Fresh off a 52-win season, the Houston Rockets only know one way: to get back at it next season and hope things turn around.
That hope isn’t one of those those passive, wait-and-see approaches, either. Houston has to feel good about the return of Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams and, of course, the further development of rising, young stars like Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard.
“Clearly, Oklahoma City and San Antonio reside in the top tier, but Houston might have a fighting chance,” ESPN’s Michael C. Wright wrote recently. (Kevin) Durant will be more familiar in Year 2, and the Rockets won’t be using a by-committee approach at point guard this season with the expected return of Fred VanVleet, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear before the start of training camp last season. Big man Steven Adams will be back, too, after undergoing season-ending left ankle surgery in January. Thompson and Reed Sheppard were thrown into the fire with larger roles last season and showed growth that will pay off this season. Sengun also won’t be charged with facilitating offense like he did last season. That should free him up to pummel opponents more in the paint.”
But that still begs the question whether Durant will stay in Houston past the midseason trade deadline … or even this offseason.
Hypothetical Trade: Houston Ships Kevin Durant to Nuggets, Pivots Earlier
Does Houston have incentive to move Durant right now? That’s debatable. Does it have an incentive to move Durant before the trade deadline? That would certainly be a conversation if the Rockets go nowhere fast next season.
But say the Rockets pivot from Durant earlier, before the start of the 2026-27 season — what could they receive in return for their All-NBA Second Team performer? Here’s a proposed trade that the Rockets would think hard about if the Nuggets came calling.
Rockets receive: Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, a 2031 first round pick and a 2028 second round pick
Nuggets receive: Kevin Durant and Clint Capela
Why Both Teams Pull the Trigger
Both teams would have multiple reasons to do this trade.
For Denver, adding Durant, who would be an effective player-for-player upgrade over Gordon, would give a 26-point-per-game scorer around the proven championship duo of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. And if that’s not enough, the Nuggets would shed nearly $3 million in payroll in this proposed trade.
For Houston, this is an intriguing package for a 37-year-old who didn’t exactly help you improve after an ever-promising 2024-25 season. Gordon is a player, especially when healthy, who has proven championship-impact while Braun, 25, could be a long-term building block for the young Rockets.
Suddenly, the Rockets would be looking at a starting lineup featuring VanVleet, Thompson, Gordon, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun. Then you throw Braun, Adams, Sheppard and newly acquired Marcus Smart into the mix off the bench, and the Rockets suddenly have a team that, while perhaps not enough to scare the Thunder or Spurs, could be even better than the one they had with Durant.
Will Durant get traded this offseason, though? All signs (for now) point to no, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer.
“I think there was some external trade interest from around the league because it wasn’t a magical season in Houston last year,” Fischer reported. “Every word I’ve gotten out of the Rockets organization has been that they clearly felt last year was just a very bad year of injury luck … I don’t think they ever really saw making major changes this year in Houston, this offseason at least.”
It does appear true, however, that the Rockets would have opportunities to improve their roster by shipping out Durant for the right package.
Nuggets Proposed to Land Kevin Durant in Blockbuster 4-Player NBA Trade