Houston's roster stagnation and Durant's future clash. Is a mutual parting of ways on the horizon for the veteran star and the Rockets?
While it seems like a no-brainer for virtually any team to bring in a Future Hall of Fame talent like Kevin Durant, there’s still some people questioning whether it was the right decision. Possibly even considering cutting ties.
One such person is Evan Cohen of ESPN. He didn’t go as far as to actually suggest trading KD, but he did hint at a mutual separation. He doesn’t believe it’s a great fit and doesn’t quite see how it makes sense moving forward.
I’m not completely there with him, but I understand his point. Durant is in the later stages of his career where I’d expect him to want to compete. Not being the number one guy for a team like it’s 2015, but still being an integral part of a team.
It seemed like that could work in Houston, but I’m not sure if Rafael Stone and the Rockets’ front office had the same vision. As covered religiously on Roundtable, this team did absolutely nothing at the trade deadline. No changes to the roster whatsoever.
There wasn’t any chance of bringing in someone who would surpass Durant as the Rockets’ leading scorer, but they definitely could’ve got some guys to help lighten his load. Particularly players to handle the ball some. Both Jose Alvarado and Ayo Dosumnu are making an impact for their new teams this postseason.
Instead, Rafael Stone and the Houston Rockets went into the playoffs with the same rotation of Amen Thompson, Durant, and Şengün handling the ball. That didn't leave Ime Udoka with many options, especially given his lack of trust in Reed Sheppard.
That was strange to me, considering everyone saw teams shut the Rockets down in the regular season. It seemed obvious changes would need to come in order to make it in the postseason, but hey didn't even sign JD Davison to a full contract to allow him to play past game 82.
Somehow, some way, the Rockets were still solid favorites entering the postseason despite the roster stagnation. This was largely due to them getting blessed with a Lakers matchup, although Houston was still the lower seed.
Obviously injuries to Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic’s influenced those odds, yet somehow Houston is on the verge of elimination nonetheless.
But again, this all seems to be going relatively according to plan for Rafael Stone. Just having KD on the roster for the sake of having him. Not really trying to make the most of it if you ask me.
It wouldn’t be the craziest thing in the world to see a separation, given the two sides might want different things. I wouldn’t want it to happen, but I wouldn’t be surprised. The veteran has become more of a mercenary, as previously covered here on Roundtable.