Kevin Durant is officially no longer a Phoenix Sun and it spells disaster for the Pelicans. The Phoenix Suns have traded two-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in the 2025 draft and five second-round picks.
With Durant now being traded to the Rockets, the Southwest Division only gets harder for the Pelicans. First, the Mavericks landed the No. 1 pick, okay, that's bad. But at least whoever they draft will need time to develop. Then the Spurs got No. 2 and paired it with De’Aaron Fox, that stung. And when it looked like the Pelicans might catch a break with the Grizzlies trading Desmond Bane, BOOM, Kevin Durant gets traded to the Houston Rockets
This feels like a nightmare stretch for Pelicans fans. Not only do they have to see Victor Wembanyama four times a year, but they have to see Anthony Davis and Cooper Flagg four times, and now Kevin Durant four times a year with a team that was the 2nd seed out west last year.
If you thought the Rockets were a problem last year, they are an even bigger one now
New Orleans had their fair share of injuries last year, and it was awful because of them. But the Rockets easily swept their season series last season with an average age of 25, making the Rockets coming into the 2025-26 season a scary thought. However, now after adding Kevin Durant, and not losing Fred VanVleet, Alpren Şengün, Amen Thompson, Tari Eason or even Jabari Smith, they are just that much more terrifying.
Houston had the NBA's 5th-best defensive rating this past year, and is now adding the greatest pure scorer of all time, who, at 36 years old, is coming off a season where he averaged just shy of 27 points per game. All year, it seemed Houston was missing that go-to guy in the clutch, and now they arguably have one of the best go-to guys in the clutch in Durant.
This trade makes the Rockets the most complete team in the NBA, and while that is already a scary thought for most teams, it is even scarier when you have to see them four times a year. Especially when you are already going to see the new and improved Spurs and a Cooper Flagg Anthony Davis carried team in Dallas that also isn't done making trades.
The Southwest Division might now be the toughest in the league. And unless New Orleans makes a bold move soon, they risk falling out of the playoff conversation entirely, or worse, being forced to start from scratch.