While it’s still early in this NBA season, there’s a chance that both the Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets win the Kevin Durant mega trade of the offseason. The Suns had a chance to reboot their roster around Devin Booker – and some guys have already stepped up – while the Rockets found themselves in title contention with the addition of Durant.
The signings of Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks may not have been the perfect trade for Durant’s offensive talents, especially with Green not yet hitting his stride in Phoenix, but the team is trying to build an identity around defense and Brooks brings a lot to the table. As for the Rockets, they have managed to seamlessly integrate Durant into their offensive plans.
Rockets lead the NBA in offensive class since Durant’s arrival.
While it should come as no surprise that the Rockets are scoring 126.5 points, the best mark in the entire league, since the addition of the 37-year-old future Hall of Fame player, the fact that they were able to do so with a massive lineup that looked clumsy is a testament to Durant’s offensive capabilities. Except that wasn’t the case when he was with the Suns, even though they tried harder.
Kevin Durant in his first five games with the Houston Rockets:
27.2 PTS
55.1 FG%
40.9 3P% (4.4 3PA/g)
85.4 FT% (9.6 FTA/g)
68.6 TS% ‼️Legend. pic.twitter.com/2wlyevrGr0
— Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) November 2, 2025
You would think that having Durant and Booker would equate to immediate offensive success, but in their two full seasons together, the Suns ranked 13th and 10th in this area. Not a bad result, but owner Mat Ishbia went out and asked Bradley Beal and even Jusuf Nurkic to keep that end of the court working flawlessly every night.
That never happened, which is the biggest argument for why the Suns were right to trade Durant this summer. If he won’t be the final piece of a squad that becomes truly elite offensively, like the Rockets are now, then you’re not getting the best out of him and that’s your own fault. Perhaps the only negative here is that the Suns haven’t tied up with the San Antonio Spurs on a deal again.
With Durant out of the picture, the offense has also taken more of a “by committee” form, and this has led to the team taking more three-pointers than most early in the season. It would be nice to move away from Brooks taking most of the shots every night, as he did before going down with a groin problem, but leaving the Durant era was never going to be a smooth exercise.
So while Durant has given the Rockets everything he should have given the Suns, the combination of bad moves and being stuck in the second platform meant this was always going to be the outcome. While in Houston he becomes the icing on the cake of excellent drafting and roster construction, and not the crucial piece the farm was traded for.
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