​Goodbye Durant, earthquake magnitude 6 for 1 major deal. The Rockets want the Big Three to soar into the sky?

Although the playoffs have not yet been settled, rumors of trading within the league have spread. After the end of the season, some teams urgently need to break through the existing bottleneck through strengthening, and the Lakers are one of them. Facts have proved that the Lakers' lineup is still insufficient and there are few stable scoring points, so Reeves is unable to take on the responsibility of the team's third core. In order to grasp the window of winning the championship at the end of James' career, the Lakers must introduce the third leader with stronger strength and strengthen their inside strength.

Similarly, the Rockets face similar challenges. Although their performance this season is far beyond expectations, ranking second in the West in the regular season and even fought fiercely with the Warriors until the tiebreak in the playoffs, there is still a gap from the championship. Their shortcomings are the many young players and lack of experience in the playoffs. In order to build a more competitive lineup, the Rockets may make important adjustments during the offseason to introduce superstars by integrating resources.

In terms of strengthening candidates, the Rockets face two choices. One of them is Antetokounmpo. According to the trading plan proposed by Basketball Forever, the Rockets may use Jaylen Green, Alperen Shinkyung and three first-round draft picks as bargaining chips in exchange for Antetokounmpo's joining. However, the Bucks, where Antetokounmpo is located, have performed poorly in recent years and are difficult to regain their former glory. Although Antetokounmpo himself does not reject the possibility of leaving the team and the Rockets are regarded as an ideal next home, there are still questions about whether Antetokounmpo is suitable for the Rockets' tactical system. The Rockets' inside strength is already quite strong, and their shortcomings are that their offensive methods are relatively single, and a scorer with more comprehensive skills is needed to make up for this shortcoming. Therefore, a superstar like Antetokounmpo who relies too much on physical talent and athletic ability may not be the best choice for the Rockets. In contrast, the Rockets may be more inclined to pursue Durant with all their might. NBA famous Perkins once said: "If I were the Rockets management, I would be committed to solving the problems of shooting and scoring at critical moments. Therefore, I would pursue Kevin Durant and match him with players such as Amen Thompson, Shinkin, Van Vleet, and retain the big man Steven Adams. Such a lineup will be very interesting." Perkins designed a six-for-one trading plan for the Rockets, aiming to greatly enhance the team's strength by introducing Durant.

We propose to use Jaylen Green, Cam Whitmore, Jabbarry Smith, as well as three first-round draft picks in 2025 and 2027 as trade chips in order to win Kevin Durant's joining. It is worth noting that Durant himself has a strong interest in joining the Rockets. As early as the regular season, Durant publicly stated: "I have been paying close attention to the development of the Rockets, and now they have shown a vigorous upward momentum." In an interview with ESPN, well-known journalist Shams also mentioned: "The Rockets and Durant have always maintained a certain degree of common interest in cooperation. If the Rockets can make far-reaching progress in the playoffs, they may maintain their existing core lineup; however, if they are eliminated too early, they may consider introducing top players like Kevin Durant." From Durant's perspective, it is highly likely that he will leave the Suns this offseason. Although the Suns' Big Three have been working together for two years, their results have not met expectations and the team's salary space is about to face severe challenges. Therefore, both the Suns and Durant are interested in ending their cooperation, and the Suns plan to rebuild, while Durant is seeking to join a team with the ability to compete for the championship.

For the Rockets, it is also necessary to introduce superstars like Durant. There are many young players in the Rockets, and if all of them are trained, it will be detrimental to the overall development of the team. Sending some potential new stars to other teams may be a smarter choice for both sides. Jaylen Green's departure has been basically confirmed. Although Green briefly showed a highlight performance in this year's regular season, especially in early January, his average score exceeded 30 points and his shooting percentage was as high as 52.1%. Unfortunately, Green's outstanding form did not continue, and his efficiency began to decline, and his playoff performance was even more disaster. In seven games in the playoffs, Green averaged only 13.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, shooting only 37.2% from the field and 3-point shooting percentage as low as 29.5%. His offensive style is mainly singles, with extremely low efficiency, and as a defender, his organizational ability is also insufficient.

Therefore, it is undoubtedly a wise decision for the Rockets to give up continuing to train Jaylen Green. By trading Green, Whitmore, Smith and three first-round draft picks, the Rockets are expected to successfully introduce Kevin Durant. Building a new generation of "Big Three" lineup with Van Vleet (Van Jordan), Shin Kyung and Durant as the core will significantly enhance the team's book strength. Durant has publicly stated that he has not yet had the opportunity to fight with a non-traditional blue-collar top insider, and Shin Kyung is undoubtedly an ideal choice, and the collaboration between the two is expected to inspire unprecedented chemistry. In addition, Durant's threat in mid- and long-distance shooting will effectively open up the field, creating more opportunities for VanVleet and Amen Thompson, especially Amen, who will get more opportunities for quick counterattacks and sneak attacks to score.

For the Rockets, Durant's peak career has remained for several years. His joining is like an efficient short-term top reinforcement, which will not affect the renewal of young players in the team such as Amen and Shepard and their long-term development plans. Using Durant to solve the problems existing on the team's offensive end is undoubtedly a wise move worth considering.