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NBA Suns trade star forward Kevin Durant to Rockets: ESPN / Photo: Kenneth Richmond - GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
NBA Suns trade star forward Kevin Durant to Rockets: ESPN
Two-time NBA champion forward Kevin Durant has been traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Houston Rockets for eight players in a blockbuster deal, ESPN reported on Sunday.
The swap, which can be completed when the league begins the 2025-26 year in July, would send the 36-year-old American to Houston in exchange for guard Jalen Green and swingman Dillon Brooks as well as the 10th pick in Wednesday's NBA Draft and five future second-round picks, according to the report, citing unnamed sources.
The move unites Durant, a four-time Olympic champion with the US squad and the 2014 NBA MVP, with a rising young Houston squad guided by coach Ime Udoka that finished 52-30, second in the Western Conference behind overall NBA leader Oklahoma City.
The Suns had the highest payroll in NBA history but stumbled to a 36-46 season, finishing 11th in the West, with Durant averaging 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.2 blocked shots a game.
Durant will fit into a Rockets lineup boasting Turkish big man Alperen Sengun and guard Fred VanVleet.
Durant has a good relationship with Udoka, who signed a long-term deal last week to remain as Houston's coach. Durant and Udoka worked together with the Brooklyn Nets and on the US Olympic squad.
The Suns will add Green, who averaged 21.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists this season to their backcourt alongside NBA All-Star Devin Booker, who had 25.6 points, 7.1 assists and 4.1 rebounds a game for Phoenix.
Brooks was one of the NBA's top defenders last season.
Durant joined Phoenix in February 2023 in a trade with Brooklyn that cost the Suns three players and four first-round draft picks.
N.Mahnke--BlnAP
