By securing a future Hall of Famer at the league's 27th-highest salary, Houston’s front office turned a blockbuster trade into one of the NBA’s most cost-effective stars.
While taking a look through all of the contracts in the league, the Houston Rockets deserve some level of praise for one of their signings. It wasn’t from this current offseason, but rather an extension Rafael Stone handed out last season.
In conjunction with the massive seven-team trade built around Kevin Durant joining Houston, the Rockets also gave the 37-year-old a contract extension. He wasn’t eligible to extend right after the trade, but it was always assumed it was coming.
And it did, in the form of 90 million dollars over two seasons. With that contract just now kicking in this year, it’s a noticeable drop in pay for the future Hall of Fame forward.
Last season he was the fourth-highest-paid player in the NBA, per Basketball-Reference. Understandably so when you see the names he’s surrounded by:
This season, however, you have to scroll all the way down past more than two dozen players to find Kevin Durant’s name. At the 27th most expensive contract this year, he’s being paid much less than guys who aren’t even close to being on his level.
For comparison, Jimmy Butler got the same kind of indication from the Golden State Warriors when he was traded there. He signed for $31 million more, though, bringing the total to $121 in the same two-year span.
While Butler went from the tenth to now being the eighth-highest-paid player in the NBA, Durant went from fourth to 27th. That’s a major win for the Rockets.
