When the Phoenix Suns traded Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets last offseason, the expectation was that this could be Durant’s last NBA stop. He was viewed as the missing piece for a young Rockets squad, giving them a high-level scorer that could open up their offense.
However, last year was a rocky one for Houston. They started off the season hot and looked like a legitimate championship contender. They faltered towards the second half of the season and had a tumultuous post All-Star break stretch that included rumors of a fractured locker room. This was due to an alleged burner account that was ran by Durant, trashing his teammates.Â
The Rockets never really recovered from that, whether it was actually Durant’s or not. They went down 3-0 to a very wounded Lakers team in the first round and while Durant didn’t play for most of that series, it was a disappointing end to the year. It may lead to a scenario that no one really saw coming.
Houston and Durant may be heading for a quicker breakup than expected
There have been rumblings about the Rockets looking into making major moves with their roster, but they weren’t in on the Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jaylen Brown sweepstakes, so major moves likely won’t be happening.
Additionally, if the team isn’t able to shake off the bad vibes from the second half of last year and get off to a slow tart, the rumblings will only persist, and it could lead to Durant getting even more frustrated.Â
We have seen this movie with Durant before. In Golden State, he got into it with Draymond Green, and it led to awkward vibes for the rest of the year and Durant left the following summer. In Brooklyn, he got disgruntled, and forced his way to Phoenix.Â
With the Suns, he was never able to build a serious rapport with Devin Booker and Bradley Beal and there were reports of Durant being distant from the team. The point is that this is a theme with Durant and it tends to hurt teams more than help.Â
That’s no knock on him as a player. He is still extremely productive and one of the best players in the sport. He is an all-time great and impacts winning at an extremely high level. But, he and the Rockets do need to do some soul searching if they want to contend next year. That means some tough conversations with leadership and teammates, otherwise it could lead to Durant forcing his way off yet another squad.
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