After their failed attempt to land Kevin Durant in the offseason, the Houston Rockets aren’t expected to be in the market for a star player during the regular season.
Per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Rockets are putting the word out that they don’t intend to make a “major trade” during the 2024-25 campaign.
The Rockets had one of those curious moments early in the offseason that set off some alarm bells when they made a deal with the Brooklyn Nets involving multiple draft picks, including a 2027 first-rounder that originally belonged to the Phoenix Suns.
Former ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported at the time that the Rockets made the deal with the Nets with the goal of putting together a package for Durant that would entice the Suns by giving them some of their own picks back that were originally used to acquire the 14-time All-Star from Brooklyn in February 2023.
Suns governor Mat Ishbia threw cold water on any potential Durant trade by publicly stating on X that the team wasn’t interested in trading him because their goal was to compete for a championship in 2024-25.
Windhorst noted the structure of Green’s deal was “unusual,” with executives and agents around the league believing it was signed to eventually be included as part of a trade.
One reason the Rockets may not be expected to make a major trade is that there aren’t a lot of obvious star players who are available.
The timing of Lauri Markkanen signing a five-year, $238 million extension with the Utah Jazz on Aug. 7 means he can’t be traded during the season.
