Durant fills Rockets' biggest need, leaves Suns with more questions

The latest Kevin Durant saga finally ended just hours before Game 7 of the NBA Finals, with the Houston Rockets meeting Phoenix's discounted price for the future Hall of Famer.

Rockets receive: Kevin Durant

Suns receive: Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, 2025 No. 10 pick, five 2nd-round picks

Rockets ready to win

There was perhaps no better trade target for the Rockets than Durant. He instantly fills their need for a game-changing shot-creator at a fraction of the price they would've paid for younger options. As one of Durant's preferred destinations, Houston likely doesn't view this as a one-year rental, either.

The Rockets will feel Brooks' departure on the defensive end, where the veteran forward helped forge Houston's identity upon his 2023 arrival. But between budding star Amen Thompson, who's ready to step into a bigger role, and defensive menace Tari Eason, this team is well-equipped to withstand that blow.

The Rockets managed to keep Thompson, Eason, 22-year-old All-Star Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Cam Whitmore, and Reed Sheppard while adding the type of star who can solve the club's offensive issues.

Durant may no longer be in his MVP-caliber prime, but there are few better shot-creators, tough shot-makers, or overall scorers. The 36-year-old averaged 26.6 points on 64.2% true shooting in 2024-25, converting at a 57% clip inside the arc and 43% from deep. He'll command defensive attention in ways no other Rocket can, and he still has the length and smarts to be a plus defender on the other end.

All that should be music to the ears of a Houston team whose 12th-ranked offense was fool's gold. The Rockets' offensive success relied too heavily on offensive rebounding and transition opportunities, while their half-court efficiency ranked 22nd. Durant's presence should immediately result in a more playoff-proof attack (especially if Houston retains starting point guard Fred VanVleet).

The aging star isn't without his warts. He's not as durable as he was before Achilles and knee injuries took their toll. And his shot diet can skew too much to the mid-range while locker-room and coaching turmoil follow him wherever he goes. But he's still a superstar scorer who gives the Rockets so much of what they've been missing over the last couple of years when feisty defensive teams didn't have enough firepower to truly contend.

They do now, and they didn't have to sell the farm to get it.

Suns did what they had to, but it's still ugly

Phoenix was never going to come close to recouping the value traded away for Durant two years ago. Still, the Suns made out OK, given the circumstances.

Brooks will help defensively if Phoenix still wants to field a club featuring Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. Meanwhile, Green, all of those extra second-rounders, and this year's 10th pick - originally Phoenix's - can lay some groundwork for the future. However, the Suns will have plenty of work to do on that front, considering they don't control their own first-rounders between 2026 and 2031 (Houston controls Phoenix's first-rounders in 2027 and 2029).

Under normal circumstances, such a transaction would signal the beginning of a teardown. However, the Suns are facing anything but normal circumstances. They aren't good enough to compete in the Western Conference, they don't have the draft capital required to bottom out and trade Devin Booker, and their most toxic asset - Bradley Beal's contract - has a no-trade clause attached. Unless Beal waives that clause, or until Booker becomes fed up having to share the court with Beal and Green, the Suns will remain stuck in no-man's-land.

Looking at this trade in a vacuum, the Suns did well enough to extract some value from Durant a year before his free agency. The big picture is still horrific, though.

How valuable is Jalen Green?

Green has plenty of fans among those who want to watch an athletic youngster dribble the ball, take tough shots, and provide the occasional highlight. But he's yet to prove his worth as a winner.

The 23-year-old has flashed moments of brilliance and even weeks-long stretches of solid two-way play, but his potential has thus far been more hypothetical than practical. Green isn't consistent enough off the ball or on the defensive end, and he's nowhere near efficient enough to have the ball on a serious team. In addition to his penchant for head-scratching turnovers, Green has been a below-average finisher from almost every area of the court in each of his four seasons, according to Cleaning the Glass. He'll also carry an average salary of $35.1 million over the next three years (2027-28 is a player option).

It feels like Phoenix did the Rockets a favor by taking Green's contract off their hands instead of acquiring a promising youngster who can serve as a building block.

Can Green live up to his hype and salary in Phoenix? Does he still have enough league-wide value for the Suns to reroute him elsewhere for more than pennies on the dollar? I'm not convinced.

Joseph Casciaro is theScore's lead NBA reporter.