ESPN’s Tim MacMahon: “Kevin Durant’s Twitter bio says, ‘I do me, and I chill.’ That’s all the Rockets need from him. This is not a team that needs to change its culture.”
On ESPN’s First Take, one of Thursday’s roundtable discussion questions was what kind of leader the Houston Rockets might need Kevin Durant to be in the 2025-26 season.
Tim MacMahon, who covers the Rockets more closely than anyone else at the network, wasn’t having it after hearing comments by former NBA player Markieff Morris that Houston might need Durant to be more of a vocal leader.
In an extended rant, MacMahon made it clear: Houston simply needs buckets and to revive its halfcourt offense. MacMahon’s comments:
Kevin Durant’s Twitter bio says, ‘I do me, and I chill.’ That’s all the Rockets need from him. They do not need rah-rah speeches. This is not a team that needs to change its culture. It has done a massive, and successful, cultural transformation over these last few years. It started with the hiring of Ime Udoka and the signing of Fred VanVleet. Steven Adams is another veteran there who has won a lot, and whose voice resonates when he wants to use it.
This is not a team that has a leadership void. This is a team that has a phenomenal culture. They’re tough, they’re nasty. They need freaking buckets, and Kevin Durant can supply those in bunches. That’s all he has to do in Houston.
To MacMahon’s point, with VanVleet and Adams both signing new contracts with the Rockets this month, there shouldn’t be any leadership void.
The Rockets just need their offense to catch up with their top-five defense — and if it does, Houston should have a legitimate championship contender on its hands.
Enter Durant, an All-Star last season and one of the greatest NBA scorers of all-time.