Durant doesn’t match their timeline, and Booker’s “struggles last season shifted the thinking”.
As teams begin to bow out of the NBA postseason, a familiar ritual begins. Internal reflection. A first-round exit stings. It tells you you’re close, but not close enough. Something’s off. A tweak, a shift in philosophy, a calculated gamble, that’s often what separates a seven-game loss from a deep playoff run.
The Houston Rockets find themselves at that crossroads. After a breakout 52–30 season and clinching the West’s second seed, they were bounced in Round 1 by the Golden State Warriors. A young, hungry team built on defense, athleticism, and just enough veteran savvy. But not enough to matter.
As The Athletic’s Kelly Iko and Sam Amick report, Houston is turning inward, looking for ways to grow, not detonate.
They hold Phoenix’s lottery pick, and with it, a vault of potential. That makes them a frequent flyer in the trade-machine fantasy world, where Kevin Durant or Devin Booker are often shipped off to Houston in bold, pixel-born blockbusters.
Reality? Houston isn’t biting. Reports say there’s no appetite for Durant, no vision that includes mortgaging their future for a 36-year-old star. Not every team is wired like Phoenix.
Per Iko and Amick:
While Durant is widely seen as the most attainable of that group, and he is known to be very interested in playing in Houston, team sources said the Rockets still have significant reservations about that possible partnership, in large part, because Durant’s age (36) would be so out of sync with their younger timeline. It’s worth noting that previous talks between the teams about Durant, team sources said, were initiated by the Suns.
Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images
And as for Devin Booker? There’s no smoke there, either.
The Rockets have previously held serious interest in the Suns’ Devin Booker, but team sources said that is no longer the case. Not only do team officials still have faith in Jalen Green, who is five years younger than Booker and $66 million cheaper over the next three seasons, but also Booker’s struggles last season shifted the thinking on this front.
It’s a prime example of how attitude and effort shape everything.
Devin Booker struggled this past season. By his standards, it was one of his least impactful years since his early days in Phoenix. He still finished 12th in league scoring, but the numbers masked what was plain to see: going through the motions isn’t the same as leading.
Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets play with nightly purpose. Intent. Hunger. The kind of drive the Suns lacked. Phoenix looked like a team hoping to coast into the postseason. They never made it.
The cost? Booker’s stock “took a hit”.
Did it really, though? Was Devin Booker ever truly within reach for the Houston Rockets?
Mat Ishbia has been clear: Booker isn’t on the table. He’s the franchise centerpiece. A star in his prime, the foundation of whatever this next chapter in Phoenix is supposed to be. Whether you agree with that direction or not, it’s the stance. The organization is building around him.
So why the noise out of Houston? Is this a calculated leak, a subtle way to reaffirm belief in Jalen Green, a young shooting guard who could use the boost? Because make no mistake, he struggled this postseason. He shot 29.5% from three, averaged just 13.3 points on 37.2% shooting this postseason, numbers that look even rougher when you subtract that lone 38-point outburst in Game 2.
So sure, the Rockets aren’t pursuing Booker, a player who was never actually available. Smart move. Clean optics. A little PR sleight of hand. Nothing wrong with playing the game.
For those firmly planted in the “Trade Devin Booker to Houston” camp, this development stings. It weakens your argument, deepens the frustration, and leaves you wondering what viable paths remain. As we march further into the Valley of the Shadow of the Offseason, the answers will start to take shape.
But for now, go ahead and cross “Booker to Houston” off your list.
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