Rockets Reportedly 'Would Love' Kevin Durant Trade 'But It's On Their Price'
The Houston Rockets are taking a hardline stance in their talks with the Phoenix Suns about a potential Kevin Durant trade.
On The Athletic NBA Daily's Slam N Jam podcast (starts at 14:45 mark), The Athletic's Sam Amick reported the Rockets "would love" to add Durant "but it’s on their price."
Per a June 16 report from Amick and Jon Krawczynski, the Rockets have a "firm offer on the table" for Durant that Phoenix is underwhelmed by.
It's unclear exactly what Houston's offer is, but the Suns are believed to have put a high price on Durant in their discussions with other teams.
The Ringer's Kirk Goldsberry said on the June 17 episode of The Zach Lowe Show that Phoenix asked the San Antonio Spurs for Stephon Castle and/or the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NBA draft.
Per ESPN's Shams Charania, Durant's list of preferred landing spots in a trade includes the Rockets, Spurs and Miami Heat. None of those three teams seems willing to go over the top with a proposal to the Suns at this point.
Despite receiving a preference list from Durant, Charania noted the Suns have told all of the interested teams they will make the best deal for their franchise even if it means trading him to a club outside of that group of three.
ESPN's Brian Windhorst has said the Rockets are "basically wagering" the Suns' asking price will come down and they don't want to move any of the future draft picks they have.
The Suns would be interested in Houston's cache of draft picks because at least two of them originated with Phoenix, including the No. 10 pick this year. The other future Suns picks that belong to the Rockets are an unprotected first-rounder in 2027 and a potential swap in 2029.
Given the current state of the Suns and their future outlook, it's understandable why the Rockets wouldn't want to give up any of those picks. They are also ascending with their current roster after earning the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference this season with a 52-30 record.
