Kevin Durant’s future in Houston is already getting attention, even with the new season still ahead.
Durant has a player option for the 2027-2028 season, which means he could choose to test unrestricted free agency next summer. For now, though, the Rockets sound convinced they’ve built a situation he likes.
At Rockets media day, general manager Rafael Stone made it clear he feels good about how Durant has settled in. Stone said Durant enjoyed last season’s setup and expects that feeling to carry into 2027.
“I think his fit has been really good… We’ll definitely sit down and talk at the end of this year, just like we did at the end of last year. But I have every expectation that he’s going to be just as happy, if not happier, than he was this offseason. The one thing he wanted to make very clear to me coming out of last year was just how much he’d enjoyed it and how much he wanted to be here, and it’s been mutual from our perspective.”
Durant’s production still looks like Durant. Last season, he put up 26.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists across 78 games. He also finished among the top five in total points scored in the NBA, earned another All-Star nod, and landed on the All-NBA Second Team.
Even with that level of scoring, the postseason resume has been harder to build lately. Durant has not reached a conference finals since 2019, the year he left the Golden State Warriors and moved on to the Brooklyn Nets, Phoenix Suns, and Rockets.
Houston’s first year with Durant didn’t answer every big question, either. The Rockets were bounced in the first round of the NBA Playoffs by the Los Angeles Lakers, and Durant missed most of that series, leaving the team’s ceiling unclear.
Now the Rockets enter October with a fresh start and plenty of expectation around them. Fred VanVleet is set to return, while Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson both carry real All-Star upside.
Thompson, who signed a five-year, $208 million contract extension earlier this month, will be under a brighter spotlight to keep growing. Sengun, meanwhile, is coming off his second straight All-Star selection.
There are still plenty of moving parts that could shape Durant’s choice next summer. But if Houston puts together the kind of deep playoff run that feels within reach, that would go a long way with the 16-time All-Star.
In Other News...
Rockets Have Two Wings Fighting To Prove They Fit Udokas Plan
The Rockets have spent a lot of time sorting through the edges of the roster, and two 6-foot-6 wings are in the middle of that conversation as they try to show they can fit Ime Udokas defensive-minded approach. Julian Phillips arrived in Houston after moving through Chicago and Minnesota, bringing a reputation built more on length, activity and defense than scoring, while Isaiah Crawford is trying to turn the momentum he built in the G League into something more permanent after getting a look with the Rockets last season.
Both players are fighting from a similar place: they have tools that can matter in Udokas system, but they still have to prove they can earn real NBA trust. Phillips has yet to make offense a consistent part of his game, and Crawford has had far more success in the minors than in limited NBA minutes, which leaves Houston with a familiar sort of training-camp question. Which one can turn promise into a role before the roster picture starts to narrow? [Read more 🡒]
Kevin Durant Is Already Creating A Real Rockets Tension Point
Kevin Durants arrival in Houston was always going to come with more than shot-making and late-game gravity, and media day offered the first hint of a real roster-management dilemma. The Rockets have every reason to be careful with a player whose regular-season workload has been heavy and whose recent injury history makes every minute matter, especially with the long view in mind. Durant, though, made clear he is not looking to be handled on autopilot.
The tension is easy to see: Houston wants to protect its star and preserve him for the games that will matter most, while Durant wants the freedom to be judged by the flow of the night, not by a preset cap. He is open to stepping aside more if the Rockets are already in control, but the broader question is how the team balances that instinct with the need to keep him fresh without turning every night into a restriction conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Amen Thompson Faces Bigger Rockets Expectations After One Painful Snub
Amen Thompson arrived at Rockets media day with the weight of a new five-year, $208 million extension already on his shoulders, and he handled it the way Houston has come to expect from the young wing. He spoke about the deal, about his twin brother Ausar landing a similar extension in Detroit, and about the reality that big money usually comes with bigger expectations. Thompson also made it clear the contract is not the end point, just the next step in a career that now has championship language attached to it for the 2026-27 season.
The more revealing part was how personal the moment felt for him, because the disappointment of missing out on All-Defensive recognition still lingers as motivation. Thompson acknowledged the frustration of watching Ausar pile up the honors while he was left off, and he framed that snub as fuel rather than baggage. For a Rockets team banking on his two-way rise, that edge matters almost as much as the dollars, and it hints at a player who is already measuring himself against a higher standard. [Read more 🡒]