Knicks must stop trying to poach rival coaches
For the June 11th, 2025 edition of the Morning Take, Brandon London sounds off the Knicks repeatedly getting denied opportunities to interview the Timberwolves' Chris Finch and the Rockets' Ime Udoka for New York's vacant head coach position.
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In a Kevin Durant trade, Rockets have limited outgoing salary options
The Houston Rockets are reportedly very interested in a trade for Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant. However, the 15-time NBA All-Star will make nearly $55 million in salary next season. So, to make any deal work under the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Rockets will need to send out close to that much in outgoing salary. Advertisement Between Jock Landale and Aaron Holiday, the Rockets do have a combined $13 million in expiring salaries that they could easily trade out, if their 2025-26 contracts are picked up. Both are relatively inessential to Houston's longer-term plans, since neither was a permanent rotation player for the 2024-25 group that finished with the No. 2 record (52-30) in the Western Conference. But that still leaves at least $35 million or so that will need to go out, in order for a deal to work. And because Phoenix is projected to be above the NBA's first apron threshold for team salary, the Suns likely cannot accept a signed-and-traded player to bridge the financial gap. So, to approach that financial ballpark, here is a look at Houston's players who will make at least $10 million in salary next season: Fred VanVleet: $44.9-million team option Dillon Brooks: $22.1 million Jalen Green: $33.3 million Alperen Sengun: $33.9 million Jabari Smith Jr.: $12.4 million Reed Sheppard: $10.6 million Considering that Durant turns 37 years old later this year, it's probably unrealistic to expect Houston to dangle Sengun, a 22-year-old All-Star. And all indications are that Houston plans on keeping VanVleet in any win-now scenarios, which a move for Durant would be. Advertisement So, that leaves Green, Smith, Brooks, and Sheppard as perhaps Houston's most movable assets that make salaries of significance. The Rockets also have future draft capital that could be made available, including several first-round assets from Phoenix, but those mostly do not count for salary purposes. The lone exception would be the 2025 selection at No. 10 overall, should a deal be finalized after the June 25 draft, but that rookie-scale deal carries a starting salary of only $6.0 million. So, even if the 2025 pick is included, draft choices won't move the needle much, financially. They could drive down the asset cost for the player(s) component, but the Rockets would still need to send out enough salaries to make the math work. With all that in mind, Houston could get close to meeting the outgoing salary requirements by including either Green or a combination of Brooks — a good veteran role player, but one lacking upside at 29 years old — and Smith or Sheppard. To that end, there have been some recent tidbits that Green and Smith could be of interest to Phoenix. Advertisement 'If the Rockets were to get involved in this, I think Jalen Green's name would be involved,' ESPN's Brian Windhorst said Wednesday. 'Jabari is a name that I've heard around the league… for a team like Phoenix, they like Jabari, and that goes back to the whole Kevin Durant thing,' The Athletic's Kelly Iko said Tuesday on the Rockets Collective podcast. ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks included Brooks and Sheppard (along with salary fillers and draft compensation) in his hypothetical deal, though recent indications are that Houston remains very bullish on Sheppard's long-term future. Durant is an elite shooter, having averaged 26.6 points per game last season on 52.7% shooting and 43.0% from 3-point range. He's also a 6-foot-11 forward, which would conceivably allow him to absorb minutes that had been going to Brooks and Smith (who are both forwards) or Green (Houston's leading scorer and starter at shooting guard). Advertisement Then again, Durant is 36, and Smith and Green are 22 and 23, respectively. So, there's certainly an argument in favor of sticking with the longer time window and trusting a talented young prospect — which Green and Smith both are — to improve more with time. The bottom line: If Sengun and VanVleet are off the table, a Rockets-Durant deal likely needs to start with one of these two financial frameworks: 1.) Green 2.) Brooks and a second double-digit-million salary from the above list In theory, Houston could try expanding the deal to three or more teams and sign-and-trade one or more of its pending free agents — such as Jeff Green or Jae'Sean Tate — to another team with a trade exception or space beneath the 2025-26 salary cap. But because those players weren't rotation fixtures for the Rockets last season, they likely won't be in line to attract salaries of significance. So, from Houston's perspective, the salary the Rockets need to send out in a multi-team Durant deal would likely be very similar to the two-team framework. Advertisement In the end, it likely comes down to whether general manager Rafael Stone and head coach Ime Udoka view Houston as close enough to true title contention to warrant a short-term Durant stimulus, relative to the longer-term age gap and asset cost of such a deal. Other factors include the exact asking price from the Suns and what Durant's desired contract extension terms would be. Because his current deal expires after next season, any team trading assets for Durant would likely want to ensure that he's around for more than one season. Stay tuned! More: ESPN lists Rockets first among potential Kevin Durant trade suitors with Suns This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: In a Kevin Durant trade, Rockets have limited outgoing salary options
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
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ESPN lists Rockets first among potential Kevin Durant trade suitors with Suns
ESPN insider Shams Charania is listing the Houston Rockets first among a group of five NBA trade suitors for Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant. In order, the list consists of the Rockets, the San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves, Miami Heat, and New York Knicks. Advertisement From Charania's reporting: Suns officials and Durant's business partner, Boardroom CEO Rich Kleiman, will continue to meet on trade conversations — with talks expected to escalate before the NBA draft later this month. Durant was nearly traded to the Golden State Warriors at the February 2025 trade deadline before he made it clear that he was not interested in a reunion and preferred to finish the season with the Suns. At the time, sources told ESPN that Durant was blindsided by the Suns including him in any trade conversations. This time around, the sides are expected to work together on his next home. Durant is slated to make $54.7 million next season, so the Rockets would have to send out close to that amount in salary in order for a trade to work, financially. The Athletic's Kelly Iko and Sam Amick previously reported that Durant is very interested in playing for the Rockets. Houston does have a significant amount of future draft capital from Phoenix that could be of interest to the Suns in a trade, but it remains unclear how much (if any) that the Rockets would give up in a deal for Durant — who turns 37 years old later this year. A 6-foot-11 forward, Durant averaged 26.6 points (52.7% FG, 43.0% on 3-pointers), 6.0 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in 62 games last season. In February, the former Most Valuable Player (MVP) earned his 15th career All-Star selection. Advertisement More: Report: Suns ramping up trade calls with Rockets about Kevin Durant, draft equity This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: ESPN lists Rockets first among potential Kevin Durant trade suitors
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
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Rockets analyst Ryan Hollins on potential Kevin Durant deal: ‘KD would fit in beautifully'
Rockets analyst Ryan Hollins knows the NBA, having played in the league for a decade. And Hollins also knows its current landscape, as he will soon begin his fifth season as Houston's in-game analyst for Space City Home Network, its regional television broadcast home. With reports emerging in recent days that Houston is among the leading trade suitors for Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant, Hollins didn't mince words regarding the possibility. Advertisement In an interview with Landon Buford of RG, Hollins said of the Durant possibility: Kevin Durant, man, he's electric. When you get to those big moments, do you have enough firepower to execute? Do you trust your young talent to get you there, or do you bring in someone like KD... who you know can win championships? KD would fit in beautifully, and I believe he already has a relationship with Ime (Udoka, head coach) from their time in Brooklyn. There's a high level of respect for him from our guys. The question, however, is what a trade would look like. To Durant's credit, Hollins believes that the 15-time NBA All-Star is aware of that — and he doesn't want to excessively strip his new team of its talent in such a deal. 'He wants to be fair, to both teams and organizations,' said Hollins, whose playing career (2006-07 to 2015-16) featured quite a few matchups against Durant (2007-08 to present). 'That says a lot about him.' A 6-foot-11 forward, Durant averaged 26.6 points (52.7% FG, 43.0% on 3-pointers), 6.0 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in 62 games last season. The former Most Valuable Player (MVP) and two-time NBA Finals MVP is now 36 years old, and his current contract runs through next season. Advertisement More: ESPN lists Rockets first among potential Kevin Durant trade suitors with Suns This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Rockets analyst Ryan Hollins: 'KD would fit in beautifully'
