Houston, We Have a Kevin: Rockets Trade for KD Starts Offseason with a Bang | Oddball

Houston, We Have a Kevin: Rockets Trade for KD Starts Offseason with a Bang | Oddball

[Music] welcome to Oddball i’m Amino Hass that’s Izzy Gutierrez today’s word of the day is penultimacy look it up kids and because we care about the finals even though nobody else seems to care about the finals we didn’t talk about the big trade that happened on the day of game seven which is Kevin Durant getting traded to the Houston Rockets the Rockets gave up Jaylen Green Dylan Brooks the 2025 top 10 pick that was actually Phoenix’s to begin with and five second round picks this was according to Shamsania of ESPN izzy Gutierrez was this a good move for the Rockets thank god I thought you got to ask me to spell penultimacy or whatever the hell you said uh do I think this was a good move for the Rockets man I was hoping for this move i was hoping for this move in as a a Rockets fan I think everybody knows that right okay uh as a Rockets fan who was sort of over Jaylen Green before the season started like I thought he was a nice player i thought he would be a good piece on a team that’s loaded but he can’t be a team that on a team that relies on him as much as Houston did like they needed him in the half court they needed him to close out games and he just wasn’t doing it and so I think if you’re talking about being able to keep your core which is effectively what uh Alpurn Shangon Jabari Smith Aman Thompson I mean maybe throw Fred Van Vleet as your vet uh core guy if you can keep all that and add Kevin Durant and still keep some of your young pieces Tari East and Cam Whitmore I mean this is a no-brainer this is the type of deal that they basically create a short window two or three years but if they don’t win in that championship okay sorry KD but the rest of them can still win the rest of them are still young enough to keep going and try to build another you know championship window around with another star in there so I think it was absolutely a home run for the Rockets and they had the movable pieces so for them to not do something like this I thought would have been a huge mistake and so I think it’s the perfect guy what do you need when everything slows down you need a halfcourt bucket there might be nobody better in the league as an option than Kevin Durant
yeah and you know if you look at all of their young guys the most disposable of them was Jaylen Green right he’s the one that if we graded everyone on a defensive curve according to Eime Yudoka’s uh standards he’d probably be second worst behind Shenun right but then the difference is if you grade everyone on an offensive curve according to Emidoka standards Chenun grades out as number one on the team and Jaylen Green is still kind of middling in that in that regard i’m not Here’s the thing i don’t think that he couldn’t eventually be that kind of player i’m just saying he’s not that guy right now and if you know you have an ability to add to an elite defense this incredible score this incredible champion and all it costs you is the guy that you probably had to wait the longest on to me that’s a deal you do you look at that draft pick it’s a draft pick that sure could have been someone that could have been groomed to down the line be a contributor kind of on this cascading um level waves of talent but again you got you were the number two seat
the window was now and you can be cute and try to be you know oh hold on let’s see where this goes and it may not go anywhere or you can make an aggressive move that really doesn’t uh impact your core in the long term and doesn’t impact your flexibility because you have all those other picks to begin with they only gave up one first round pick which is you know that’s pretty remarkable
pick it’s a 10 number 10 overall pick it’s in this year’s draft so there’s like an immediiacy to it um it was like you said I think both sides kind of win on this can can I just touch on the Miami Heats offer real quick
i was going to ask you because because there were two finalists one of them was Houston they got them the other is the Miami Heat and I’ve got a lot of questions man i I’m just going to let
you set up what the what the reported offer was right it was
uh Terry Rosier i don’t know why I said that name first it was Andrew Wiggins Haimei Hakez Jr there was a number 20 pick last year was there another player in there oh hey so those were the five pieces versus Dylan Brooks Jaylen Green and the number 10 pick um look if you’re talking just basketball I’m not talking about sexy names i’m not talking about anything else just basketball if I want to win tomorrow I’m taking that group from Miami before I take Jaylen Green and Dylan Brooks dylan Brooks uh a good player on a winning team jaylen Green an unpredictable player on a winning team and somebody that needs the usage rate in order to be effective right and a guy who relies way too much on his athleticism um you take Andrew Wiggins who’s an all-star not a sexy all-star like I said just gives you things that you need defensively is very good offensively can be very good same with with Haywood Highmith a great defender and you know can spot up and hit threes for you there um the 20th pick next year versus the 10th pick this year it could be a huge difference might not be because lottery picks are no guarantee right and so and you talk about the flexibility of the contracts maybe that’s a whole another situation the Phoenix Suns were clearly going to go for a bigger name but even if they like if I’m the Miami Heat and I see this setup and I’m like wait a second you’re offering Jaylen Green Dylan Brooks and a number 10 pick that’s a good package so now if you’re forcing me to add Kel Wear or who Nicole Yoic who they supposedly reportedly were untouchable i don’t think they were untouchable i mean I think that Miami He looked at the situation and they said hold on you’re not taking our deal regardless so all I’m doing is helping juice your deal with the with the the Suns there and trying to get more out of them because oh we’re going to give you KL Wear or oh we’re going to give you Nicole no we know that you guys were never serious really with us because what Houston they just have more to offer it is what it is and so it’s being it’s being um portrayed as untouchables i’m sorry look I just do not believe that Kel Wear or Nicole Yoic were considered untouchables in a KD trade i think it’s the way it’s being painted
i would I would I would understand Khal Wear for sure um
I mean I don’t think he’s got great hands he’s not a great rebounder probably not going to ever really fill out and be that dominant defender but hey
he’s young he’s 19 years old right like or whatever 20 whatever but but the the what you’re saying is in essence the flip side of what the reporting is the reporting I don’t know if we have that tweet up it’s from John Gamadoro uh who is a longtime drive time uh he’s like the he’s the sports radio guy in Phoenix he’s got a lot of connections in the Suns and he says the Heat made those guys untouchable because they were never really serious and that they just pretend to be to appease their fan base so he’s saying the Heat did it just for optics and you’re saying the sense did it just for optics
if you knew how much Miami Heat fans have been and I’m not including myself I’m a journalist miami Heat fans have been after going after KD and failing why would they tease him again why would they say “Oh we’re going to go after him again and then fail.” No they should say “No we’re not look we understand we’re not in position to win it next year we don’t need Kevin Durant right now we’re not going to make an offer that would have made all the bleeping sense in the world let me ask you a question the opposite makes zero sense pat Rally said “Hey let’s go after him again we know we’re not going to get him but the fans will be happy.” No the fans are pissed
izzy let me ask you a question what if Raphael Stone the GM of the Rockets had been like “Guys Pat on one on one line.” Oh excuse if uh sorry Brian Gregory the GM of the Suns was like “Hey guys I got Pat on one line I got Ralph Stone on the other guys I I’d love to make a decision right now but I don’t want to do anything during the NBA finals because Commissioner Stern came back from the dead and said he’ll kill us all if we do this.” So can I wait till tomorrow to give you guys a final answer and they would have been like “Yeah yeah cuz you know Stern is real serious about this type of shit.” And then he hangs up and then he watches that game seven do you think Brian Gregory makes a different decision on Monday morning um based on
based on does Pat Riley make a different decision the do the have the have the landscape changed significantly enough because of the injury to Tyresese Hallebertton where Miami says no wait a damn minute I think I got another second round pick for another first round pick for you right here um well listen if second round picks was the deciding factor I think Miami would throw all the second round picks in the world uh in their deal um no i don’t think necessarily cuz I mean saying you’re this close to getting out of the East that’s the same thing as saying you’re this close to winning an NBA championship so if you believe that Kevin Durant will get you out of the East you’re going to do that regardless and if you need one more piece maybe at the trade deadline you figure that part out and then win you the championship so no I don’t think that would have changed i thought you were going to say that they were just forcing the issue and be like “Hey let’s wait till after the NBA finals.” And the Rockets like “Nope we’re announcing it now so you either got to stay with us or or you’re moving on.” But uh no I don’t think that would have changed much of anything i think look like I said I think this was the best landing spot for KD better than New York new York would have been my second choice for him in terms of
You don’t think Miami would have been been a good spot for him
not for what he wants which is finishes finishing his career with a title without Steph Curry like do I think Miami could have made a nice run with him of course but if I’m Kevin Durant I’m not banking that they’ll even make the finals again with me like I mean hold on hold on if we’re saying the deal let’s let’s just assume they didn’t have to give up killer they didn’t have to give up Nikolovic which is two ridiculous untouchable names but let’s just assume that’s real
yic
all right let’s By the way my kid has this great joke about Yoic because he wears 15 five excuse me it’s like not only is he a bootleg Yokic he couldn’t even afford the other number on the jersey that’s what my kid said but um
it’s a good joke if I if assuming all the untouchables there all the people that are got sent were like Wiggins and the guys nobody wants or whatever but they threw in a second first round pick so it’s two firsts you don’t think Kevin Durant and that collection of whatever’s left in Miami with the East looking the way it is
could think a team would be a top four five seed and I think you could project them to be a conference finalist um I wouldn’t pick them to win the Eastern Conference i also wouldn’t the odds are in my favor that Tyler Herro won’t be healthy for next year’s playoffs he’s only really had one right and so I think you look at the situation you’re just like “All right maybe if I’m KD maybe that core oddly enough might have maxed out a little bit at least too you know more so to my liking kevin uh the Houston Rockets are just more ready to go.”
So if they the Heat aren’t going to do it which team in the East is going to convince themselves now that they’re one move away as he
I think you know my answer here my favorite answer here is the Detroit Pistons because they’re one move away from making it a all Thompson Twins final in just their third year together which would be wild make sure you don’t trade a SAR in that trade i think the Pistons are looking at the Eastern Conference and saying “Why are we so different than the Oklahoma City Thunder we have a guy in Cade Cunningham who could maybe replicate what Shay Gildis Alexander does we have a supporting cast that’s young and fun and uh kind of knows how to win a little bit after this year so I think they’re up there and I think the other team that has a piece that could still be considered very attractive and that has been talked about being dangled out there is is Trey Young and the Atlanta Hawks so and I I think whoever Trey would go to would be the more exciting trade i don’t think the Hawks are going to create a contender by trading Trey Young but I think that’s a name to look at to see if you know I don’t know random name but the Philadelphia 76ers add Trey Young and then all of a sudden it’s Trey and MB and it’s like wow that’s pretty tough team i’m going to go with a a team that people said “Oh this guy’s going to get traded.” But I don’t really think that he ever wanted to trade him not unless he said “Trade me.” Just the Milwaukee Bucks and if you’re the Milwaukee Bucks you say “I’ve got Giannis he’s now the probably the best player in the conference undisputed maybe I go after Jaylen Green or one of the 8 million.” If you’re the Oklahoma City Thunder and you probably think you have to improve or even just want to have a dynasty secure a dynasty are you dangling a package around Chat Homegrren for Giannis Ant Kmpo
no man because the finances go up if you do that right now it’s nice and cheap they love them cheap they love them cheap in Oklahoma

Kevin Durant was traded to the Houston Rockets. The Rockets have a lot of young guys, so if they do not win in this window, at least the window to win will be bigger. Jalen Green is not that guy right now, trading him was the right decision. The Miami Heat were finalists in the KD trade, but with Kel’el Ware and Nikola Jovic declared untouchables, was Miami really serious about this trade or were they appeasing their fan base? Plus, which teams in the East are going to see this season as a chance to go all in? Will Pistons be able to replicate OKC’s success with Cade Cunningham instead of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? The Hawks have Trae Young, but will he stay in Atlanta? The Milwaukee Bucks need a co-star for Giannis Antetokounmpo… should they go after Jalen Green?

00:00 – Welcome
00:25 – KD to the Rockets
04:15 – Miami Heat didn’t have enough to offer
11:00 – Teams in the east that might make moves

#NBA #kevindurant #miamiheat

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About Oddball with Amin Elhassan and Izzy Gutierrez:
Amin Elhassan and Izzy Gutierrez take hoops seriously – but not themselves. Join them and special guests on Oddball for the perfect mix of expert NBA analysis and offbeat fun. New episodes Monday through Thursday, every week.

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