Kevin Durant traded to Rockets: Grades, reaction, Suns' next steps - ESPN

It's not every day the NBA world gets a Game 7 of the Finals and a future Hall of Famer changing teams via blockbuster trade.

But just hours before the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers play for the 2025 title (8 p.m. ET, ABC), the Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets linked up to send Kevin Durant to Houston in a deal for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 overall pick in Wednesday's draft and five second-rounders.

Which franchise won the trade? How will Durant fit within the Rockets' young roster? Are the Suns going full rebuild? ESPN NBA insider Kevin Pelton grades the deal from every angle.

There was a strange contrast over the last month as discussion of Durant's next destination heated up at the same time the 2025 NBA playoffs were reaching their conclusion. Youth and depth led the Pacers and Thunder to the NBA Finals, yet teams were competing to catch them by giving up multiple contributors to bring in Durant, who will turn 37 around the start of training camp.

Coming off finishing second in the West with only one starter (guard Fred VanVleet) older than 28, the Rockets were surely best positioned to thread the needle of surrounding Durant with enough talent to contend for a championship — particularly as the price dropped to the point where they didn't have to include any of their most prized young players in return.

The seven-game series Houston lost to the veteran-laden Golden State Warriors in the opening round exposed the Rockets' need for more half-court scoring punch. The Rockets ranked 22nd in points per play on their first attempt to score outside of transition, per Cleaning the Glass, ahead of only the Orlando Magic among playoff teams.

During the regular season, Houston was able to compensate