Rockets Kevin Durant Offer LEAKED...

The Houston Rockets trade package for KD has been leaked and it includes some young stars on this Rockets team. And this would have a major impact on what this team looks like, how it will play like next season. And so we're going to break down the latest update for you guys right here on Rockets Digest. Hello everybody, I'm your host Donovan Recondo and we're going to go straight into it today. We had this tweet out just the other day saying the Rockets have sent a firm offer to the Suns for Kevin Durant. But Phoenix is underwhelmed with Houston's current valuation of the all-star forward. That's sources telling The Athletic, which is a branch of the New York Times. And so in addition to this report right here, there was another tweet sent out by another NBA insider, Brett Seigel, who had this to say. And although it's not firm confirmation, he had this to say, said no from confirmation from myself or Kelly Ico here. But it's pretty clear Houston's offer revolves around Jalen Green and the 10th pick. The rest of the offer is what will make or break these negotiations, as the Suns would likely want Jabari Smith Jr. and Reed Shepard as well. And so this is a very interesting update, mainly because this will be involving one of the best players on our team, right? Jalen Green, who scored 21 points per game last season, had a great regular season and was essentially proving himself all year in terms of his ability on the court. However, in that playoff matchup, things did not go Jalen Green's way. He knew that. The Rockets fans knew that. Emay Odoka knew it. The front office also knows and understands that. So that performance could potentially land him in Phoenix. But as we know, Phoenix does not have much interest in Jalen Green as well. They are also, if they were to acquire him via trade, would likely shop him to a different team, considering they have Devin Booker and Bradley Beal on their squad already. And a little bit more about Jalen Green, just in case you missed what we had to say in our previous video. Green, whose name has been connected to Durant and other stars in trade rumors, is determined to improve upon his playoff struggles and wants to stay in Houston, leaked sources say. And that is a good thing for Houston fans and for Rockets fans to have one of your best players have a desire and have a want to be in Houston and stay in Houston for a lengthy period of time. Again, he is only 22, 23 years old, and so he has a long career ahead of him. And so to hear that, you know, whether or not this trade fully goes through is a good thing to hear if you are a Rockets fan. But I want to get a little bit back into this report right here, right? Because pretty firm that that deal would involve Jalen Green and that 10th pick. That 10th pick certainly would go back to the Suns. But the make or break is very, very interesting in these conversations, right? The Suns would want Jabari Smith Jr. and Reed Shepard as well. And so what that package would look like. You would have Jalen Green. You would have the 10th pick. You would have Jabari Smith Jr. And you would have Reed Shepard along with potential other picks, which we'll get to in just a second in terms of these negotiations. But I want to focus more on, you know, each of these players, right? Jabari Smith Jr. has been a solid, solid player for the Houston Rockets after being drafted about three years ago. Has shown some development. He's pretty much averaging the same amount of points he has since his rookie year. And that's past year. 12.2 points per game. 7 rebounds per game. 1.1 assists. Shooting 43% from the field. 35% from three-point land. He's 6'11". And again, he is 22 years old. This is a young guy who has a large amount of his career to still be played. And so, there is still a lot of potential that the Rockets could help and develop with him within this system. He's already vowed, you know, to make that next step next season. But I also want to take a look at, you know, Jalen Green's stats as well, right? Because there are other players involved in this trade. Like I said before, 21 points per game. 4.6 rebounds. 42% from the field. 35% from three. Again, 23 years old. So, you're trading a 23-year-old, a 22-year-old, and a 20-year-old in Reed Shepard who, you know, these numbers don't stand out a lot, right? But still, he has potential to be one of the best shooters on this team in the next few years. And so, you're giving away a lot of your young guys. You're giving away a huge part of your core, right? Jalen Green, entering last season, was one half of your main duo for this Rocket squad, right? And to also include Jabari Smith Jr., who you picked with a high draft pick three years ago. And to trade that away as well, you're giving up on that player and his development for a guy like KD, who as great as he is, right? As a fantastic shooter and free-throw shooter, three-point shooter, and offensive threat that KD is, he is also 36 years old. He is on the waning of his career, probably going to sign an extension with the Rockets if this trade were to be made in play for maybe three more years, two, three more years. And so, the ROI on this, right, the return of investment, is that worth it? Because as it stands, right, the Rockets have made a firm offer, but does it include Jabari Smith Jr.? And does that include Reed Shepard, or what does that include? But on top of that, the Suns are not quite there yet on the Rockets' package, right? They're not satisfied. They feel that they're not valuing Kevin Durant as much as they should. And I feel a lot of that is due to the number of picks that would be involved in that potential trade. Of course, the 10th pick would be involved in that trade. That is a non-negotiable. But how many picks after that in the future, next few years, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030, 2031, how many of those picks would be included in a package? And we saw Desmond Bain get four first-round draft picks in exchange for him in that deal. And so, it begs the question, you know, is that going to kind of set the tone for this trade? One reporter that I did a video on said that it would not, you know, it would probably be less. Ryan Winhorst said that it would probably be more. And so, there's a lot of conflicting ideas and reports regarding how many draft picks it will take to acquire Kevin Durant on top of the players that are in that deal. And so, like I've said before, if the price is right, go for it. But I'm not willing to bet our entire future for only three years of a Hall of Famer, no matter how good he might be. And so, I just want to give back to the update of, you know, what's going on with this team and what are the teams still surrounding. If you missed the update from Jace yesterday, the Rockets and Heat are the more realistic as of right now for Kevin Durant. There's more motivated teams than the Spurs. And the most aggressive teams are also still making moves for Kevin Durant, including the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have been a very, very aggressive, the most aggressive of all the teams trying to buy for Kevin Durant. And so, I also wanted to stress this part out about the draft capital. The Suns are hoping to land, quote, a measure of quality draft capital in a potential Durant trade. So, again, when you see that 10th pick, it's not only going to be that. I'm thinking if I had to make a guess, I feel like they would also go for around four first round draft picks before the Phoenix Suns. They are not entering a rebuild, but they certainly are not in a place that they're going to be a contender for the next few years, not with the way that they are heading. And so, they are definitely going to want that draft capital in a trade for Kevin Durant. And they've been, you know, very diligent in their 2025 draft analysis and scouting different kinds of players. And so, they are hoping to get a higher draft pick than what they currently have. And so, that is a very key thing to note when it comes to this trade and comes to all of this. But hold up one second. Let's go back to this right here. The rest of the offer is what will make or break these negotiations. The Suns would likely want Jabari Smith Jr. and Reed Shepard as well. Well, Reed Shepard might be on that trading block, right? Reed Shepard was a rookie last year, still might be on there. But what about Jabari Smith Jr.? What's the latest regarding his status as a Houston Rocket and whether or not he is going to be on that trade block? Well, Evan Sider, NBA Insider, had this to tweet out earlier today. Saying, or as of June 17th, we'll see when this video goes. But he said, the Rockets have currently kept Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason off limits in ongoing Kevin Durant trade discussions with the Suns. Houston is willing to include Jalen Green, but Phoenix has little interest in the former number two overall pick due to his fit with Devin Booker. But the most important thing about this tweet right here, the Rockets keeping Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason off limits. They are not a go in these trade talks, which is a little bit eye opening, right? A lot of these times and all these mock trades that we've been discussing right here, all the new reports. It was almost a certainty that Jabari Smith Jr. would be in those conversations, right? That he would be the perfect player to trade, whether it was for KD, whether it was for Giannis or some other star on a different team. Jabari Smith was a guy that has been in those conversations. He's off limits, right? Essentially, he's untouchable, which is something that Luka Doncic wasn't even. And so it's very interesting to see the Houston Rockets come with this perspective. Not only him, but Tari Eason as well. It shows us they are still wanting to keep some form of continuity with the team, right? Some of the continuity of players that played significant minutes last year. So for a guy like Reed Shaper, that might mean he might be more likely to be on that trading block. Or maybe even a guy like Ken Whitmore didn't appear in any of these tweets, but there is still some discussion around him, right? And so I find it very, very interesting and significant that the Rockets would want to keep these two very solid role players who proved themselves last season to be really, really good role players on the team next season. And so you are looking at a starting lineup that would include Kevin Durant, that would include potentially Fred VanVleet if we decide to re-sign him, which would be fairly difficult considering Kevin Durant would be making $60 million next year. So we would probably have to sign him for longer, but for a short amount of money per year. But VanVleet, Kevin Durant, Amin Thompson, Alperen Shangoon. And let's go ahead and throw in Jabari Smith in there. That would be your starting lineup for the Houston Rockets. And so I want to pose that question to all of you guys right now. That starting lineup that I just mentioned, VanVleet, Kevin Durant, Alperen Shangoon, Amin Thompson, and Jabari Smith Jr. Is that a better starting lineup than Jalen Green, Fred VanVleet, Amin Thompson, Shangoon, and Jabari Smith Jr.? But is that a better starting lineup? You tell me in the comments. And I also want to know how much first round picks in this trade would be too much. The 10th is a given. Is it 2? Is it 3? Is it 4? Tell me what your evaluation is on a KD trade package. I'm excited to hear it. Things are starting to heat up in this trade conversation. A few days ago, Sean said it was going to be a few days. Some were saying it would be next week. We are in next week. We are in the endgame here. We are going to find out very, very soon. The draft is coming up. We're going to be covering that. It's going to be a huge week for the Rockets' front office. So we're going to be covering all of that for you guys. And with that, this has been another episode of Rocket Scientist. I'm your host, Donovan Rundle. Adios.