7-Team NBA Trade Reportedly Being Discussed to Include Lakers, Warriors in Durant Deal
The Houston Rockets have been one of the busiest teams in the early portion of the NBA offseason, but they reportedly have plenty of work ahead of them that could include expanding the Kevin Durant trade.
Kelly Iko of The Athletic reported Wednesday that Houston is "expanding" one of the free agency additions of Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela "into an expansive sign-and-trade that involves multiple teams" before it can finalize the moves starting Sunday.
Fred Katz of The Athletic added to that report and noted the "expansive sign-and-trade" features the Rockets and Phoenix Suns continuing their discussions about the Durant trade and potentially making it one that features "a league-record seven teams."
Katz listed the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves as other teams that are involved in the ongoing negotiations.
Such a move sounds explosive on its face, but Katz tampered expectations some when he reported "no trade is imminent" and "most of the recognizable names are from trades that have already been agreed to and reported but not yet finalized."
He noted Capela would go to the Rockets via the Hawks in a sign-and-trade while the Durant deal would still feature the return that included Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green. What's more, Durant, Brooks, Green, Capela and Daeqwon Plowden are the only players who were in the NBA during the 2024-25 campaign being discussed.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported on June 22 that Phoenix agreed to send Durant to Houston for Green, Brooks, the No. 10 pick of the 2025 NBA draft and five second-round picks.
While it seems like it wouldn't offer significant functional difference, expanding the trade to seven teams would snap the record six-team trade that resulted in Klay Thompson joining the Dallas Mavericks last offseason. Prior to that, the trade that sent Russell Westbrook to the Washington Wizards in 2021 set the record with five teams.
The bottom line is the Rockets are making clear moves toward realistically pursuing a title in 2025-26.
They finished with the second-best record in the Western Conference last season but lost in the first round to the Warriors. It was clear they were missing someone who could take over in the biggest moments, so they added an all-time great in Durant who can do just that.
What's more, the addition of Finney-Smith helps counter the loss of Brooks on the perimeter and in the three-point shooting category, which will be particularly important when defenses collapse on Durant.
Capela also provides important frontcourt depth behind Alperen Şengün, which can help the Rockets counter some of the bigger teams in the West.
Making so many marquee moves requires plenty of moving pieces, and it seems like some of those pieces are still moving in a direction that could lead to a record trade. But all indications suggest there won't be any more headline players leaving their respective clubs beyond what is already known.
