“The belief among many around the NBA is that Houston is working to secure a long-term extension with Tari Eason before inking Durant’s new deal,” The Athletic’s William Guillory writes.
As things stand, the Houston Rockets and Kevin Durant haven’t yet reached a contract agreement for beyond the 2025-26 NBA season. But that doesn’t mean that one isn’t coming.
All indications are that Durant does want to stay, as evidenced by the All-Star forward working behind the scenes to leverage a trade to Houston earlier this summer. Similarly, the Rockets like the idea of having him around, as evidenced by their choice to trade for him.
So, it’s likely a matter of negotiating and timing. The Athletic’s William Guillory writes:
All signs point to Durant inking some form of an extension in the coming weeks that will tie him to Houston for the foreseeable future.
The belief among many around the NBA is that Houston is working to secure a long-term extension with Tari Eason — who also has one year remaining on his contract — before inking Durant’s new deal. The hope is that once both are secured, the Rockets will have a much better understanding of what the financial future looks like for this current core.
The Rockets will do whatever it takes to prevent Durant from becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer. The beauty of the Rockets-Durant marriage is that Houston is set up to compete at the highest level right now while also retaining enough young talent to remain a threat in the future as those younger players mature.
As previously indicated by ESPN writer Tim MacMahon, a new Durant contract probably needs to come in below the NBA’s maximum salary (for Durant, that would be approximately $121 million over two additional years) in order for the Rockets to lock it in this early.
The Rockets are being cautious with future payrolls and attempting to avoid many of the punitive team-building restrictions placed on expensive teams under the NBA’s latest Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). That is very important for a 2027-28 season in which rising star Amen Thompson will likely be on the books at a much higher salary.
So, relative to Durant’s $54.7-million salary next season, it’s possible that his next contract could involve a pay decrease — or perhaps one additional guaranteed season instead of two. But regardless, it does appear likely that another deal is coming.
Durant turns 37 years old on September 29, and that relatively advanced NBA age limits the maximum length of any future extension.