Rockets' Salary Cap After Kevin Durant Signs Historic $90M Contract After Suns Trade

Kevin Durant is going to be with the Houston Rockets beyond just the upcoming season.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported Sunday that Durant and the Western Conference team agreed to a two-year, $90 million contract extension. The deal was for less money than he was eligible for but provides the Rockets more financial flexibility and still gave him the record for career earnings:

The deal is another financial commitment for the Rockets, who enter the 2025-26 season with $201.3 million in total cap allocations, per Spotrac.

As soon as Houston acquired the future Hall of Famer from the Phoenix Suns, his contract situation became a storyline. After all, the 2025-26 campaign was set to be the final year on his previous deal, and the Rockets surely didn't want him to be just a one-year rental.

They are in the middle of a win-now window after finishing with the second-best record in the Western Conference last season, but an opening-round loss to the Golden State Warriors made it clear they needed a closer and more firepower in the key moments.

Durant provides them with just that as one of the greatest players in league history with a resume that includes two championships, two NBA Finals MVPs, a league MVP, four scoring titles, 11 All-NBA selections and 15 All-Star Game nods.

He also provides veteran leadership for a team with a young core around him, which will be even more important for the Rockets in 2025-26 since Fred VanVleet is sidelined by a torn ACL.

It is fair to have some concern about Durant's age at 37 years old, but he was still an All-Star last season while averaging 26.6 points per game behind 52.7 percent shooting from the field and 43 percent shooting from deep.

The efficiency stands out and is something that should age well in Houston over the course of this contract. It also isn't a significantly long-term commitment, as it features a player option in 2027-28 and was designed to maximize the team's immediate contention window.

Now he can focus on basketball with his contract situation taken care of ahead of Tuesday's highly anticipated season opener against the reigning-champion Oklahoma City Thunder.