Two-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant has been traded to the Houston Rockets in a blockbuster deal that will see Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and the No 10 pick in the draft head to the Phoenix Suns.
Reports had emerged early on Sunday morning that the Suns were searching for a trade deal for Durant, 36, and just hours later it has come to fruition in remarkable fashion.
Incredibly, Durant was on stage at FanaticsFest in New York when the news dropped, and he was left stunned after being informed by fans of his next move.
In a clip posted to social media, a perplexed Durant asked if the trade was real, before claiming: ‘We’re gonna see man, we’re gonna see.’
The audience can be heard booing as details of the news filtered around the room, with Durant sat on stage in front of them at the Javits Center in Midtown Manhattan.
The trade was first broken by The Athletic’s Shams Charania, who revealed that Green, Brooks and the 10th pick in the 2025 Draft are being sent to Phoenix.
He then added that the Suns engaged in ‘deep conversations’ with Houston and Miami over the last 24 hours, before reaching an agreement with the Rockets on Sunday morning.
The trade will see Durant, a 15-time NBA All-Star and two-time NBA champion, join the No. 2-seeded Rockets to put them into title contention in the West.
The Suns, meanwhile, add two major pieces to their roster in Green and Brooks, while they also now have three first-round picks and eight second-round picks to use in trades.
Durant has only been in Phoenix for two full seasons, after being traded by the Brooklyn Nets at the end of 2022-23.
Prior to that, he started his career with Oklahoma City, before winning two titles with the Golden State Warriors – where he was twice named Finals MVP.
Durant will join coach Ime Udoka in Houston, whom he has a strong relationship with across stints in Brooklyn and with the USA national team.
Last week, Udoka agreed to a new long-term contract extension and the Rockets’ odds of winning a championship are already shortening in the wake of the trade bombshell on Sunday afternoon.
Earlier in the week, it was reported that the likes of Minnesota, Toronto, Cleveland, Denver and the LA Clippers were all interested in a potential trade for Durant, but the field narrowed heading into the weekend.
While Durant found out on stage in New York that the trade had been announced publicly, it is as yet unclear whether he had any prior knowledge about a deal being finalized between the two teams.
The news was announced just hours before Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers.
