The Houston Rockets have finalized a significant trade to acquire 15-time All-Star Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns, as confirmed by a source familiar with the agreement on Sunday.
In exchange, the Rockets will send Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green, and six future draft picks, including the No. 10 selection in this week’s draft, to Phoenix. The source requested anonymity due to the pending approval of the deal by the NBA.
This trade concludes weeks of speculation regarding Durant's future, with multiple teams, including Miami and Minnesota, expressing interest. Ultimately, the Suns accepted Houston's offer.
As fans learned of the trade during Durant's appearance at Fanatics Fest NYC in New York, he responded with a broad smile. "We're gonna see, man," he remarked from the stage.
Durant co-founded Boardroom, a media company that collaborates with Fanatics on various projects. His panel discussion at the event was titled "Global Game Changers," a fitting description for his impact on the Rockets.
Houston, which finished second in the Western Conference last season—16 games behind Oklahoma City—now adds a two-time champion to its young roster, aiming for further success next season.
In his 17th NBA season, Durant averaged 26.6 points per game. Over his career, he has maintained an impressive average of 27.2 points and seven rebounds per game.
This move marks Durant's return to Texas, where he played college basketball for the Longhorns and earned the title of college player of the year before being selected as the No. 2 pick in the 2007 draft by Seattle.
With this trade, Durant joins his fifth NBA franchise, following stints with the SuperSonics (which became the Oklahoma City Thunder), Golden State, Brooklyn, and Phoenix. He secured two championships with the Warriors in 2017 and 2018 and became the highest-scoring player in U.S. Olympic basketball history last summer in Paris.
Durant is a four-time scoring champion and a two-time Finals MVP, joining an elite group of eight players in NBA history who have surpassed 30,000 career points—a milestone he achieved on February 11.
Under contract for approximately $50 million next season, Durant is set to become a free agent in 2026. His exit from the Suns was anticipated after a challenging 2.5 years in Phoenix, where he struggled to find consistent team success alongside star guards Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
Durant was initially acquired by the Suns from the Brooklyn Nets in a four-team trade-deadline deal in 2023, shortly after new owner Mat Ishbia purchased the team for around $4 billion. Phoenix sacrificed significant assets to bring in the then-34-year-old superstar, including promising players Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson, along with four future first-round picks sent to Brooklyn.
