The much-anticipated Houston Rockets media day took place on Monday. All eyes were on the birthday boy and newest superstar to arrive in H-Town, Kevin Durant. Houston Chronicle’s Rockets beat writer Danielle Lerner wasted no time asking the question most Rockets fans want to know.
(Danielle Lerner) – “What made you want to come play for this team, and do you see yourself signing a contract extension with the Rockets”
(Durant) – “I do see myself signing an extension with the Rockets… I can’t tell you exactly when that will happen, but I do see it happening.”
As answers go, it was far from confirmation that a deal is being worked on, but then again, Kevin Durant and the Rockets both have little incentive to show their hand right now. From the Rockets perspective, their main goal is to compete while maintaining financial flexibility. Kevin Durant knows that he’s both making $54.7 million this upcoming season and baring a massive drop of in the quality of his play, he will be an unrestricted free agent who will likely command top dollar from either the Rockets or someone else.
With the loss of Fred VanVleet for the season, the outlook of Kevin Durant’s role on this team has changed. In what was supposed to be a season where he just “showed up to hoop”, he now finds himself in a position where he will be counted upon to provide more leadership in the locker room and on the court. While sometimes his “inability” to be a leader had been massively overblown, there is some merit to the idea that being a vocal leader, a motivator, or an extension of the coach on the floor are not top priorities to KD. He leads by example by his relentless work ethic, and as a teammate, if you don’t want to fall in line with what he’s doing, that’s on you.
Kevin Durant isn’t here to mentor young players, he’s not here to develop upcoming stars. He’s here to play basketball and hopefully win a lot of games. It will be interesting to see how he handles it if more than that is asked of him. For the Rockets and their faithful fans, the good news is he is coming into a situation where the culture has been established, the expectations from Ime Udoka are known, and it’s a culture and expectation that Durant is familiar with. Alperen Sengun won’t need much motivation from KD, he’s played for Udoka for two seasons now, so he knows what time it is when he steps on the floor. The same for Amen, Jabari, Tari, and all the bench players who have been here for a while now.
The only question mark is how far will the team go without a true veteran point-guard? Even with arguably the greatest scorer of all-time, the answer to that may be a determining factor in whether KD wants to stay in Houston, or whether the Rockets want to keep him. I could be wrong, and perhaps a deal gets done before the season starts, but if I were in charge, I would play a little bit of “wait-and-see”. Especially with VanVleet out. If the team is able to overcome the loss of their starting point guard and still have a successful season, one that ends with at minimum, a playoff appearance and hopefully a run, then I can see both sides wanting to run it back again with a more complete roster that includes Fred VanVleet.
On the other hand, if Fred’s leadership or lack thereof is too much for this team to overcome, we may see Kevin Durant suiting up for his sixth team and the Rockets looking for someone else to spend the money they would have given Durant. Rockets fans are still hopeful for a successful season from the Rockets, despite now heading into the new campaign missing three of the five starters from the previous 52-win campaign. It won’t be easy, but that’s why we love the NBA and why the anticipation of a new season is so exciting. If all goes as we hope, I have maintained I’m okay with the Rockets bringing Durant back… for the right price. If he hangs another banner in Toyota Center? Then Tilman Fertitta can put his name on the lease for all I care. Go Rockets!