Shams: Kevin Durant Traded to Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, No. 10, Five 2nd Round Picks

[___Rand___]

This is basically a Brooks and 5 2nd rounders for Durant. Dillon is way more than a "headache" that people are saying in this thread. Dude's a versatile defender who provides space on offense, and brings intensity to your team. Suns traded for him.
Green was always trash. He paid people to overhype him before the draft, and that shows how much people listen to hype instead of looking at the tape.

[Jagic Mohnson]

The Texas triangle will be brutal again. Spurs might get Giannis, Mavs got Flagg/Davis. Teams gonna exit Texas going 0-3 roadtrip

[davidv2001]

KD will need to carry more on offense and I dont think he is capable of that. If they are really smart, Şengün should be the No.1 option and offense continues goes through him. KD provides the jump shot and some 1 on 1 play when you need him. But if he is going to play PG, thats over for houston.

Durant is not going to be the point guard for the Rockets’ offense. They will have VanVleet, Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson to be the primary and secondary playmakers.

Durant’s job is to make the shots that Jalen Green was taking last season.

problem is he is Kevin Durant he will do whatever he wants.

He’s coming to a team with Ime Udoka as its head coach, who Durant respects. He’s not going to do whatever he wants.

[f4p]

I dont think I would have made this trade as Houston...

I gotta believe they just don’t believe in green and decided they might as well give it a shot with KD

I would say green is the exact kind of player you don't want. Value below his athleticism and scoring numbers but gets paid based on his athleticism and scoring numbers. Very hard to work around that kind of value deficit.

[ball_takes23]

KD will need to carry more on offense and I dont think he is capable of that. If they are really smart, Şengün should be the No.1 option and offense continues goes through him. KD provides the jump shot and some 1 on 1 play when you need him. But if he is going to play PG, thats over for houston.

Durant is not going to be the point guard for the Rockets’ offense. They will have VanVleet, Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson to be the primary and secondary playmakers.

Durant’s job is to make the shots that Jalen Green was taking last season.

problem is he is Kevin Durant he will do whatever he wants.

KD has never played PG for any team he was on since he left OKC. He's mostly been a stand in the corner player for the past few years.

[threethehardway]

It is a good trade for the Rockets. The Rockets could not shoot to save their lives last season and still won 50 games because of Udoka, playing hard every possession, defense and historic rebounding. Kevin Durant doesn’t have to provide global offensive or defensive impact for the Rockets to improve. He simply needs to efficiently score and shoot the basketball like he has done his entire career.

The Rockets have Amen Thompson, Fred VanVleet and Tari Eason to anchor the perimeter defense. They have VanVleet, Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson as players with playmaking ability with Reed Sheppard on their bench. What they needed was an efficient shooter who could also be their number one scorer and late-game closer. Kevin Durant has those traits in spades.

KD does have to provide global offensive and defensive impact to improve to championship level.

RealGM tends to like trades that have very little meaning.

KD is ancient and cost a lot of money and the Rockets gave up picks and players that could've went towards getting a younger player that:

A. Will be with the team longer than 2 years.
B. Actually be able to push the offense forward by being a point of attack player that gets everyone involved because people are afraid that he is going to score.

Amen Thompson is Ben Simmons 2.0. He can't shoot to save his life, he can't be your lead playmaker.

Reed Shephard barely plays and I don't expect him to make it on the Rockets because Ime likes his defense.

So we are at old man Kevin Durant who is a threat to miss anywhere between 20 to 30 games and the only thing he can do for a team is put the ball in the hoop very very well. He can't playmake. He can't turn a corner anymore. He's just like Fred Vanleet. It is a luxury to have KD at this point, you don't get him when your team hasn't even figured out the basics, like, who is going to be the point guard that I can rely on to make plays.

Meanwhile, the main problem isn't shooting, it's playmaking. The Rockets don't have a playmaker that makes offense easy. They have athletes and upon athletes and the Rockets go out and get an old man that slows offense down and isos all day. They already have one of those, now they have two.

Passing and playmaking are two different things.

The Rockets should've sold the farm for LaMelo instead of doing a halfway measure like getting an old KD that is one bad bump away from being out 30 games just to go to the second round and have the same problem.

If Lamelo is too silly and immature they could've got Anfernee Simmons, who can provide the shooting and point of the attack for them.

Instead, old man KD lol.

[thelead]

I havent watched a ton of Rockets games this year but I watched all their post season games and Green was atrocious. He leaves no illusion on what he's going to do on offense. Runs straight at the basket with a layup so it gets blocked. Unable to create separation to score, sloppy basketball when he gets pressed in a playoff game.

If Green was on the level of a Nesmith the trade may not have happened. There's something to be said about a player who was part of your post-Harden rebuild and gets traded the moment the team is making playoffs runs to another team that probably might be in a rebuild soon.

People play around the idea of trading Suggs or Garland or whoever for a win now player or whatever but it always hits a wall because the downside risk too great. I don't think anyone thinks this way with Green.

The example wasn't that deep... Mathurin (meh SG) taking Green's (meh SG) spot and Nesmith (3&D SF) taking Brooks' (3&D SF) spot...

My point was that KD is better than either pair.

Pacers are out in R2 if you replace Mathurin and Nesmith with Brooks and Green. their offense would crater.

and if you added this year's KD in place of those 2?

[JujitsuFlip]

I don’t care for Cupcake at all but I do love this for Ausar. This move further masks (and gives him more time to correct) his poor jumpshot and supercharges his playmaking ability. He’s gonna have a crazy, historical FG% and assist combo stat for a forward that young.

I don’t care about Dillon Brooks either but you are losing some intangibles edge and isolation defense that you certainly won’t replace with Durant. That totally matters in a team setting when things are going left. Those are the situations where Durant-led teams are helpless.

Durant is obviously head and shoulders above Jalen Green but Rockets fans better hope Udoka, Van Fleet, Adams, etc can combat the malaise that always infects teams that hire Durant as a mercenary. His teammates just slowly, and seemingly unknowingly, assimilate to his lackadaisical style as it pertains to pretty much everything on the floor outside of scoring. His unwillingness to run the floor hard, box out, and screen are absolute killers to team flow. I still think they’re a pretty tough second-round out as constructed today given the age and injury histories of Durant and Adams.

How did this trade impact a Pistons player?

[threethehardway]

He’s coming to a team with Ime Udoka as its head coach, who Durant respects. He’s not going to do whatever he wants.

KD is an old HOF NBA player worth probably half a billion at this point.

He's going to do whatever he wants.

[cpower]

Durant is not going to be the point guard for the Rockets’ offense. They will have VanVleet, Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson to be the primary and secondary playmakers.

Durant’s job is to make the shots that Jalen Green was taking last season.

problem is he is Kevin Durant he will do whatever he wants.

KD has never played PG for any team he was on since he left OKC. He's mostly been a stand in the corner player for the past few years.

Touches per game (2024):
FVV: 76
Jalen Green: 63.4
KD: 63.3
Sengun: 62


so KD will likely replace Jalen's role which is not bad, but you really want Sengun to play more that role.

[JujitsuFlip]

don't green and brooks make more than KD? Suns can't make more in salary so either the salary reports are wrong, or the trade involves another team

33.3 + 21.1 = 54.4 which is less than 54.7

[ball_takes23]

It is a good trade for the Rockets. The Rockets could not shoot to save their lives last season and still won 50 games because of Udoka, playing hard every possession, defense and historic rebounding. Kevin Durant doesn’t have to provide global offensive or defensive impact for the Rockets to improve. He simply needs to efficiently score and shoot the basketball like he has done his entire career.

The Rockets have Amen Thompson, Fred VanVleet and Tari Eason to anchor the perimeter defense. They have VanVleet, Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson as players with playmaking ability with Reed Sheppard on their bench. What they needed was an efficient shooter who could also be their number one scorer and late-game closer. Kevin Durant has those traits in spades.

KD does have to provide global offensive and defensive impact to improve to championship level.

RealGM tends to like trades that have very little meaning.

KD is ancient and cost a lot of money and the Rockets gave up picks and players that could've went towards getting a younger player that:

A. Will be with the team longer than 2 years.
B. Actually be able to push the offense forward by being a point of attack player that gets everyone involved because people are afraid that he is going to score.

Amen Thompson is Ben Simmons 2.0. He can't shoot to save his life, he can't be your lead playmaker.

Reed Shephard barely plays and I don't expect him to make it on the Rockets because Ime likes his defense.

So we are at old man Kevin Durant who is a threat to miss anywhere between 20 to 30 games and the only thing he can do for a team is put the ball in the hoop very very well. He can't playmake. He can't turn a corner anymore. He's just like Fred Vanleet. It is a luxury to have KD at this point, you don't get him when your team hasn't even figured out the basics, like, who is going to be the point guard that I can rely on to make plays.

Meanwhile, the main problem isn't shooting, it's playmaking. The Rockets don't have a playmaker that makes offense easy. They have athletes and upon athletes and the Rockets go out and get an old man that slows offense down and isos all day. They already have one of those, now they have two.

Passing and playmaking are two different things.

The Rockets should've sold the farm for LaMelo instead of doing a halfway measure like getting an old KD that is one bad bump away from being out 30 games just to go to the second round and have the same problem.

If Lamelo is too silly and immature they could've got Anfernee Simmons, who can provide the shooting and point of the attack for them.

Instead, old man KD lol.

the only real asset the Rockets gave up was the #10 pick, they could easily still go out and trade for LaMelo if they really to. But that'd be a really dumb move with how many picks they would likely have to give up for him.

[Moose]

Many said the same about the Pacers, but they are 1 win away.

This is a good trade for the Rockets.

It's not a good trade for the Rockets.

It took injury luck for the Pacers to get ahead in a East that quickly became weak when Cavs and Celtics went down.

Plus, Pacers got a Pascal Siakim at the beginning of the end of his prime. KD is out of his.

Kevin Durant is old and has largely been ineffective since he left GSW. He can't stay healthy, he doesn't provide global offensive or defensive impact.

Trading Jalen Green is a good move, trading him for KD, so they can go back to the second round isn't.

If anything, the Rockets need a PG.

You're right, the Rockets do need an upgrade at PG. And they still have plenty of assets to get that done if they so choose.

You can say the Pacers got lucky, but they put themselves in position to take advantage of opportunities. The Rockets have a great coach and players on the rise.

I thought the Suns did well considering their position in all this. They may be willing to try to make the play-in for a couple of seasons before trading Booker and starting over. We'll see what they do from here.

[The Consiglieri]

That’s too much. He’s 37 this season…

Kinda how I felt too. I get why people would think you and I crazy, and maybe it was worth it to unload Green's contract, but, my issue is, I love the talent in this draft 10-20, 10-25, and honestly, let the Suns eat their ---- sandwich. Durant has reached the point in his career where he could tear his achilles walking down the stairs, tear his ACL while picking up a morning smoothie or walking his dog. He's old af, and entitled as hell, that 10th pick is valuable to me. For the Suns, I kinda wanted to see them taken to the cleaners (maybe its the wizards victim/fan in me wanting the swaps to be better), but the reality is, Durant as old as ----, and is very much at risk of breaking down at any time. Is he really worth a top 10 pick in this interesting draft, a former top pick that's kind of underwhelmed, Brooks, and a pile of 2nds that can be utilized to trade your way into the late first? I don't know, I'm skeptical.

If I'm the Rockets, I'd rather take a big swing at 10, or low ball them, and say, "beat our ---- offer". It's not a terrible deal or anything, but at this point, at his age, I'm giving them contracts and 2nds, I'm not giving them a top 10 pick, period. Durant is not worth all that at this point, especially considering that he only had 1 year left on his deal.

Honestly I think the Suns did better than I expected considering Durant's a rental. They got a solid if not worth his contract young guy in Green, Brooks is alright, and a top pick, plus a giant pile of trade up in round 2 pieces? It's more than I expected anyone to offer for a 37 year old ready to break down, entitled <> in Durant.

On the other hand, if they want to contend right now, and are willing to throw away multiple top 10 picks (Green plus the '25 pick) for it, I get why, I'm just too much a fan of draft picks in good classes to do that.

[davidv2001]

It is a good trade for the Rockets. The Rockets could not shoot to save their lives last season and still won 50 games because of Udoka, playing hard every possession, defense and historic rebounding. Kevin Durant doesn’t have to provide global offensive or defensive impact for the Rockets to improve. He simply needs to efficiently score and shoot the basketball like he has done his entire career.

The Rockets have Amen Thompson, Fred VanVleet and Tari Eason to anchor the perimeter defense. They have VanVleet, Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson as players with playmaking ability with Reed Sheppard on their bench. What they needed was an efficient shooter who could also be their number one scorer and late-game closer. Kevin Durant has those traits in spades.

KD does have to provide global offensive and defensive impact to improve to championship level.

RealGM tends to like trades that have very little meaning.

KD is ancient and cost a lot of money and the Rockets gave up picks and players that could've went towards getting a younger player that:

A. Will be with the team longer than 2 years.
B. Actually be able to push the offense forward by being a point of attack player that gets everyone involved because people are afraid that he is going to score.

Amen Thompson is Ben Simmons 2.0. He can't shoot to save his life, he can't be your lead playmaker.

Reed Shephard barely plays and I don't expect him to make it on the Rockets because Ime likes his defense.

So we are at old man Kevin Durant who is a threat to miss anywhere between 20 to 30 games and the only thing he can do for a team is put the ball in the hoop very very well. He can't playmake.

Meanwhile, the main problem isn't shooting, it's playmaking. The Rockets don't have a playmaker that makes offense easy. They have athletes and upon athletes and the Rockets go out and get an old man that slows offense down and isos all day.

Passing and playmaking are two different things.

The Rockets should've sold the farm for Lamelo instead of doing a halfway measure like getting an old KD that is one bad bump away from being out 30 games just to go to the second round and have the same problem.

With all due respect, you are talking to someone who lives in Houston and has been a Rockets’ fan since he was a little kid over 30 years ago when Hakeem Olajuwon led the team to their two championships. I also follow the NBA and don’t care what random users on RealGM think about a trade. My comments are based on logic and reason. For example, I was one who said the Pacers would push Oklahoma City to at least six games because of matchups, when many had the Thunder in five. As for this trade, it does make the Rockets a lot better.

The Rockets primary weaknesses last year were perimeter shooting and free throw shooting along with not having a good scoring option to prevent long offensive droughts. The Rockets would have shot bricks whether it was Trae Young delivering them the ball or prime Steve Nash. They don’t have good shooters on their roster. When Dillon Brooks, Jabari Smith Jr., Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green are your best shooters, that says it all. Plus, playing Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun together is difficult in the modern NBA because neither is willing to shoot threes. One of them has to develop a three-point shot as soon as possible. In the interim, Durant helps in that regard. He’s going to essentially replace the shots Jalen Green was taking and missing more often than not.

Also, while I agree the Rockets would benefit from a point guard upgrade, there is no way I would have sold the farm to get LaMelo Ball, and he would have cost a lot more than Durant did. If you think Durant is Mr. Glass, Ball’s last two seasons makes him look like an iron man. Trae Young I would have considered at the right price. LaMelo Ball and his ankles are a hard pass.

Does adding Durant make the Rockets’ championship favorites next year? No. Oklahoma City still has the most talented roster in the NBA. But, I believe adding his skill set to the current roster can help the remaining young guys learn how to win playoff series and even make the Western Conference Finals as soon as next season. That will pay dividends in a few years.

[The Consiglieri]

Rockets are getting Giannis next.

How could you get Giannis w/o gutting your future and present? I would not do that. I also am kind of skeptical the Bucks are doing it for assets you guys have anyway. They may just play this out to the deadline with the East a total ---- show.

[Black Jack]

Most of Rockets young players are not ready to contend in my opinion, so this is a meh trade to me.

I'd prefer seeing Durant on an actual contender.

[scrabbarista]

As a Rockets fan, I would've preferred to keep the other stuff.

(Cedric Coward )

But oh well. Hopefully this wasn't Fertitta and/or Udoka overruling Stone, because Stone is the only one of those three I'd trust here.

[Mamba81p]

don't green and brooks make more than KD? Suns can't make more in salary so either the salary reports are wrong, or the trade involves another team

33.3 + 21.1 = 54.4 which is less than 54.7

https://fanspo.com/nba/trade-machine has brooks at 22.1 so I guess that's where the error comes from

[ball_takes23]

Most of Rockets young players are not ready to contend in my opinion, so this is a meh trade to me.

I'd prefer seeing Durant on an actual contender.

the problem is most of the contenders are close to second apron and have little to no draft assets, so they would have to give up actual good players to get KD. The Knicks trading Hart + OG for KD or the Wolves trading Gobert + DDV for KD would not be any better than this current Houston team with KD, this is pretty much the best case scenario that KD could have hoped for.