A year after the blockbuster deal, Phoenix finds renewed stability through Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green, proving that depth and culture can outweigh raw superstar power.
The Phoenix Suns are in the midst of bridging win-now sensibilities with building a lasting contender.
One of the first steps to achieve this goal took place last summer, when Kevin Durant's move to the Houston Rockets took shape.
The deal is now over a year in the rearview, making it a valid time to revisit Phoenix's return on investment as the season quickly approaches.
Suns Still Reaping Value From Durant Trade
The return the Suns received for Durant didn't face positive reception at first. Forward Dillon Brooks was seen as a placeholder in Phoenix, while the fit of former lottery pick Jalen Green immediate came into question.
A year later, and this deal looks to already be working in Phoenix's favor. Brooks is now engrained in the future of the organization with a three-year contract extension signed in August. Green's future with the Suns is more open-ended, but the guard has an opportunity to experience a break-out campaign with another year of comfortability in Jordan Ott's system in tow.
Neither player is as skilled as Durant. Brooks and Green might fail to reach All-Star teams in Phoenix, which is something Durant did multiple times.
Ultimately, this didn't matter in the process. The Suns' culture is reshaping around the acquired players, and the organization is also now banking on second-year center Khaman Maluach to put a bow on winning the trade.
How to Reconcile Suns "Winning" Durant Trade
It's challenging to directly compare the two franchises and the returns simply due to each having a different goal.
However, it becomes more simple when each franchise made runs to the playoffs in April. Houston managed to win a singular game in their first round series, which is essentially the same fate as the Suns found against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Sure, the Rockets were hampered by injury issues (Fred VanVleet), but the organization is realistically heading into 2026-27 on stagnant ground. It's challenging to see a path forward for the Rockets to contend, short of Amen Thompson taking a turn into superstardom.
This debate holds multiple layers to it, but an argument can be made that the Suns are in a better spot in the present and future. The upcoming season will be more telling when testing this hypothesis, but general manager Brian Gregory seems to be standing on solid ground.
The Suns and Rockets square off three times in the season ahead.
