{"id":107907,"date":"2025-06-18T19:20:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T19:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/107907\/"},"modified":"2025-06-18T19:20:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T19:20:10","slug":"rockets-taking-patient-approach-in-kevin-durant-trade-talks-similar-to-raptors-with-kawhi-leonard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/107907\/","title":{"rendered":"Rockets Taking Patient Approach In Kevin Durant Trade Talks, Similar To Raptors With Kawhi Leonard"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rockets Taking Patient Approach In Kevin Durant Trade Talks, Similar To Raptors With Kawhi Leonard<\/a> originally appeared on Fadeaway World<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Kevin Durant<\/a> trade saga continues to evolve, but one team is approaching it with an icy calmness that could end up paying massive dividends: the Houston Rockets<\/a>. According to ESPN\u2019s Brian Windhorst on The Hoop Collective podcast<\/a>, Houston is adopting a strategy that mirrors what the Toronto Raptors<\/a> did with Kawhi Leonard<\/a> in 2018: wait patiently while the rest of the league flinches.<\/p>\n

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“I\u2019ll tell you one thing: If you\u2019re Houston, who\u2019s shown some interest but hasn\u2019t been willing to put together an offer that seems to compel Phoenix, I\u2019m not increasing my offer at all.”<\/p>\n

“This is what happened to Toronto: When they got Kawhi, they were just the last team standing. If I\u2019m Houston or Miami, I\u2019m like \u2018Okay, I\u2019ll sit here and wait with the offer I\u2019m holding.”<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a calculated gamble. Durant has three teams on his long-term wish list<\/a>: the Rockets, the Spurs<\/a>, and the Heat<\/a>. Of the three, Houston and Miami are now considered the likeliest to land him.<\/p>\n

San Antonio, once seen as the frontrunner, has reportedly fallen behind after their formal offer was rejected by the Suns<\/a>. Despite heavy mutual interest<\/a>, the Spurs’ reluctance to part with key pieces caused the talks to stall.<\/p>\n

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For Houston, that\u2019s music to the ears. With Phoenix holding very little leverage<\/a>, Durant has made it clear he wants out<\/a>, and he’s 36 years old with a massive contract, the Rockets have the luxury of holding firm.<\/p>\n

Unlike the Suns, who are desperate to recoup value, Houston can afford to wait. They\u2019re not chasing Durant; they\u2019re allowing Phoenix to come to them when options dwindle.<\/p>\n

The Raptors executed a similar move in 2018 when they acquired Kawhi Leonard. After other teams pulled out of negotiations due to Leonard\u2019s injury concerns and expiring contract, Toronto made a modest offer: DeMar DeRozan<\/a>, Jakob Poeltl, and a pick, and landed a superstar who would go on to deliver a championship.<\/p>\n

Houston may be trying to recreate that lightning-in-a-bottle moment. With a deep young core led by Alperen Sengun<\/a>, Jalen Green<\/a>, Amen Thompson<\/a>, and Jabari Smith Jr., they have the assets to make a competitive offer without selling the farm.<\/p>\n

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If the Suns begin to panic as other suitors drop off, the Rockets could step in with a balanced deal, not overwhelming, but sufficient, and emerge as the last team standing.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves have reportedly submitted a trade offer<\/a> involving Rudy Gobert<\/a>, Donte DiVincenzo<\/a>, rookies Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr., and the No. 17 pick.<\/p>\n

While intriguing on paper, that package is unlikely to move the needle, especially since Durant has no interest in playing alongside Anthony Edwards in Minnesota<\/a>. The Suns might value the return, but if Durant refuses to commit, it becomes a dead end.<\/p>\n

As for the Heat, their cap situation and lack of appealing draft picks limit their flexibility. Unless Miami is willing to part with Bam Adebayo<\/a> or Tyler Herro<\/a>, which seems unlikely, they may not be able to outbid Houston either.<\/p>\n

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So now, the ball is in Phoenix\u2019s court. Durant\u2019s value isn\u2019t what it used to be, and teams are no longer willing to mortgage their future for a 36-year-old with declining playoff returns. Houston\u2019s patient, methodical approach could be exactly what lands them the superstar, just like it did for the Raptors six years ago.<\/p>\n

Related: NBA Scout Says Teams Only Want Kevin Durant To Sell Jerseys And That He Is No Longer An Alpha Superstar<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally reported by Fadeaway World<\/a> on Jun 18, 2025, where it first appeared.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rockets Taking Patient Approach In Kevin Durant Trade Talks, Similar To Raptors With Kawhi Leonard originally appeared on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":107908,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3770],"tags":[1307,883,375,1179,7,2949,3213,372,194,2497,1399,861,529,938,295,152,6,681,977,373,969,534,604,1249,6445,680,476,3820,492],"class_list":{"0":"post-107907","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto-raptors","8":"tag-alperen-sengun","9":"tag-amen-thompson","10":"tag-anthony-edwards","11":"tag-bam-adebayo","12":"tag-basketball","13":"tag-brian-windhorst","14":"tag-demar-derozan","15":"tag-donte-divincenzo","16":"tag-houston-rockets","17":"tag-jabari-smith-jr","18":"tag-jakob-poeltl","19":"tag-jalen-green","20":"tag-kawhi-leonard","21":"tag-kevin-durant","22":"tag-miami","23":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","24":"tag-nba","25":"tag-raptors","26":"tag-rob-dillingham","27":"tag-rudy-gobert","28":"tag-san-antonio","29":"tag-spurs","30":"tag-suns","31":"tag-terrence-shannon-jr","32":"tag-the-suns","33":"tag-toronto","34":"tag-toronto-raptors","35":"tag-torontoraptors","36":"tag-tyler-herro"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}