Category: Basketball

Hours before the final game of the 2024-25 season, the Houston Rockets reportedly made a move that will significantly impact the NBA landscape. According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Rockets acquired Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the tenth overall pick in the 2025 draft and five future second-round picks.

Due to Green's contract, the deal will not become official until July 6, according to Spotrac’s Keith Smith.

Along with Miami and San Antonio, Houston was on Durant's reported list of preferred destinations. According to Charania, the Suns were engaged in talks with the Rockets and Heat before taking the package offered by the former. The Rockets add one of the NBA's all-time scoring greats after finishing second in the Western Conference during the regular season, while the Suns add draft capital but have a logjam to address on the perimeter. Let's look at the potential fantasy impact of this deal.

Houston receives:

Kevin Durant

Durant is ranked eighth on the NBA's all-time scoring list, so there should be little to no doubt of what he'll provide Houston on that end of the floor. In 62 appearances this season, he averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.2 blocks and 2.6 three-pointers, shooting 52.7 percent from the field, 43.0 percent from three and 83.9 percent from the foul line. For a team with offensive efficiency issues in Houston, Durant has the potential to be just what the doctor ordered.

However, his two full seasons in Phoenix were the last in which he played at least 60 games since playing in 78 games for the Warriors during the 2018-19 campaign. And with Durant set to turn 37 in late September, durability could be a concern. That said, Durant's résumé makes him worth the risk for a team that was middle of the pack in points per game and offensive rating during the regular season. The Rockets' efficiency was boosted by the team's ability to hit the offensive glass; Houston ranked 27th in two-point field goal percentage and 21st in three-point and overall field goal percentage.

While he and Green did not play the same position, Houston's decision to move two perimeter players in this trade likely makes it more vital that they re-sign Fred VanVleet. The Rockets hold a team option worth $44.9 million on VanVleet for 2025-26, and they have until June 29 to make a decision. It has been reported that both sides are interested in maintaining the partnership; the question is what the financial terms will look like, especially if Houston declines the option in hopes of negotiating a deal for a lower annual salary.

The departures of Green and Brooks should free up additional opportunities for Amen Thompson and Tari Eason, which would be music to the ears of fantasy managers. Thompson was excellent as a starter last season, eventually pushing Jabari Smith Jr. to the bench, while Eason has been valuable when healthy enough to play. Hopefully, the left leg injury that has limited him during his first two seasons will not be an issue for Eason in 2025-26. If fully healthy, he can be a solid contributor in standard fantasy leagues.

Phoenix receives:

Jalen Green

Dillon Brooks

2025 first-round pick (10th overall)

Five future second-round picks

After hiring Jordan Ott to be the team's head coach, new Suns general manager Brian Gregory has made his first major decision regarding the roster. Once the Suns attempted to move Durant ahead of the February trade deadline, it was clear that his long-term future was not in Phoenix. Some may wonder if they could have gotten more in return for Durant, especially considering what Phoenix gave up to acquire him from the Nets a few years ago.

Phoenix did add two starters in Green and Brooks, but this causes a logjam on the perimeter. Bradley Beal, who holds a no-trade clause, remains on the roster, as does assumed cornerstone Devin Booker. A positive regarding Green is his durability, which has been an issue for Beal and Booker in recent years. Green has not missed a game since the 2022-23 season, and he played 76 during that campaign. In 2024-25, he accounted for 21.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.9 steals and 2.9 three-pointers per game, shooting 42.3 percent from the field and 81.3 percent from the foul line.

Green also shot a career-best 35.4 percent from three, but that percentage is not particularly impressive, especially when considering what the Suns lost in Durant. He should be a key cog for the Suns in 2025-26, but being part of a rotation that includes Beal and Booker may not be the best for Green's fantasy value, which has been low in category leagues. He should remain a superior option in points leagues, especially since he's been able to stay healthy.

As for Brooks, the veteran wing shot a career-best 39.7 percent from three in his lone season with the Rockets. Appearing in 75 games, he averaged 14.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.8 steals and 2.5 three-pointers per game, shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 81.8 percent from the foul line. Brooks was a player who proved more valuable to his team than to fantasy managers, which is unsurprising since that was also the case for him in Memphis. That should not change in Phoenix, which was among the worst defensive teams in the NBA this season.

Just as crucial for the Suns as the players was the draft capital acquired in Sunday's deal, most notably the tenth overall pick in next week's draft. In the trades made to acquire Durant and Beal, Phoenix gave up a lot of draft capital. While Sunday's total haul does not close the gap completely, regaining the 2025 first-round pick they surrendered in the Durant deal was a positive step. Of course, Phoenix will not have total control of its first-round pick again until 2032, so Gregory has his work cut out for himself.

On the day of Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, the Houston Rockets have thrust themselves into the center of the 2026 title discussion.

The Phoenix Suns are trading Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets for a package of Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in the 2025 draft (which is the Suns getting back their own pick), and five future second-round picks, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN.

Houston was one of Durant's preferred landing spots and he is expected to sign a two-year, $100+ million extension with them when eligible. The risk with that is Durant turns 37 before the start of next season and comes with an injury history.

For the Rockets, that is a risk worth taking — Durant is the guy they need. While Houston won 52 games this season and was the No. 2 seed in the West thanks to an impressive, athletic young core led by coach Ime Udoka, its loss in the first round to Golden State highlighted the lack of a finisher in the half court. The Rockets needed a go-to scorer who could go get a bucket in the clutch. They now have one of the greatest bucket-getters in NBA history, a guy who averaged 26.6 points a game last season while shooting 43% from beyond the arc, not just a four-time league scoring champion but also a two-time Finals MVP who knows how to perform on the biggest of stages and continues to do so.

The Rockets now have Durant starting alongside veteran Fred VanVleet at the point (likely to extend or re-sign with the team this summer), Amen Thompson on the wing, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun at center. The Rockets also still have Tari Eason, Cam Whitmore, Reed Shepard and others off the bench — plus a lot of future picks, meaning they may not be done trading.

The Rockets and Suns had been negotiating since their seasons ended, but the sides had been far apart on terms for a Durant trade, with the Rockets trying to center the trade around Jabari Parker Jr., while the Suns were hoping for core Rockets players such as Amen Thompson or Alperen Sengun. The sides ultimately made the trade about Green — the explosive but inefficient scorer who averaged 21 points per game last season, but with a .544 true shooting percentage that was below the league average. Green, 24 and entering his fifth NBA season, has plenty of possibilities for improvement.

For Phoenix, this was about as well as they were going to do in this trade market. They acquire a scorer who can play alongside Devin Booker and Bradley Beal in Green. More importantly, a team that lacked defense and grit has just gained a lot of both with Brooks. Then there is the No. 10 pick, which can go a number of different directions (or be traded again).

The most stunning part of this trade: That it happened the day of Game 7 of the NBA Finals, taking the spotlight off the court and putting it on the NBA's transaction cycle. That is not going to sit well in the league office.

INDIANAPOLIS — Game 7. The greatest two words in sports. The NBA has arrived here with what has been a wildly entertaining, balanced, and well-played NBA Finals. Fans will surround televisions and screens across the nation and the globe, tuning in to see whether the Oklahoma City Thunder or Indiana Pacers will be crowned NBA champions for the first time.

Those fans also will walk away from Game 7 with a vision of the future of the NBA.

"It's a new blueprint for the league, man," the Pacers' Myles Turner said after Indiana advanced to the Finals. "I think the years of the superteams and stacking, it's not as effective as it once was. Since I've been in the league, the NBA is very trendy. It just shifts. The new trend now is kind of what we're doing."

This has been a changing of the guard playoffs, which culminate on Sunday.

Part of that is a change in star power. There is no LeBron James or Stephen Curry returning to this stage, nor is there Kevin Durant or Giannis Antetokounmpo. Instead, it's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton establishing themselves as the future of the league. Those stars are at the forefront of a transition to a younger generation of stars that the NBA and its broadcast partners have been too slow to embrace, leaning into the safety of established brands. But it was 23-year-old Anthony Edwards and his Minnesota Timberwolves who eliminated Curry and LeBron from this year's playoffs, while the future of the league may be in San Antonio with 21-year-old Victor Wembanyama.

Depth, versatility and modern NBA rosters

However, the change is more than just the star players, it's how the rosters are built around them.

"It's two young teams. I feel like we're kind of showing the world it's different basketball now," Pacers big man Obi Toppin said. "It's about two teams just going out there, playing extremely hard, and everybody, including the guys on the bench, coming in here, and making an impact."

While the Pacers and Thunder certainly have stars — Gilgeous-Alexander is the league's MVP — the goal used in building these rosters was not simply to compile superstars and then hope the role players around them are good enough (think Philadelphia or Phoenix).

The Thunder and Pacers are not heliocentric teams, these are rosters specifically built to take advantage of the strengths of Haliburton and Gilgeous-Alexander, where they can serve as conductors of offenses where everyone eats. The goal is to have depth, balance, and identify versatile players who can effectively fit the system. The Pacers and Thunder assembled rosters with enough of those kinds of quality players that they can go all out when on the court — pressing on defense and playing at a high tempo — then be subbed out for fresh legs that will play just as hard. The trend is not to have two or three superstars and hope the rest of the roster can hold up, it's to have eight or nine or 10 versatile players good enough to play minutes in a Finals game, staying within their roles.

"The new trend now is just kind of what we're doing, OKC does the same thing," Turner said. "Young guys get out and run, defend and use the 'power of friendship,' is how they call it."

That's something else these teams have — great chemistry. The players get along. It's more collegial. These aren't "12 players, 12 cabs" kind of teams, these guys want to hang out. That will be the most difficult part for other teams to mimic.

The NBA is a copycat league, but in this case, the change in roster construction will be driven more by the league's punishing luxury tax aprons and associated penalties than by trying to follow the model of the latest champion. The league has attempted to flatten out the talent pool in the name of parity, which has increased the need for teams to establish an identity and build upon it.

It's not new: Denver did much the same thing, where they have a star in Nikola Jokic, but they built a team to take advantage of his otherworldly passing skills. It's why good players such as Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr., can look even better, because they are in a system that plays to their strengths.

The Thunder and Pacers built title contenders by drafting wisely, making clever trades — both Haliburton and SGA came to their teams via trades — but it's also always thinking about fit. Indiana trading for Pascal Siakam was not about getting the biggest name, but rather about finding the best fit for their roster. The same goes for scooping up Obi Toppin from the Knicks. This past summer, the Thunder had the cap space and trade assets to go after a big-name player; instead, they focused on landing Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein. Fit mattered.

"When we traded for Tyrese, it was pretty clear that we needed to play with tempo," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "[President of Basketball Operations] Kevin Pritchard and [General Manager] Chad Buchanan have built a roster with guys that can run and defend around him.

"In today's game, roster construction seems to be changing. A lot of the best rosters now are built on balance, and that's certainly what we're trying to do. I think that's what Oklahoma is doing, too."

They are. And it's the way of the future, no matter who wins Game 7.

The images were all over social media: 7'3" Victor Wembanyama with a shaved head, wearing robes and running with monks at a Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, China.

Wembanyama opened up about the experience at the Fanatics Fest in New York on Sunday. Quotes via Larry Holder at The Athletic.

"It was a great experience," Wembanyama said. "My goal going there was putting my body through things that it's not used to doing and allowing my range of movement and strength. This was probably as very different as possible from what I'm used to doing."
So what did that look like?

"Kung fu. Everyday. It was like a vegan temple, monastery. … I was isolated," Wembanyama said,

He added that he had to sneak out and get some meat dishes to help him maintain the 245 pounds he has now reached.

This was a casual affair, where Wembanyama played chess against 100 people lined up (he won) and had a conversation in "The Shop" with Tom Brady, LeBron James, and others, during which he discussed his experience in China.

He did not discuss the blood clot in his shoulder issue, which prematurely ended last season for him, although he is expected to be recovered and ready for the start of training camp. The Spurs will have a full season with him, De'Aaron Fox at the point, rookie Dylan Harper (who they are expected to draft with the No. 2 pick next week) and a roster that can make some noise in the Western Conference.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Nobody should be talking about market size or ratings now. We have witnessed one of the most entertaining, well-played NBA Finals in recent memory — it needed to go seven games. It's had a little bit of everything.

While this series has been a chess match that will thrill fans of the Xs and Os of the game (Indiana moving the pick-up point back in Game 6 was one big one that threw Oklahoma City off for a night), Game 7s are more about execution than strategic changes. At this point in the series, there are no secrets.

"It's a contest of wills. I think the reason it swung between the two teams is because these are two teams that have leaned on that heavily to get to this point," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "It's two teams where the whole is better than the sum of the parts. It's two teams that are highly competitive. Two teams that play together. Two teams that kind of rely on the same stuff for their success that are squaring off against each other."

Game 7 will be about execution under the brightest lights in basketball. Which team, which players will step up?

We've got four things to watch for in Game 7. Four things will determine who will be on the podium next to Adam Silver after the game.

Thunder’s home court advantage

This is not about how home teams are 15-4 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals (the most recent one, in 2016, went to the road team, Cleveland, over Golden State).

The Thunder's home court advantage is much more potent than that — OKC is 10-2 at home in these playoffs. That easily could have been 12-0 save for some last-second heroics (Aaron Gordon's 3-pointer with 3 seconds left for Denver; Tyrese Haliburton's pull-up with 0.3 left in Game 1 of this series).

It's much more than the record: The Thunder have a +20.7 net rating at home, compared to a -6.2 net rating on the road (where they are 5-5). Thunder players openly discuss how they feed off their raucous crowd, and this becomes most noticeable on defense — the Thunder's defensive rating is 12.7 points per 100 possessions better at home this postseason.

"You're ultimately in your complete comfort zone," Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said of their home court advantage. "The flow to the day doesn't change. You're in your own bed. You have shootaround at your building. You eat your pregame meal from your chef or your whoever. It's very comfortable, the whole flow to the day, and then the crowd is behind you. They give you energy, whether you're up or down or whatever is going on in the night. It's an advantage."

The energy the Thunder players get from their deafening crowd is real.

"The crowd. You know, they work in our favor," Cason Wallace said. "They're rowdy and they're into the game, and that gives us a boost and an edge."

The Pacers have been a strong road team this postseason, with a 7-4 record away from the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, and have generally played teams evenly (a minus-0.6 point differential). They have won one game on the road this series, they know what is coming and how to withstand it.

"Crowds give you a little bit more energy, a little bit more burst. We are going to be practically alone tomorrow," T.J. McConnell said. "This crowd here in Oklahoma City is amazing. It's going to be very loud. We have to be ready."

Haliburton’s health

Tyrese Haliburton's strained left calf wasn't much of an issue in Game 6. That doesn't mean it should be ignored in Game 7.

There were a couple of moments early in Game 6 when he clearly hesitated to push off on his left leg, but it ultimately didn't matter because his shot was falling and the Thunder's defensive pressure was not cranked up to its usual intensity. Haliburton finished with 14 points, five assists, and played less than 23 minutes in the blowout.

Also of note: The Thunder rarely dragged Haliburton into a pick-and-roll and made him move laterally quickly on defense. Expect more of that in Game 7.

Haliburton says he is ready.

"I'm pretty much in the same standpoint I was before Game 6. A little stiff, a little sore, rather," Haliburton said. "Good thing I only had to play like 23 minutes. I've been able to get even more treatment and do more things. Just trying to take care of it the best I can. But I'll be ready to go for Game 7."

Watch how he is moving early and how much the Thunder test him.

Turnovers, offensive rebounds

Both of these teams are built on winning the possession game: forcing turnovers, not turning the ball over themselves, securing some offensive rebounds, scoring easy buckets in transition, and simply creating more scoring opportunities than their opponent.

Which team has executed that has swung from game to game, but in Game 6 it was clearly Indiana.

"I think last game, we didn't play our brand of basketball and we didn't play our brand of defense and we just let them be comfortable," Isaiah Hartenstein said of the Thunder. "So I think it's a mix of things. They do a great job of never changing the way they play. So they get out, they run. And it's our job to just get back to playing our style of defense and going from there."

Turnovers and bench points will be bellwethers in Game 7, as they have been throughout the series.

Lessons from Game 6, former Game 7s

Game 7s don't happen in a vacuum, and both teams talked about learning from past experiences.

For the Thunder, it was Game 7 against the Nuggets in these playoffs. This Finals series has eerily followed the form of the second-round showdown between Denver and Oklahoma City, from the heartbreaking loss in Game 1 to the blowout loss in Game 6. Against the Nuggets, the Thunder played their best game of the series in Game 7, winning comfortably at home.

"What Game 7 taught me from Denver is the swings — three feels like you're down 10, you know what I mean? One feels like you're down five," Jalen Williams said. "That's just like the swing of a game, and what is going on feels much larger. It's about honing in your emotion and understanding the state of the game is big for Game 7."

The Pacers have a few things to draw on.

"Honestly, for us the last three games have all been Game 7s," Myles Turner said.

One of those was Game 6 from just a couple of days ago. With their backs against the wall, Indiana played with a genuine desperation that Oklahoma City did not come close to matching.

"Last game, we didn't want them celebrating on our court, so we understood the assignment, we understood we had to come in here and be dogs, and get that job done," Obi Toppin said. "And now it's on to game seven. We got, we got to do the same thing we did in game six and get the job done."

Asked about his favorite Game 7 memory, Aaron Nesmith didn't hesitate to bring up the Pacers' biggest win of a season ago — one that can apply to this year.

"Ours, against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden," Nesmith said, referencing a Game 7 win on the road the team had last season. "That was an incredible atmosphere and a moment that I loved playing in."

This Pacers core has won a Game 7 on the road in an incredibly hostile environment. It has won in this building in the NBA Finals. Don't sleep on their chances to do it again — but this is a much bigger stage and much brighter lights.

What has been a brilliant series hopefully ends with a Game 7 to match.