Rockets surge to second-best title odds following Durant trade
The Kevin Durant trade saga is over. On the final day of the season, just hours before Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the Suns traded Durant to the Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, and draft picks.
While Durant is approaching 37, he still averaged 26.6 points last season while shooting 52% from the field and 43% from three. He's the perfect fluid scorer to add to a team that earned the 2-seed in the West despite not owning a top-10 offense.
Before the trade, the Rockets were +1800 to win next season's title, tied for the eighth-best odds. Following the deal, Houston jumped to +850, the second-best title odds behind the Thunder (+220).
Houston acquired the 15-time All-Star without sacrificing young pieces such as Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, Cam Whitmore, or Reed Sheppard. While Green led the team in scoring, serious questions persisted about his inconsistency and inefficiency. Those concerns heightened when he had a poor playoff debut, averaging 13 points on 37% shooting from the field in Houston's first-round loss to the Warriors.
While the Rockets had a top-five defense, their offense struggled to generate buckets in the clutch without a reliable go-to option. Their clutch offensive and net ratings ranked in the league's bottom half. Durant, who's on an expiring contract but eligible to sign a two-year extension with Houston, patches up that problem seamlessly as one of the most efficient pure scorers in league history.
The Durant experiment in Phoenix was a colossal failure. The Suns traded Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, four first-round picks, and other pieces to the Nets for Durant during the 2022-23 season. Phoenix won one playoff series over the following three seasons and missed the postseason entirely this year. But Durant doesn't deserve all the blame. The Suns were 33-29 with Durant this campaign and 3-17 without him.
Phoenix had little leverage in the trade discussions as both sides were desperate to cut ties. Still, the Suns received a poor haul considering what they surrendered to acquire him over two years ago.
The Rockets impressed throughout the regular season but lacked the experience to make a deep postseason run. Durant officially turns Houston into a contender.
Sam Oshtry is a sports writer at theScore. You can follow him on X @soshtry for more betting coverage.