The Houston Rockets continue to teach the Phoenix Suns a lesson they never should have needed to learn: It’s okay to negotiate for, and with, Kevin Durant.
Speaking on a recent episode of The Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said that he’s heard Houston is “not going all-in on an extension,” and is instead negotiating with the two-time champ. Some are painting this as a laughable, if troubling, development for the Rockets. In reality, it’s actually brilliant.
Durant is eligible to sign a two-year extension worth up to $118.7 million now, or a two-year deal in January that pays him up to $120.5 million. Signing him for anything less will help Houston keep more of its core together as the payroll continues to climb.
More importantly, this is an extension of how the Rockets acquired Durant from the Suns. They actually negotiated. And they ended up getting the deal done. Phoenix never did that.
The Suns failed to truly negotiate when they traded for Durant
Suns owner Mat Ishbia ended up giving the Brooklyn Nets almost everything and the kitchen sink back in February 2023. Though many understood the move in real-time, even optimists acknowledged the price paid—Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, four unprotected first-round picks—was exorbitant.
Remember, Phoenix was one of two teams on Durant’s list of preferred destinations the previous summer. Brooklyn may have been playing hard ball, but much like Houston in trade talks this offseason, the Suns had all the leverage. The difference is that the Rockets actually used theirs, and were able to scoop up KD for Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green, the No. 10 pick (Khaman Maluach), and additional second-round equity—a more-than-reasonable opportunity cost when you consider the shaky value of Green’s contract.
To be sure, Durant is older now than he was when Phoenix traded for him. The price was always going to come down. But that doesn’t excuse the Suns’ lack of negotiating back in 2023. The Ishbia-led transaction was impulsive, and it started digging a hole that Phoenix may not be able to climb out from anytime soon.
Seeing Durant extend for less than the max would sting for Phoenix
If the Rockets succeed in extending Durant for appreciably less than his max salary, it will only add insult to the Suns’ laundry list of injuries.
The draft picks, of course, account for a lion’s share of the hurt. In a ranking of 63 traded first-round picks with the most valuable right now by CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn, all three of the remaining first-rounders the Suns must pay out to fulfill the trade finished in the top five. That is nothing if not a brutal reminder of how screwed this franchise has become.
On top of that, though, Phoenix may now see Houston win another Durant-centric negotiation—something it never did, and for which it’s still paying the price.