot of heartbroken Suns fans.”

“I doubt that,” Durant said. “They wanted me to go so I’m glad they got what they wanted and I got what I wanted. We can move on, good luck to them going forward, and I’ll always remember my time there.”

There’s more on the Durant deal:

The trade that was reported Sunday could get “much larger” before it becomes official on July 6, states John Hollinger of The Athletic. He notes that the Suns have nearly two weeks to negotiate deals with other teams involving Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks or any of the draft assets they’re getting from Houston. Meanwhile, the Rockets could pick up their $4.9MM option on Aaron Holiday and guarantee Jock Landale‘s $8MM deal for next season to help match salaries while adding another player from a third team. Cap expert Yossi Gozlan also believes there’s a “strong chance” the deal will be expanded to include more teams (Twitter link).
The Suns may have considered the No. 10 pick in this year’s draft to be more valuable than the 2027 and 2029 Phoenix picks that Houston also holds, Hollinger adds. The Suns are looking for immediate help, and Hollinger notes that finding a contributor in the draft would take away some of the worst-case scenarios they might be facing. Phoenix may also put more stock in having a guaranteed lottery pick right now than a possible high selection later on. Hollinger also points out that keeping the Suns’ future picks frees up the Rockets to move their own first-rounders in 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030 and 2032 if the chance arises to land another major star.
The Spurs had been considered among the favorites to trade for Durant and were one of the teams on his list, but they never made an offer, according to Phoenix sports talk show host John Gambadoro (Twitter link).
Handing out grades for the deal, ESPN’S NBA insiders give the Rockets a B+ and the Suns a B.

Lottery Pick Facilitated Durant Trade

June 22nd, 2025 at 8:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets’ willingness to give up their lottery pick in this week’s draft played a significant role in the agreed-upon Kevin Durant blockbuster with the Suns, Kelly Iko and Sam Amick report.

The Rockets refused to give the Suns’ 2027 and 2029 first-round selections, which Houston controls via prior trades, back to Phoenix. Those picks were sent to Brooklyn in the February 2023 Durant deal and the Rockets acquired them in a June 2024 deal with the Nets.

However, the Rockets had found it difficult to bring in top prospects for workouts this spring due to the possibility of a Durant deal. The Suns believe they can draft a player at that spot who can be an immediate contributor.

The trade between the clubs was the culmination of weeks-long discussions, though the two sides hadn’t talked for a week before the conversations were reignited on Thursday. Rockets general manager Rafael Stone refused to part with most of his young players, including Reed Sheppard, Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason. Efforts were made to add other trade partners to the mix but that didn’t gain any footing, so it became a straight two-team swap.

Jalen Green, who struggled in the postseason, became increasingly aware he could be part of a potential package, even though he preferred to stay put. He received word that he was being dealt approximately an hour before the deal was first reported.

According to Phoenix sports talk show host John Gambadoro, the Rockets were willing to give up Smith prior to the February trade deadline. They offered Smith and Green without any draft picks for Durant at that time (Twitter link).

While there were numerous reports in recent months that the Rockets were unwilling to break up their young core, they eventually warmed to the idea of making an all-in move. The prospect of adding a dynamic scorer and proven postseason performer like Durant was seen as their best win-now option, according to The Athletic duo. There’s a strong belief that the Durant-Rockets partnership will extend beyond next season, even if he doesn’t sign an extension right away next month.

Houston head coach Ime Udoka, who recently received an extension, was a strong behind-the-scenes advocate for adding Durant, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack post. Udoka, who overlapped with Durant in Brooklyn, has a close friendship with the star forward.

With both Green and Dillon Brooks included in the trade, a starting spot should open up in Houston for Smith, who was moved to the second unit for a portion of the season. Amen Thompson, who replaced Smith in the lineup, will join Fred VanVleet in the backcourt. The Rockets hold a $44.9MM option on VanVleet’s contract, with a decision due in the next week.

Durant expressed excitement when asked by Kay Adams at Fanatics Fest in New York about the trade, ESPN’s Shams Charania relays.

“Being part of the Houston Rockets, I’m looking forward to it,” Durant said. “Crazy, crazy last couple weeks, but I’m glad it’s over with.”