The Kevin Durant trade to Houston sees 7 teams involved in record-setting deal

The trade of Kevin Durants to the Houston Rockets is official and officially sets a new record.

The NBA accepted the deal on Sunday as part of a seven-team deal that combined numerous other trade agreements into one enormous package.

PHX: Daeqwon Plowden, Rasheer Fleming, Koby Brea, Dillon Brooks, Khaman Maluach, Jalen Green, and the secondHOU: Clint Capela and Kevin DurantBKN: Two secondsGSW: Jahmai Mashack and Alex TooheyATL: cash, David Roddy, second swapAdou Thiero, LALMIN: cash, two seconds, and Rocco Zikarsky

According to Rockets general manager Rafael Stone, Kevin is one of the most effective scorers in basketball history and has an impact on the game on both sides of the court. We are pleased with our team’s progress from the previous season and think Kevin’s skill set will fit right in.

Phoenix, Houston, Atlanta, Minnesota, Golden State, Brooklyn, and the Los Angeles Lakers were all parties to the agreement. There are 13 players in all. The Rockets sent Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks to the Suns, Durant moved from Phoenix to Houston, and the Rockets acquired Clint Capela from the Hawks.

The previous record, a six-team deal last summer that most famously sent Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks, is surpassed by the seven-team participation in the Durant trade. Naturally, Thompson’s old team, Golden State, as well as Charlotte, Minnesota, Philadelphia, and Denver on different levels, were also involved in that transaction.

Brian Gregory, general manager of Phoenix, referred to Durant as one of the best players in history and expressed gratitude for the influence he had on the team and the city. We wish him luck as he pursues his career in Houston. He rose up the scoring records while playing for the Suns, becoming only the eighth player in NBA history to reach 30,000 career points.

Before all conditions are met, the deal will include at least five second-round draft picks, the possibility of a second-round pick trade, and some cash considerations for the Hawks and Timberwolves to make the math work. Furthermore, some of those draft selections won’t be made until 2032, which makes it quite likely that some of the players who will be remembered as being a part of the transaction haven’t even finished high school.

Last season, Durant averaged 26.6 points, which was his 17th in the NBA excluding one year missed due to injury. The 6-foot-11 forward has averaged 27.2 points and seven rebounds per game over his career.

The move returns Durant to Texas, where he played his lone collegiate basketball season for the Longhorns and won college player of the year before Seattle selected him with the second overall pick in the 2007 draft.

Houston joins Golden State, Brooklyn, Phoenix, and the SuperSonics (who later changed their name to the Oklahoma City Thunder) as his fifth team. Durant won two championships with the Warriors in 2017 and 2018, and he became the first men’s basketball player to be on four gold-medal teams and the highest-scoring player in U.S. Olympic basketball history last summer in Paris.

Durant is one of only eight players in NBA history to have more than 30,000 career points, a four-time scoring champion, and a two-time Finals MVP.

Rockets coach Ime Udoka stated, “I know he’s the kind of competitor who fits with what we’ve been building here in Houston because I’ve played against and coached him before.” He is one of the most admired players of his generation due to his skill level, passion for the game, and commitment to his craft, and my crew and I are thrilled to collaborate with him.

Along with the rights to Khaman Maluach from last month’s draft, a 2026 second-round pick, and a 2032 second-round pick, Houston sent Green and Brooks to Phoenix. The Rockets traded David Roddy, money, and a 2031 second-round selection to the Hawks. The Warriors acquired the rights to Jahmai Mashack from last month’s draft, and Brooklyn earned a 2026 second-round pick and another in 2030 from the Rockets.