Kevin Durant

Pacers Notes: Huff, Wiseman, Oladipo, Johnson, Haliburton

July 25th, 2025 at 12:58pm CST by Luke Adams

After losing longtime starting center Myles Turner to the division-rival Bucks, the Pacers will take a “by committee” approach to the position in 2025/26, general manager Chad Buchanan confirmed during an appearance on the Setting The Pace podcast (YouTube link).

The team re-signed Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman earlier this month and made a trade with Memphis to acquire Jay Huff. Veteran journeyman Tony Bradley is also in the mix, though his contract is fully non-guaranteed, so if Jackson and Wiseman are fully recovered from Achilles tears, there may not be room for him on the regular season roster.

Discussing the team’s deal for Huff, Buchanan pointed out that the big man had a huge game against the Pacers’ G League team in the playoffs a couple years ago and added that Indiana’s analytics department had its eye on the 27-year-old for a while.

“Watching him in Memphis this year when he got his opportunity, he really shined,” Buchanan said (hat tip to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star). “He had moments of running the floor, finishing lobs, shooting threes, protecting the rim. He’s not a perfect player by any means — he’s got areas that he needs to be better at and improve at. But we felt like what we were losing in Myles and what Jay provided at the age he was at, his basketball IQ, his feel of the game were really good fits for the way we play.”

Buchanan also spoke highly of Jackson and Wiseman, suggesting that Jackson’s skill set will give the Pacers’ lineup a different look and stating that the team remains just as bullish on Wiseman as it was when it first signed him a year ago.

“He’s in a great spot physically,” Buchanan said of the former No. 2 overall pick. “He still has to go through the hurdles of playing in a 5-on-5 game and things like that, but we’re very encouraged with where his recovery is going.”

Here’s more on the Pacers:

Buchanan confirmed on the Setting The Pace podcast that Indiana was among the teams that attended Victor Oladipo‘s workout in Las Vegas (YouTube link). However, he didn’t suggest that a reunion with the former Pacers All-Star is forthcoming . “Obviously, we have a history with Victor,” the Pacers’ GM said (hat tip to Dopirak). “We’re always going to be looking for, if it’s the right player at the right time that fits us, we’re going to have to consider it whether it’s Victor or not. Many teams watched along with us. We get tied to him because he’s a former player of ours. I don’t think we’re any different than any other team that watched him out there.”
Veteran forward James Johnson, who has been with the Pacers for parts of the last three seasons, hopes to continue his playing career, according to Buchanan, though it’s unclear whether Indiana will have room on its roster for him (YouTube link). “Tyrese (Haliburton)’s injury creates a butterfly effect with what we have to plan on and how the roster fits together,” Buchanan said (hat tip to Dopirak). “Right now, it could be challenging to find a spot for James, as much as we want him back.” The GM did acknowledge “that could change,” and it’s worth noting that Johnson didn’t start the 2023/24 season on the Pacers’ roster but was eventually added, first on a non-guaranteed contract, then on 10-day deals, then on a rest-of-season agreement.
Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show (YouTube link) this week, Haliburton said that he has been in touch with both Jayson Tatum and Kevin Durant to discuss the recovery process from a torn Achilles. Souichi Terada of MassLive.com has the details

Rockets Notes: Green, Finney-Smith, Durant, Sheppard

July 23rd, 2025 at 5:44pm CST by Arthur Hill

Former Rockets guard Jalen Green reflected on his time in Houston, along with the trade that sent him to the Suns, in a lengthy post on The Players Tribune. Green was part of the price the Rockets paid, along with Dillon Brooks and the 10th pick in this year’s draft, to acquire Kevin Durant. Although he’s sad to leave the city, Green said he understands the reasoning behind the deal.

“Listen, nobody likes to get traded. But I can honestly say that I get it, bro,” he wrote. “This is a business, and if I was up there in the executive chair, I probably would’ve made the deal, too. I think it’s a better situation for both sides, and I’m just excited to get it popping with Book (Devin Booker), and to create that winning culture that we figured out down here in Houston.”

Selected with the second pick in the 2021 draft, Green represented the first step in the Rockets’ rebuilding process after trading James Harden. He went through a lot of losing during his first two years in Houston, but things turned around in 2023 when Ime Udoka was hired as head coach and Brooks and Fred VanVleet were brought in to change the culture. Green reflected on the growing process that led to a 52-win season and the second seed in the West.

“My rookie year, we won 20 games. Twen-tee, bro,” he added. “Within three years, we had the Toyota Center packed out for a home playoff game. I’ll always be proud of that. To flip it around like that, it’s about culture. We had our young core, but we also had vets like Fred VanVleet — guys who had really won in this league — showing us the way.”

There’s more from Houston:

Dorian Finney-Smith talked about his decision to sign with the Rockets as a free agent in an interview with WAVY-TV during a recent visit to his hometown of Portsmouth, Virginia (hat tip to Ben DuBose of Rockets Wire). “I already know who they are. They play hard,” Finney-Smith said. “Coach Ime is one of the toughest coaches in the league. I’ve never seen him smile much when you’re playing against him. The first time I’ve ever seen him smile was when we had dinner, like two weeks ago. I like that, because I’m a competitor.” Finney-Smith added that he was planning to remain with the Lakers when the offseason began, but he was swayed by the opportunity in Houston.
Durant hasn’t arrived in Houston yet even though it’s been more than a month since the trade was agreed to, Michael Shapiro of Chron.com writes in a story charting the offseason workouts of Rockets players. Durant has been seen at Fanatics Fest in New York City and the Wireless Festival in London, according to Shapiro, who adds that VanVleet recently made a visit to Turkey to train with Alperen Sengun.
The Rockets’ decision to sign free agent wing Josh Okogie rather than another guard is a sign of confidence in their current backcourt players, especially Reed Sheppard, who will be counted on for a larger role after playing sparingly as a rookie, observes Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle.

Southwest Notes: Thompson, Nembhard, Fears, Queen, Morant

July 20th, 2025 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Rockets wing Amen Thompson is viewed as a future star, and he believes playing alongside Kevin Durant will speed up his development. He talked about joining forces with one of the most productive scorers in NBA history during a recent Summer League interview with Vanessa Richardson of Space City Home Network (hat tip to Ben DuBose of Rockets Wire).

“He’s going to make my life a lot easier,” Thompson said. “He’s one of the greatest players ever, one of the best scorers ever. … Definitely going to be passing it to him a lot. They’re going to be double teaming him, so I’m going to be cutting off the back of it.”

Thompson was a first-team All-Defensive honoree in his second NBA season and finished fifth in the Defensive Player of the Year voting. He also showed improvement on offense, raising his scoring average to 14.1 PPG while shooting 55.7% from the field.

Thompson is looking forward to the influence Durant will bring to Houston as a veteran leader.

“I just hear his work ethic is different,” he said. “I feel like I have a different work ethic, too. Combining that, I think it’s gonna be fun.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

The Mavericks are very happy with the Summer League performance of Ryan Nembhard, who signed a two-way contract after going undrafted out of Gonzaga, per Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal. He averaged 11.7 points and 6.7 assists in three games before being shut down and showed that he’s capable of running the offense. “You guys saw it,” Summer League head coach Josh Broghamer said. “Ryan didn’t have to prove anything else. Everyone knows we got a steal in him. He can play on the ball, off the ball, he’s going to be a hard-nosed defender — and we’re very excited about him going forward.”
Pelicans rookies Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen displayed their unique skills in Las Vegas, but they both have things to work on, observes Rod Walker of NOLA. Fears showed his quickness, elite handle and athleticism, but he didn’t finish well at the rim and only shot 18.2% from three-point range. Queen has a deft shooting touch and passing ability for a big man, but he battled turnover issues before sustaining a torn scapholunate ligament that required surgery and will keep him out of action until October.
Grizzlies guard Ja Morant may not be off the hook in a lawsuit filed by a teenager he punched in 2022, according to Lucas Finton of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. A judge ruled in April that Morant couldn’t be sued because he acted in self-defense, but an appeal in the case is set to be heard in late August.

Latest On Bradley Beal

July 17th, 2025 at 11:08pm CST by Luke Adams

After he was hired as the Suns‘ head coach in June, Jordan Ott met with Bradley Beal and shared his plan for how the team could use the veteran shooting guard next season, writes ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. However, according to Windhorst, Beal had already decided after meeting with agent Mark Bartelstein that he wanted to move on from Phoenix.

“We couldn’t take the chance [of another lost year],” Bartelstein told Windhorst. “This decision was about basketball. Bradley wants to play in big games and in big moments.”

When Phoenix traded Kevin Durant to Houston for a package headlined by another shooting guard – Jalen Green – it cemented Beal’s decision.

According to Windhorst, the Suns and Timberwolves had discussed the possibility of a Durant package that would’ve included Rudy Gobert, Donte DiVincenzo, Terrence Shannon Jr., and the No. 17 pick in this year’s draft, which could’ve left an opening for Beal in the Suns’ lineup. But with Durant uninterested in playing in Minnesota, the Wolves were unwilling to move forward on those talks and Phoenix pivoted to the Rockets’ offer.

After the Durant trade was completed, the Suns gave Beal and Bartelstein permission to speak to other teams, and more than 20 showed interest, sources tell ESPN. Beal ultimately met via Zoom with about a half-dozen of them, and after trading Norman Powell to Miami earlier this month, the Clippers emerged as the clear frontrunner.

According to Windhorst, while Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and head coach Tyronn Lue spoke to Beal about what the club could offer him, the most noteworthy pitch came from star guard James Harden, who lobbied the front office to pursue Beal and then reached out directly to the guard (and to Bartelstein) to recruit him.

In addition to selling Beal on the Clippers’ depth and how he would fit in with the current group, Harden pointed out that his own career has been rejuvenated in Los Angeles after disappointing stints in Brooklyn and Philadelphia, Windhorst notes. After a couple discouraging years in Phoenix, Beal is in a similar spot — he’ll be looking to bounce back next season and views L.A. as a good spot to do it.

“No one wants to be released. There’s heartache with that,” Bartelstein said. “But Bradley wants to be in a position where no one remembers he got released, that they’ll remember how he plays next season.”

Here’s more on Beal:

The Suns needed Beal to give up at least $13.9MM of the $110.8MM still owed to him in order to legally waive-and-stretch his contract. Phoenix’s front office actually pushed for the 32-year-old to give up more than that, resulting in buyout talks getting “heated,” per Windhorst, who says Beal ultimately forfeited not a penny more than he needed to for the Suns to use the stretch provision. “There were some intense conversations,” Bartelstein said.
Bartelstein also spoke to Mark Medina of Sportskeeda about why things didn’t work out for Beal in Phoenix and why he chose the Clippers over other suitors. Citing Beal’s existing relationship with Lue, along with the Clippers’ vision for his client, Bartelstein explained that L.A. checked all their boxes. “He was heavily pursued by pretty much everybody in the NBA and certainly almost every top-tier team,” Bartelstein said. “I had made it known in conversations around the league that we were looking to go somewhere where he could play in really big games and big moments. We knew there were places he can go to and score 30 points a game again. But he really wanted to go to a place where he can compete for a championship. With that in mind, we quickly narrowed down to six or seven teams that we thought were in that world and with the roster shaped up, it would be a great fit for Brad. … It was a really tough choice. … We felt at the end of the day that the Clippers was the very best fit.”
The Suns’ trade for Beal will go down as one of the biggest missteps in franchise history, contends Doug Haller of The Athletic. Haller doesn’t blame Beal, noting that he was willing to change his game and continued to score efficiently. However, his production didn’t match his salary, Haller writes, which was a microcosm of the Suns as a whole — the league’s most expensive roster failed to win a playoff game during the two years after acquiring Beal.

Suns Notes: Dunn, Ighodaro, Culture, Maluach, Livers, Booker

July 10th, 2025 at 10:33pm CST by Earnest Marshall

Suns sophomores Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro were able to build a special relationship with Kevin Durant during their first season in the league before he was traded to Houston, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic writes. Dunn said he loved playing with Durant and appreciated what he was able to learn from the future Hall-of-Famer.

“We built that relationship,” Dunn said. “I wish him the best in Houston. I’m excited to go compete against him and talk some smack to him now, but it’s someone I can always turn to and learn from, so I wish him the best as well.”

Both players are expected to take a major step up in responsibility this season after already being leaned on heavily in their first years in the league.

“He was such a great teammate, great leader for us,” Ighodaro said about Durant. “It was great just to be able to say I was his teammate and learned a lot from him, me and Ryan. Talked to him a little bit since he’s left. I wish nothing but the best for him.”

We have more on the Suns:

Dunn was quick to observe some of Phoenix’s early culture changes under new general manager Brian Gregory, Rankin writes. Gregory is looking to set a competitive tone for the new-look Suns. “He wants dogs,” Dunn said. “He wants dogs on this team.” Dunn and Ighodaro are aiming to establish winning habits as leaders on the Summer League team, Rankin writes in another story. “We want to kind of change the identity here,” assistant coach DeMarre Carroll said. “We want to compete at a high level. These guys have been doing it.”
New head coach Jordan Ott was complimentary of rookie draft pick Khaman Maluach, according to PHNX Sports’ Gerald Bourguet (Twitter link). “You know how big and long he is, it’s obvious. His ability to run just creates a different dynamic, the vertical spacing that he has above the rim. And then just the overall size and rim protection, you can feel it every second he’s out there,” Ott said. The Suns acquired the pick used to select Maluach in the Durant trade.
In addition, Ott expressed excitement about adding Isaiah Livers to a two-way contract, per Rankin (Twitter link). “Isaiah brings a shooting piece, size piece we’re looking on this roster,” Ott said. “He has been injured, but now he’s back. He’s fully healthy. He’s been here. Excited to see him more this summer into training camp and into the season.“
Fresh off earning the richest salary in the NBA, this season could prove to be Devin Booker‘s most challenging yet, Doug Haller of The Athletic opines. The Suns will need Booker to be patient as they sort through a reset period that may see them battling for a play-in spot yet again.

Nets Notes: Fab Five, Durant, Thomas, Wolf

July 9th, 2025 at 10:51am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nets made the unprecedented move of drafting five rookies in the first round. Could they have their own version of the ‘Fab Five,’ the celebrated all-freshman lineup for the University of Michigan in the early ’90s?

“We’re gonna have to prove ourselves,” said Danny Wolf, who played for Michigan last season. “The Fab Five arguably is one of the best college teams of all time, so if we can consider ourselves the Fab Five of the NBA at some point in time, that would be pretty cool. But I’ll leave it up to you guys [in the media] to give us a nickname.”

The highest of those draft picks was the No. 8 selection, BYU guard Egor Demin.

“This is special,” Demin said, per Peter Botte of the New York Post. “Obviously no other team ever did the same thing in the draft. I think for me and the other guys it’s important to be really as close as we can be to each other, not just to compete, which obviously is a big part of it, but also to learn from each other on the court and off the court and learn from the older guys on the team and try to find ways to be together and play together as fast as we can.”

Here’s more on the Nets:

Has time made Kevin Durant more wistful about his days with the Nets? Durant and former coach Steve Nash discussed their Brooklyn experiences during LeBron James‘ ‘Mind the Game’ podcast (hat tip to Collin Helwig of Nets Daily). “I felt like we had great intentions. I felt like we cared enough. I feel like every day we were trying to push towards winning the champ. It was a great vibe in there. Some of the best times,” KD said. “That first year? That’s why I signed that deal. That first year, man, most fun ball I had. Some of the most fun ball I had playing my whole life. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed Brooklyn a lot. I love playing for Brooklyn, but it’s just so much stuff happened around the guys that were committed to the situation. It felt like we were committed, but everybody else wasn’t.”
The Nets made a number of their offseason moves official on Tuesday but there’s still no resolution on Cam Thomas, who remains a restricted free agent. There have been no rumblings regarding another team preparing an offer sheet for him and the Nets apparently don’t want to overpay to keep him, according to Nets Daily. In an interview with Connor Long on the ‘Brooklyn Boys’ podcast, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon suggested the Nets might be playing hardball with Thomas. “I would say Cam Thomas wants to be paid and apparently the Nets aren’t eager to pay him.”
With his offensive skills, Wolf plays like a guard in a center’s body. Wolf slipped to the No. 27 pick and might be a steal. “Danny, we talked about the high IQ and a skill set that’s very unique for a person his size,” GM Sean Marks said, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscriber link). “So, to see him out there, other teams continue trying to figure out, well, ‘How do we stop him? Who do we guard him with? What system do we put around him?’ And that’s a unique problem to have, right?”

Rockets’ Stone Talks KD, Whitmore, Green, Sheppard, Capela

July 8th, 2025 at 8:21am CST by Luke Adams

Asked on Monday about the biggest factor that made the Rockets want to make a deal for Kevin Durant, general manager Rafael Stone offered a simple answer, per Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required).

“He’s Kevin Durant,” Stone said.

Stone went on to laud Durant’s shooting efficiency and prowess as a half-court scorer, suggesting that adding that dimension to the offense should make Houston a more well-rounded team. He’s also looking forward to seeing what the team’s young players learn from the 15-time All-Star.

“His work ethic is just awesome,” Stone said. “The speed at which he practices and kind of the intensity of which he practices is something that has made him great over the years, and it started when he was very young. And so of all the things that that I hope rubs off, that’s the main one.”

There was some uncertainty entering the offseason about how aggressive the Rockets would be in their pursuit of Durant, given that he’s entering his age-37 season and doesn’t necessarily fit the timeline of the club’s young core. Asked about that line of thinking, Stone suggested that Houston is no longer a “developmental” team and that he believes those young players are ready to win now.

“We were the No. 2 seed (in the West) last year, and I think a very legitimate one. And so we think we can contend now,” Stone said. “We lost a close series last year, and we thought we had a real chance of contending in the playoffs last year, and we hope to have a real chance of contending in the playoffs this year.”

Here’s more from the Rockets’ GM:

The fact that Houston is no longer a “developmental” team is one reason why the front office felt like it made sense to move on from 2023 first-round pick Cam Whitmore, Stone explains. “We want to provide Cam with the opportunity to do in his career what we still believe he very much can do,” the GM said. “I think Cam is an insanely talented, really nice young man, and wanted to provide him an opportunity to go home and be in a situation where he could really play through mistakes in a way that we never could afford him, just in the iteration of the of the Rockets that he joined.”
Including former No. 2 overall pick Jalen Green in the package for Durant was necessary due to salary-matching rules, but wasn’t easy, according to Stone. “Jalen is awesome. He did everything we asked,” Stone said. “He’s a wonderful combination of talent and work ethic, along with being just a great human being. And any time that you have the privilege to work with someone who is talented and works really hard and is really nice, you should value it. And so organizationally, we’ve valued him tremendously. So yeah, very hard.”
Asked whether the Rockets still want to add more backcourt depth, Stone said the team will always be on the lookout for upgrades, but expressed skepticism that there are still meaningful moves on the way before the season begins (YouTube link). “I like our team as is,” he said. “… We’re hard-capped at the first apron and we have no space left, so I think very likely we’ll enter the season looking very similar to the way we look now. It’s pretty hard not to.”
One reason the Rockets are comfortable with their current guards is a belief that 2024’s No. 3 overall pick Reed Sheppard is ready to take on a larger role. “Reed’s just going to have to be really good for us, period,” Stone said (YouTube link).
Stone confirmed that the free agency addition of Clint Capela signals the Rockets’ willingness to lean on two-big lineups more in 2025/26 (YouTube link). “We loved that lineup once we discovered it last year. We thought it was really, really effective for us,” he said. “Also, Clint just adds something we don’t have in terms of being a center who can move a little bit easier on the perimeter, also as a lob threat. Finally, we just think depth is super-important. As we’re trying to make it through the season, we don’t want there to be huge drop-offs. We did not anticipate going into free agency that we would be able to get Clint, but we were ecstatic when that materialized.”

Seven-Team Kevin Durant Trade Officially Finalized

July 6th, 2025 at 2:10pm CST by Luke Adams

The seven-team trade that sends star forward Kevin Durant and free agent big man Clint Capela (via sign-and-trade) to Houston is now official, according to press releases from several teams, including the Rockets.

“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.”

The move sets a new NBA record for most teams involved in a single trade. The terms of the deal are as follows:

Rockets acquire:
- Kevin Durant (from Suns)
- Clint Capela (sign-and-trade; from Hawks)
Suns acquire:
- Jalen Green (from Rockets)
- Dillon Brooks (from Rockets)
- Daeqwon Plowden (from Hawks)
- The draft rights to Khaman Maluach (No. 10 pick; from Rockets)
- The draft rights to Rasheer Fleming (No. 31 pick; from Timberwolves)
- The draft rights to Koby Brea (No. 41 pick; from Warriors)
- Either the Thunder’s, Mavericks’, or Sixers’ 2026 second-round pick (whichever is second-most favorable; from Rockets)
Lakers acquire:
- The draft rights to Adou Thiero (No. 36 pick; from Nets)
Warriors acquire:
- The draft rights to Alex Toohey (No. 52 pick; from Suns) and the draft rights to Jahmai Mashack (No. 59 pick; from Rockets)
  - Note: Mashack’s rights will be sent to the Grizzlies in a subsequent trade.
Timberwolves acquire:
- The draft rights to Rocco Zikarsky (No. 45 pick; from Lakers)
- Either the Warriors’ or Nuggets’ 2026 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable; from Suns)
- Either the Suns’ or Rockets’ 2032 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable; from Suns/Rockets)
  - Note: The Suns, not the Rockets, retain the least favorable of the two picks.
- Cash (from Lakers).
  - Note: $3.25MM, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
Nets acquire:
- Either the Clippers’ 2026 second-round pick or the most favorable of the Celtics’, Pacers’, and Heat’s 2026 second-round picks (whichever is least favorable; from Rockets)
- The Celtics’ 2030 second-round pick (from Rockets)
Hawks acquire:
- David Roddy (from Rockets)
- The right to swap their own 2031 second-round pick for the Rockets’ 2031 second-round pick (56-60 protected; from Rockets)
- Cash (from Rockets)
  - Note: $85,300, per Marks (Twitter link).

Word first broke on Wednesday that the Durant trade was being expanded to be completed as a seven-team deal. For the most part, it was just a matter of folding separate draft-night trade agreements into a single transaction.

In addition to the original Durant blockbuster (story), this transaction incorporates trade agreements between the Suns and Nets (story), Suns and Warriors (story), Suns and Timberwolves (story), and Lakers and Timberwolves (story), as well as the sign-and-trade deal sending Capela from the Hawks to the Rockets (story).

The only two new additions to this deal are Plowden and Roddy, who are both entering the second year of two-way contracts. The addition of Plowden ensures that the Hawks are “touching” a second team besides Houston in the deal. He’s being waived by the Suns, reports Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link).

In exchange for sending out Plowden, the Hawks are filling that newly opened two-way slot with Roddy, a former first-round pick who spent more than half of the 2024/25 season in Atlanta on a standard contract.

Attaching the Capela sign-and-trade deal into this transaction has cap-related benefits for the Rockets, who would otherwise have had to send out a separate matching salary in order to sign Capela to his reported three-year, $21MM deal.

However, for the most part, amalgamating all those draft-night deals is just about streamlining the process for several teams, allowing them to take part in (or wait out) fewer trade calls and get their newly acquired rookies under contract sooner.

Southwest Notes: Durant, Finney-Smith, Roddy, Shammgod, Pelicans

July 5th, 2025 at 9:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

Trading for Kevin Durant and adding Dorian Finney-Smith in free agency should solve the outside shooting woes that have bogged down the Rockets‘ offense, writes Kelly Iko of The Athletic. He notes that Houston went just 5-of-17 from beyond the arc in a Game 7 loss to Golden State while averaging just 78.0 points per 100 half-court plays. Management believed the team had become too reliant on scoring off the offensive glass and needed to find a way to stretch opposing defenses.

Durant, who remains one of the league’s top shooters at age 36, should go a long way toward fixing the problem. Iko notes that Phoenix managed to be a top-10 half-court team last season, which is largely due to Durant’s brilliance. He should provide the lion’s share of Houston’s offense, with elite athletes surrounding him to keep opposing defenses honest.

Finney-Smith posted two huge games against the Rockets in March and April, Iko adds, going a combined 12-of-20 from three-point range. Iko cites statistics from Cleaning the Glass showing that Finney-Smith’s on-off numbers were +10.8 during his time with Brooklyn last season and +9.3 with Los Angeles. Iko expects the Rockets to see fewer zones with Durant and Finney-Smith on hand to counter them.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Rockets two-way player David Roddy appears to be headed to the Hawks as compensation for Clint Capela when a seven-team deal becomes official on Sunday, according to Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Roddy began last season with Atlanta before being waived at the trade deadline.
God Shammgod talked to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News about his decision to leave the Mavericks‘ coaching staff and join his friend Jamahl Mosley with the Magic. Shammgod is among four assistants Dallas is losing this offseason. He has been with the organization since 2016 and said he never expected to make such a move a month ago. “I’ve been very fortunate, being under a great coach like Rick Carlisle, and then going to another good coach like (Jason Kidd) and being a part of one of the best organizations in the world,” Shammgod said. “And Mark Cuban, you know, probably one of the greatest owners in sports — but, to me, an even better person. There will always be a love relationship for me here in Dallas. I just appreciate everything Dallas did for me, as a coach and as a person.”
New Pelicans head of basketball operations Joe Dumars is taking a huge chance that the young roster he has assembled can be a playoff contender, observes William Guillory of The Athletic. If it doesn’t work out, Guillory believes Dumars will be facing a full rebuild that could include trading Zion Williamson and firing coach Willie Green.

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.

Load More Posts