NBA Trade 2025: Are The Houston Rockets Title Contenders With Kevin Durant?

Kevin Durant is a two-time NBA champion (2017 & 2018), two-time NBA Finals MVP, NBA MVP (2014), six-time All-NBA first team, and five-time All-NBA second team.

There is no question Durant is a future Hall of Famer.

Durant requested a trade from the Suns. His listed preferred destinations were the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, or the Houston Rockets.

Well, Durant got his wish as he was traded to one of his preferred destinations.

The Houston Rockets acquired Kevin Durant to try to advance further in the Western Conference. Here is the full trade between the Rockets and Phoenix Suns.

Trade summary:

Rockets get – Kevin Durant
Suns get – Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, No. 10 pick, 5 second-round picks pic.twitter.com/SbRSNnmbQm

— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) June 22, 2025

Houston Rockets Projected Starting Lineup With Kevin Durant

The Rockets were able to keep Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, and Fred VanVleet.

They had to part ways with Jalen Green, who started at shooting guard. Green is a young talent who showed some promise, but the Rockets needed to give up someone of value for Durant.

Based on the current roster for the Rockets, this is a projected starting lineup:

• PG: Fred VanVleet
• SG: Amen Thompson
• SF: Kevin Durant
• PF: Jabari Smith Jr.
• C: Alperen Sengun

Amen Thompson is only 22 years old, and Jabari Smith Jr. will only be 23 years old when the 2025-26 NBA season begins. The Rockets were able to hold on to both of them in the trade. The only young, promising talent they had to part ways with was Jalen Green.

This is a good lineup on paper. The Rockets finished second in the Western Conference in the 2024-25 NBA season.

With a true point guard in Fred VanVleet, Durant will not be tasked with handling the ball a lot.

Alperen Sengun was the best player for the Rockets last season, and he will be 23 years old when the 2025-26 NBA season begins. For a Center, Sengun averaged nearly five assists per game to go along with averaging 10.3 rebounds per game and 19.1 points per game.

The Rockets may have three out of five starting players 23 years or younger in the 2025-26 NBA season. This will depend on whether they start Jabari Smith Jr. or have him come off the bench.

Considering the Rockets were so young in the 2024-25 NBA season but still finished second in the Western Conference, it shows how promising they are.

Are The Houston Rockets NBA Title Contenders With Durant?

Based on how well the Rockets did last season with such a young squad, this season looks very promising.

The Western Conference is very tough. There are plenty of potential title contenders.

• Oklahoma City Thunder
• Los Angeles Lakers
• Denver Nuggets
• Minnesota Timberwolves

The Thunder won the 2024-25 NBA title and will once again be a threat in the 2025-26 NBA season. Los Angeles, Denver, and Minnesota will all be contenders as well.

The Houston Rockets are right there with these four other teams. Houston looked very good with a very young squad and will be even better in the 2025-26 NBA season.

Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, and Jabari Smith Jr. will continue to improve.

With two NBA champions on the starting squad in Kevin Durant and Fred VanVleet, this will further help the young, promising players on the Rockets improve.

Oddsmakers like the Rockets next season. Here are the top five NBA Finals winner odds for the 2025-26 NBA season:

• Oklahoma City Thunder (+230)
• Houston Rockets (+750)
• Cleveland Cavaliers (+850)
• New York Knicks (+850)
• Minnesota Timberwolves (+1400)

The Houston Rockets will be title contenders with Kevin Durant in the 2025-26 NBA season.