What other moves do the Rockets need to make after trading for Kevin Durant? | SportsCenter

What other moves do the Rockets need to make after trading for Kevin Durant? | SportsCenter

houston we have landed KD and now Houston they’re going to be a problem Let’s take a look back at all the times he flipped the NBA on its head Fourth of July 2016 KD announced he was heading to the Bay Golden State went on to dominate winning back-to-back titles and reaching three straight finals Then June 30th 2019 KD and Kyrie teamed up in Brooklyn James Harden joined the next season Championships abound right No didn’t go so well Nets never even made it to the conference finals Then February 9th 2023 KD traded to the Suns mid-season They reached the semis Then they added Bradley Beal That summer championships about No no that didn’t work either They never made it out of the first round And then yesterday he was traded to the Rockets Durant averaged 25 a game for four teams Already an NBA record He’s looking to make it five Here’s the easy money sniper first reaction to hearing the news Anything can happen at Fanatics Fest like me getting traded but being a part of the Houston Rockets I’m looking forward to it Crazy crazy last couple weeks but I’m glad it’s over with And you knew before right I had an idea but I didn’t know when exactly when it was going to happen You know when people could just hang your career in the balance like that and just choose what they want to do with your career is a nerve-wracking feeling but being able to uh kind of uh dictate what you want to do and then being with a team that values you and I’m looking forward to it Did you have a hand in this Most definitely How much are they I mean they asked me where I wanted to go Some of my destinations I gave it to them and here we are How dangerous are the Rockets gonna be now Won 50 plus games last year Played a great season and but all this stuff take time and work and effort and execution So we’ll see what happens He’s being humble 50 plus games last year and now they got him Brian Whit and Danny Green back with us Wendy it’s been a lot of scuttlebutt around KD for weeks Now the deal finally happened What led to the Rockets being able to be the landing spot for Kevin Durant Yeah I think at the outset of this they were going to be very cautious because Kevin Durant is on a different age timeline than the rest of their team and they didn’t want to you know really exhaust their resources and their assets to get a player that wasn’t on the same timeline But as this process folded unfolded you know the teams that were not on Kevin Durant’s list you know backed away Durant was able to control what happened in his career And at the end there was really only two teams in the bidding which was Miami and Houston And that did not in lead to a bidding war Instead the price fell It fell to a spot where Houston was comfortable They gave up two starter quality players and a lottery pick That was not nothing but they were able to retain some of their very valued uh young players and some of their valued draft picks going forward which gives them an opportunity to either develop those players or use those pieces in a you know in a large trade going forward So I think Houston basically thought the price was in a great spot for them and really gives them some the ability to hedge going different ways while welcoming in a first ballot hall of famer Yeah Phoenix did not seem to have a lot of leverage and Houston work that to a te Danny with KD now What else does Houston need to add to become true championship contenders I just think they need to add some depth You know they need some guys that can come off the bench some 3 and D guys that can defend You lose Dylan Brooks you lose a lot of locker room leadership you lose a little edge and defensive capability So you need to find some defenders and you probably need to get a backup point guard It’s imperative they bring back Fred Van Fleet They need him He need his leadership I know they have a team option with that So they got to make sure they bring him back But they need some other guys that can stretch the floor that can shoot because that was one of their weaknesses They weren’t able to shoot from the three consistent enough They have you know Steven Adams and Seangon inside So they got rebound teams but they need to find some shooting and some defense with adding you know to make it easier for Kevin Durant Yeah KD he’s great Mid-range game threes he can hit them Not really totally his game but still he can get it done They can bring in some more maybe to help him out Now plenty of folks reacting on social media yesterday including another big star who might be traded Giannis attent about whether or not he might end up somewhere Oh Oh that was his response Sean reported in May that Giannis is open to considering playing for a new team for the first time in his career So back to Houston And Wendy how does the Durant trade impact what might happen next in terms of players that might be getting moved or teams who may be active Yeah so I would keep an eye with the with the draft now coming up in two days There’s several draft there’s three first round draft picks Ryan that have already been traded and there’s several more that could be on the block The hu the uh Toronto Raptors have been looking to use the number nine pick to upgrade their roster in the short term They haven’t been able to find a deal for that yet but I expect them to continue to be active And a lot of teams are keeping an eye on the Boston Celtics Um with Jason Tatum out for next season or at least a big chunk of next season and a his potentially historically high payroll there’s been some sense that the Celtics might look to offload some salary uh between now and the start of the new league year on June 30th So keep an eye on the Celtics over the next few days to see if they make a move like that that could you know you know offload some of that you know huge luxury tax bill that they’re facing without Jason Tatum next season I love it when you got a draft coming up in a couple days and there could be a lot of moves Danny what contender do you expect to be the most active in trying to get better for next season I think that Giannis tweet was might have been a spell check I think he meant to say uhoh but I think you know his team I think Milwaukee could turn around The East is wide open I think Milwaukee is a team I think Cleveland’s a team in Philly but in the West I’m I’m looking at the Lakers Obviously Minnesota was close too They’re a team that could get active I feel like even though these teams lost and they lost in the first round Minnesota lost in Western Conference Finals They seem to think that they’re like one piece away All they need is a center or a big or a couple centers and bigs and some depth they can make some things happen They already have a good core Um they have great uh with greatness with LeBron and Luca and of course Austin Reeves That big three they’re really consistent If they stay consistent and stay healthy they have a really good chance and always in contention but they just need some depth So I’m looking at the Lakers making some moves and obviously those other teams and then the East is wide open I think Giannis Milwaukee could be a team too even though he said I think he meant uh oh but they’re a team that could turn it around because the East is wide open I thought he was really just saying “Oh oh oh.” So it really is Okay All right guys Thanks Danny Thank you so much Wendy We’ll be back with you in a bit This move put Houston in the conversation for title contenders next season Uh it definitely puts him up up near the top right You just want to see how it looks early on But him being in a familiar place with a familiar coach already gives him the advantage right He’s been with FA Udo He’s been with him in Brooklyn He’s been with him in the USA So he has that familiarity So as a player of his stature like just going into a situation where you know it’s going to be a lot of the same what you’re used to that’s a big thing right I think that he’s going to make he’s going to help make that push He’s going to help grow the younger players he’s just going to bring some you know more excitement into that team Like they were a good team last year but obviously nobody had them winning Now with the addition of Kevin Durant and not really losing most of their core pieces being able to go forward you know that that automatically put them as one of the best teams in the West Okay So where would you put them exactly Because we know that the Western Conference is the toughest conference out of the two So where would you think that this puts Houston Uh without them they was already a two seed Uh obviously you got to give the respect to OKC for winning the championship So I’ll leave him as a two seed next year You know you you really have to wait and see how the rest of the rest of the the moves that are being made in the summer plays out But right as we sit today I I would leave him as a two seed All right we’ll see what they’re able to do with KD next season Keith thank you NBA champions been crowned now NBA exec You got two days until the draft No rest for the weary But if you’re Dallas your job’s easy Just pick Cooper flag The pride of Newport Maine is expected to be the first pick in the draft going to the Mavs Following a stellar season at Duke as a freshman 19 points per game made it to the Final Four national player of the year But you know what Get to know him better Here’s Cooper Flag on Cooper Flag Flag on the tackle A duck of a lifetime I’m a pretty versatile player Can do a lot of things I feel like my biggest strength is able to impact the game in a lot of different ways He leads Duke and points assist steals rocks as well as rebounds I have a twin brother Ace Have another older brother named Hunter We would be in the driveway all the time playing one-on-one More times than not it ended in a fist fight But yeah we were always competing playing against each other pushing each other to be better My mom was an a,000 point scorer in high school We used to play one-on-one all the time in the driveway She used to be bigger than me back then when we would play Um she used to beat me all the time and then she ended up getting hurt in our last ever game we played against each other and I had never beat her before that and I was up by one Technically I won [Applause] Cooper Flag had a historic rookie season becoming just the fourth freshman to win the Wooden Award and the first in Zion Williamson Now if he goes number one on Wednesday he’ll join Zion and Anthony Davis as the only freshman to win the award and to be taken first overall Christine and Ryan back Well for the man who goes by three letters SGAA We got his top three moments to cap off his MVP run After a devastating game one loss Thunder bounced back in game two to tie the series in large part to SGA’s 34 Four steals eight assists became the fourth player to record over 30 points and three steals in consecutive games of a single finals And then game four he led the Thunder to a double- digit comeback dropping 15 in the fourth including 11 of his team’s 12 points in the last three minutes The most by a player in the final three minutes of a finals win in the last 50 years And then last night game seven dropped 29 and a playoff high 12 assists becoming the fifth player with at least 20 points 10 assists in a finals game seven joining LeBron James Worthy Walt Frasier and Jerry West Elite Company And it is now time for the final three outfits of the NBA season because the NBA season is now over But we’re going to look at some finals looks and we’re going to crown an MVP Okay we’re going to start with Hie who of course we know now has a torn Achilles unfortunately but he was looking good before the game He’s dapper He’s dapper I like the high-waisted pants The bag works I couldn’t pull this off but this works You would you wear would you know what this is It’s a Speedy Louis Vuitton Speedy It’s It’s what we call a Merseh And I would wear it in certain circumstances like when no one’s looking at it I don’t think that’s a mer I think that’s an actual purse But he looks good Hie also his his stylist recently talked about how he was trying to change the game a little bit Um Jub I’m just trying to understand what is this Can you Can you help me It’s a purse That’s a That’s a That’s a That’s a What It’s a fur bag It’s a That what a I don’t really have a comment on that I thought it was a stuffy How do you feel about the jeans I like the Well I want them to go all the way down I don’t know if I’m the guy I want them to go all the way down is the funniest thing ever I’m still caught on the stuffy That’s what you’re gonna call it Okay finally Let’s go with SGA This is who JDub said would be his MVP just cuz he wins everything I mean it’s smooth The sneaks are fire His jeans Oh look at his pants though You see this little crossover I like the crossover pants I don’t know how you take them off That’s my only issue All right How do you go to the bathroom Is that inappropriate I I don’t know I’m asking That is a weird question Inappropriate

Brian Windhorst and Danny Green join SportsCenter to discuss the Houston Rockets acquiring Kevin Durant via trade with the Phoenix Suns and look ahead to teams that could make moves ahead of the NBA Draft.

0:00 Rockets trade for Kevin Durant
4:00 How KD trade impacts other stars
6:12 Markieff Morris on where Houston ranks
7:36 Cooper Flagg
9:07 Top 3 SGA moments

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