ICYMI in Mets Land: Home run bonanza halts losing skid, top prospects shine on the mound
The win snapped a seven-game losing skid, but the Mets know they need to keep working as they head into Sunday night's rubber match
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23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NBA Suns trade star forward Kevin Durant to Rockets: ESPN
NBA star forward Kevin Durant has reportedly been traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Houston Rockets (Kenneth Richmond) Two-time NBA champion forward Kevin Durant has been traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Houston Rockets for eight players in a blockbuster deal, ESPN reported on Sunday. The swap, which can be completed when the league begins the 2025-26 year in July, would send the 36-year-old American to Houston in exchange for guard Jalen Green and swingman Dillon Brooks as well as the 10th pick in Wednesday's NBA Draft and five future second-round picks, according to the report, citing unnamed sources. Advertisement The move unites Durant, a four-time Olympic champion with the US squad and the 2014 NBA MVP, with a rising young Houston squad guided by coach Ime Udoka that finished 52-30, second in the Western Conference behind overall NBA leader Oklahoma City. The Suns had the highest payroll in NBA history but stumbled to a 36-46 season, finishing 11th in the West, with Durant averaging 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.2 blocked shots a game. Durant will fit into a Rockets lineup boasting Turkish big man Alperen Sengun and guard Fred VanVleet. Durant has a good relationship with Udoka, who signed a long-term deal last week to remain as Houston's coach. Durant and Udoka worked together with the Brooklyn Nets and on the US Olympic squad. Advertisement The Suns will add Green, who averaged 21.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists this season to their backcourt alongside NBA All-Star Devin Booker, who had 25.6 points, 7.1 assists and 4.1 rebounds a game for Phoenix. Brooks was one of the NBA's top defenders last season. Durant joined Phoenix in February 2023 in a trade with Brooklyn that cost the Suns three players and four first-round draft picks. js/ea/pb
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Kevin Durant trade instant reaction: This has the makings of a rare win-win deal for both sides
Kevin Durant is moving on to his fifth NBA team. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File) As if the last day of the NBA season couldn't be more exciting. With a Game 7 in the NBA Finals looming, the Houston Rockets asked the world to hold their beer, as they pulled off a trade for iconic superstar Kevin Durant. Advertisement The organization relinquished Jalen Green, veteran Dillon Brooks, the 10th overall selection in next week's NBA Draft and five second-round picks, which seems like a fitting package considering Durant's advanced age even though he still produces at an All-NBA level. Now what for the Suns? Phoenix now sports a roster that features three players best suited to play shooting guard — Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Green — which begs the question: Are they planning to pivot off Green and send him to another team? The Suns can't exactly brag about having roster symmetry, so the next few weeks will be interesting to track, as logic dictates the organization is far from done from making moves. Advertisement Adding the 10th overall selection is a big get. There is considerable talent in that area of this year's draft, which allows the Suns to think long term. And as we know, loads of second-round picks have increasing value nowadays for teams seeking flexibility. What does this mean for Houston? The Rockets have long dreamed of adding a star-level talent and have now found one in Durant, who averaged 26.6 points, 6 rebounds and 4.2 assists for a Suns team that failed to even make the play-in tournament. Of course, questions remain about the long term, as the presence of Durant severely shrinks the team's competitive window in terms of being a potential championship contender. The future Hall Of Famer will turn 37 this season, and if he retires in two years, Houston will unquestionably have to re-evaluate and re-initiate its roster construction. Advertisement The good news for Houston, however, is that it didn't relinquish any of its best stuff. Amen Thompson and Tari Eason are still there, as are Cam Whitmore and Jabari Smith Jr., meaning the Rockets do have a foundation to build off when the day comes that Durant ages out. Overall, this was a sensible deal for both sides. The Rockets got what they wanted without overpaying, and the Suns got significantly younger. This appears, initially, to be a win-win for both sides.
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Kevin Durant trade grades: Did the Suns get fair value from the Rockets?
Kevin Durant has been traded to the Houston Rockets, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Sunday, dropping some major breaking news just before the NBA gets set to crown a champion later in the evening. The Phoenix Suns are getting back a package of picks and players, settling on the deal from Houston as the apparent best of what they were presumably offered by Durant's other preferred destinations, including Minnesota, Miami, New York and San Antonio, which was reportedly No. 1 on his list. Advertisement Instead, the former league MVP lands in another Texas city, in what will be his third team in the last five years. Let's breakdown how Houston and Phoenix each fared in this deal. STARTING FIVE: Projected Rockets starting lineup after KD deal Details of the deal ROCKETS GET: Kevin Durant SUNS GET: Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, No. 10 pick in 2025, 5 second-round picks ROCKETS GRADE: The Rockets were able to add one of the premier scorers in league history without giving up either of their two best building blocks in Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson. That's a win. Though Jalen Green was their leading scorer at 21 points per game, it came on his typical low shooting efficiency of 42 percent. The 36-year-old Durant far exceeded his production at 26.6 points on 52 percent shooting and 43 percent from three. Advertisement The loss of Dillon Brooks will hurt Houston's perimeter defense a bit, but it was necessary to make the money work and that's a loss you'll gladly accept to add a player like Durant to a team that had one of the best defenses but was middle of the road offensively (and downright bad in the playoffs). Not to mention, Brooks' departure will help clear a spot int he rotation for last year's first-round pick Reed Sheppard. Durant's age and availability going forward are a small concern, but you can't fault the Rockets for a taking a swing like this after emerging as the No. 2 seed in the West last season. Grade: A- SUNS GRADE: The Suns were seemingly handcuffed by Durant's leverage to choose his destination, limiting them to about five teams they could negotiate with, so you have to assume this was the best package they could get. Considering the cirumstances, it's not awful. Advertisement The No. 10 pick in this year's draft should help them land a young player with real upside to help continue building out a team around Devin Booker, and Jalen Green still has a ton of upside as a career 20-point scorer who's only 23 years old. Still, you won't be able to argue they got better by losing Durant, which was never a reality. Adding two perimeter players doesn't make a ton of a sense for a team that already has Booker and Bradley Beal -- unless they plan to move Beal next (which won't be easy). Especially when neither of those perimeter players is a point guard. It's nice to have the Durant stuff behind them, but considering what they gave up to get him (Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, four first-round picks), this was a major step backwards. Grade: C- This article originally appeared on For The Win: Kevin Durant trade grades: Did Suns get fair value from the Rockets?
