ESPN insider Tim MacMahon, who is quite plugged in with the Rockets, doesn’t think Houston’s management will offer anything close to a maximum-salaried contract extension for Kevin Durant.

The 15-time NBA All-Star is under contract for the 2025-26 season, already, and he is eligible to negotiate a two-year extension for 2026-27 and 2027-28 worth approximately $120.5 million in total.

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But the good news for the Rockets, who have rising payroll considerations to navigate over the coming years, is that MacMahon says he’s heard rumblings that the 36-year-old might not push for a maximum deal.

So, what could a compromise measure look like? Keith Smith of Spotrac explores and comes to the conclusion of two years at $100 million:

For Durant, his main priorities seem to be winning and being where he wants to be. By not maxing out on his next deal, Durant can increase the likelihood of both of those things coming to fruition. Here’s a pretty fair compromise for a new deal, either via an extension or a new contract next summer:

2026-27: $50,000,000

2027-28: $50,000,000 (player option)

Total: two years, $100,000,000

This contract lops off roughly $20.5 million from the max Durant could get from the Rockets. By keeping the contract flat (unfortunately, the salary in an option year can’t be lower than the year preceding it), this gives Houston good flexibility in the summer of 2027, assuming Durant opts in.

That summer, the Rockets will already have about $152 million on the books (assuming a max or near-max deal for Amen Thompson). With Durant at $50 million, that would leave Houston roughly $18 million under the first apron. If Durant was willing to take even less, that would further increase the flexibility. If Durant opted out, Houston could potentially be a cap space team.

Durant doesn’t seem to be demanding a max deal on his next contract, but he’s not likely to take a massive discount, either. A contract that comes in at roughly $50 million per season is good middle ground for both Durant and the Rockets.

Even if the Rockets didn’t come to terms on a contract extension with Durant, they would still have Bird rights to retain the two-time champion entering 2026 free agency.

The Rockets and Durant are eligible to sign a contract extension at any time, both during the offseason and into the upcoming 2025-26 regular season. Thus, there doesn’t appear to be a major rush, particularly with Durant having already made it clear that he wants to be in Houston.

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More: With unique contract structures, Rockets working to mitigate 2027-28 financial crunch

This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: What figure can Rockets, Kevin Durant agree to for his next contract?