Rockets Nightly
The Launch Pad · The big question

Can Houston's Draft-Built Core Finally Win With Durant on the Clock?

A 52-30 season, a reshaped rotation and a 38-year-old Durant raise one question before the opener.

By the Rockets Nightly Desk · Tuesday, October 13

Houston's front office traded for a 38-year-old Durant to pair with a core it built through the draft, betting last season's 52-30 record and plus-5.4 net rating translate into a deeper playoff run before the window closes. The question this season has to answer: can that group get past the first round, or does age and a payroll already past the luxury tax line force a different outcome first.

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Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

Before last season

Houston acquired Durant in a seven-team trade in July 2025 that sent two rotation players to Phoenix, pairing a 38-year-old All-NBA scorer with a core built almost entirely through the draft: Sengun, Thompson, Smith Jr., Eason and Sheppard. The move signaled Fertitta's front office would spend to win now rather than keep developing around rookie contracts alone.

Last season

Houston went 52-30, posting the league's sixth-best net rating at 5.4 with an offense ranked eighth and a defense ranked fifth. Its best five-man group, Durant, Capela, Sengun, Smith Jr. and Thompson, played 377 minutes at a net rating of plus-10.3; two smaller lineups pairing Durant and Capela with Sheppard topped plus-21 apiece.

This fall

Three departures closed out the offseason. Two-way wing Rafael Castro was waived October 1 and signed with the Lakers on October 9, the same move in which Los Angeles waived William Kyle III. Jeff Green left alongside Aaron Holiday on September 21, with no reason or replacement reported for either exit.

This week

The exhibition slate went one and one: Houston beat Dallas 135-117 on October 9 behind Sengun's 16-10-10 triple-double and 20 points from Eason, then lost the rematch 115-132 at home on October 11. Durant, Sengun, VanVleet and Adams all picked up day-to-day tags around those two games, each with an estimated return of October 15.

Heading into the opener

Houston carries a $205.5M payroll past the $200.4M luxury tax line and owns its 2028 and 2030 first-round picks outright, a front office spending to keep this group together rather than reset. The real ceiling ahead is the $221.7M second apron. Last season's plus-5.4 net rating, fifth in defense, says the roster is good enough to clear the first round if Durant and the rotation stay healthy into spring.

Next Houston closes its exhibition slate October 15 against Oklahoma City, the date all four day-to-day Rockets — Durant, Sengun, VanVleet and Adams — are estimated to return; the games that count open October 21 at home against Dallas.
Why did the Rockets trade for Kevin Durant?

Houston sent two rotation players to Phoenix in a July 2025 seven-team deal, pairing Durant with a core built through the draft to push for a championship window before his prime closes.

Can the Rockets get past the first round this season?

Last season's 52-30 record and fifth-ranked defense say the talent is there; whether a 38-year-old Durant and the rotation stay healthy into spring will decide it.

By the Rockets Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.

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