Kevin Durant was on stage at Fanatics Fest when the news of his trade to the Houston Rockets came out. Jonathan Macri of Knicks Film School caught his reaction, and it was incredible to watch. The crowd began murmuring, and eventually, Taylor Rooks, who was conducting the interview, acknowledged the commotion.
A huge smile crept across Durant’s face as he took note of his move from the Phoenix Suns to the Rockets, though he didn’t directly comment. Instead, Rooks carried on with the interview, giving Durant the chance to make a fun comment about the trade during his response to her question.
When asked what song he listens to before games, Durant said, “It’s RAINING IN HOUSTON, that’s what I’m playing.”
What was the Kevin Durant trade?
The Suns just traded Kevin Durant to the Rockets, according to Shams Charania of ESPN. The Suns got back Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and five second-round picks, resetting their roster and draft-pick cabinet around Devin Booker.
Kevin Durant’s live reaction to news breaking that he’s been traded to the Houston Rockets: pic.twitter.com/dDOGh425LN
— Jonathan Macri (@JCMacriNBA) June 22, 2025
On the day of the final game of the NBA season, Game 7 of the NBA Finals, Durant was moved, and if that weren’t dramatic enough, the now former Suns superstar was speaking at the time the news dropped, making it a must-see event.
Getting to see Durant’s live reaction to his own trade was awesome, as it’s very rare that sort of thing happens. One of the most recent times was when DeMarcus Cousins got traded from the Sacramento Kings to the New Orleans Pelicans while he was in New Orleans for the All-Star Game.
What will Suns look like now?
Booker is still the leader in Phoenix, and from the way he’s been speaking since the end of the season, it doesn’t seem like he wants to leave the Suns anytime soon.
Now, the Suns will have Booker, Green, Brooks, and the 10th overall pick to build around. At that draft spot, they could get players like Cedric Coward, Carter Bryant, Derik Queen, or Kasparas Jakucionis.
The biggest downside to this deal is that the Suns were unable to recoup some of their own draft picks. They only got one first in the trade, and it’s for this season, but getting a bunch of seconds back should give them some extra flexibility moving forward.
Still, getting back a young emerging star in Green and a top-10 pick in this year’s draft isn’t an awful return for a guy who made it clear that he had no intention of returning to Phoenix.