Kevin Durant trade grades for record-breaking 7 teams involved in blockbuster

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Kevin Durant trade grades for record-breaking 7 teams involved in blockbuster

Bailey Bassett · ClutchPoints

Sun, Jul 6, 2025 ·

8 min read

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The post Kevin Durant trade grades for record-breaking 7 teams involved in blockbuster appeared first on ClutchPoints .

The Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns agreed upon a deal on June 22 that sent Kevin Durant to the Rockets. The trade in and of itself was massive, but it was just one of many transactions across the league over the early days of the offseason.

The blockbuster trade wasn't eligible to be made official until July 6 , when the moratorium period ended, and that gave Phoenix, Houston, and other teams around the league a chance to add to the trade. It resulted in the final and official deal involving Durant being a record-breaking seven-team trade.

The Atlanta Hawks , Brooklyn Nets , Golden State Warriors , Los Angeles Lakers , and Minnesota Timberwolves also got involved in what is the biggest trade in league history. So, of these seven teams, how did each of them fare now that it is also said and done?

Kevin Durant trade details

Rockets receive:

Kevin Durant (from Suns)
Clint Capela (sign-and-trade from Hawks)

Suns receive:

Jalen Green (from Rockets)
Dillon Brooks (from Rockets)
Daeqwon Plowden (from Hawks)
Draft rights to Khaman Maluach (No. 10 pick from Rockets)
Draft rights to Rasheer Fleming (No. 31 pick from Timberwolves)
Draft rights to Koby Brea (No. 41 pick from Warriors)
Second-most favorable 2026 second-round pick from either of the Oklahoma City Thunder , Dallas Mavericks , or Philadelphia 76ers (from Rockets)

Lakers receive:

Draft rights to Adou Thiero (No. 36 pick from Nets)

Warriors receive:

Draft rights to Alex Toohey (No. 52 pick from Suns)
Draft rights to Jahmai Mashack (No. 59 pick from Rockets)

Note: Mashack's rights were sent to the Memphis Grizzlies in a separate trade

Timberwolves receive:

Draft rights to Rocco Zikarsky (No. 45 pick from Lakers)
Least favorable 2026 second-round pick from either the Warriors or Denver Nuggets (from Suns)
Most favorable 2032 second-round pick from either the Suns or Rockets (from Suns/Rockets)
Cash (from Lakers)

Nets receive:

Either the Clippers ' 2026 second-round pick or the most favorable of the Boston Celtics , Indiana Pacers , or Miami Heat 's 2025 second-round picks (whichever is least favorable; from Rockets)
Celtics' 2030 second-round pick (from Rockets)

Hawks receive:

David Roddy (from Rockets)
Cash (from Rockets)
2031 second-round pick swap option (from Rockets)

Rockets' trade grade

The Rockets are, of course, the centerpiece of this massive trade. Everything in this deal revolves around Durant moving to Houston, and the Rockets absolutely aced this trade. Durant is one of the greatest players in NBA history and hasn't shown any signs of slowing down as one of the best players currently in the game.

Durant averaged 26.6 points per game in what was his 15th All-Star campaign last season. He can score from all three levels in both isolation and from his teammates' playmaking. His 3-point expertise, in particular, will be vital for an athletic Rockets team that was lacking in the shooting department last season. The Rockets were overly reliant on Fred VanVleet getting up shots from beyond the arc last season.

It only took one first-round pick, Jalen Green , Dillon Brooks , and second-round picks to land Durant, too. This is quite a stark contrast from what the Suns paid for him just years ago. Everybody knew that Durant was on the move, considering he was on the block ahead of the trade deadline, in addition to the fact that teams should be hesitant to give up a ton for a 36-year-old. However, the Rockets didn't give up too much for Durant.

Furthermore, they were able to turn the Clint Capela free agent signing into a sign-and-trade by including him in this deal. For starters, that gives the Rockets some cap relief. On the court, though, Capela may be the most overqualified backup center in the NBA. The rim-running center has started 587 games over his career, and he has experience playing in Houston.

Alperen Sengun is an All-Star, but the areas in which he struggles are where Capela thrives. Capela catches lobs, secures putbacks, and deters shots at the rim. He could also potentially play alongside Sengun, as the Turkish hooper thrived at the power forward spot with Steven Adams taking on center duties late last season. The Rockets have had the best offseason in the NBA, and the additions of Durant and Capela are large reasons why.

Grade:A+

Suns' trade grade

It was well known that Durant was going to be traded this offseason, which may have limited how much teams were willing to offer the Suns. Even so, they did pretty good for themselves. Jalen Green is the biggest piece coming back for Durant.

The former No. 2 overall pick has been streaky throughout his career, but the flashes of greatness have been extremely noticeable. Green may be able to fully unlock his superstar potential on a more permanent basis in Phoenix. The Suns also landed Dillon Brooks. Every high-level team needs a defensive-minded enforcer of sorts, as the pesky Brooks is just that.

The third big piece from this deal for the Suns was the No. 10 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. The Suns used that selection to add much-needed center depth in Khaman Maluach. The center position was the Suns' biggest weakness last year, and Maluach was expected to be selected much earlier than he was taken.

While Maluach was one of the steals of the draft, the decision to trade for another center, Mark Williams , just moments later was somewhat perplexing, but that trade wasn't a part of the massive Durant deal and doesn't have implications on this trade grade.

The Suns also got to work with all of the second-round capital that they acquired. Rasheer Fleming and Koby Brea will join the Suns for this season, the former of whom was made the first pick in the second round after being projected as a first-round talent. The Suns have lacked depth, youth, and cheap players ever since they originally acquired Durant, so adding a bunch of that ahead of the 2025-26 season made sense.

Grade:A-

Lakers' trade grade

The Lakers were the least involved in this seven-team trade, and there aren't big implications from their inclusion. The team traded up to draft Adou Thiero, a defensive-minded wing. That role is one of the Lakers' most glaring, especially now that Dorian Finney-Smith signed with the Rockets in a deal unrelated to this huge trade.

However, the Lakers' other big need this offseason was center depth. The team has since signed Deandre Ayton, but they could still use some help at the five. The draft rights that the Lakers traded away to move up for Thiero were for Rocco Zikarsky.

The Australian is a 7-foot-3 giant who many felt would have been a good fit in Los Angeles . Even so, the Lakers can't be faulted for trading up for their guy when it took very little capital to do so.

Grade:B+

Warriors' trade grade

Warriors' fans have been upset by Golden State's lack of moves this offseason, and being included in this seven-team trade by taking on Alex Toohey and Jahmai Mashack isn't exactly what they had in mind for acquisitions. Neither of these players should be expected to have a big impact on the Warriors anytime soon.

Golden State's core is too old for the team to stay stagnant. Stephen Curry , Draymond Green , and Jimmy Butler likely only have a couple of good years left, yet the Warriors did next to nothing to ensure that that trio can compete for another championship. With that said, the Warriors' stakes in this deal were low, so it isn't like they deserve a disastrous grade.

Grade:C

Timberwolves' trade grade

The Timberwolves had the first pick of the second round and the pick of the litter of the players who slipped to day two of the draft. They clearly didn't like the talent at the top, though, so they were smart to trade down and pick up future draft capital.

The team also landed Zikarsky's draft rights. Rudy Gobert 's best days are in the rearview, so the Timberwolves have been restocking at the center position. In addition to Zikarsky, Minnesota drafted Joan Beringer in the first round and re-signed Naz Reid.

Part of the reason the Timberwolves loaded up on bigs is because Gobert was rumored as the centerpiece in a potential deal for Durant that Minnesota was aggressively pursuing. Durant, obviously, ended up in Houston instead, but the Timberwolves were still smart to add potential long-term Gobert replacement options.

Grade: B+

Nets' trade grade

This seven-team trade was the biggest of the offseason and one of the biggest in NBA history. It wasn't the Nets' most important trade of the offseason, though. That honor belongs to the Cam Johnson-Michael Porter Jr. swap.

The seven-team trade saw the Nets add two future second-round picks in return for their own second-rounder this year. The Nets drafted a record five players in the first round, so they had no need at all for yet another rookie. The team's actual draft selections in the first round can be criticized, but their decision to push back second-round assets to the future was smart.

Grade:A

Hawks' trade grade

The Hawks didn't get much back for Capela, but something is better than nothing. David Roddy is returning to the team, this time on a two-way contract. The Colorado State product and former first-rounder had the best moments of his career in Atlanta, so perhaps he can rediscover a role with the team this go around. The Hawks will also get swap options on a 2031 second-rounder and cash. There isn't much to the Hawks' inclusion in this trade, but Houston would have gotten nothing back in return for Capela had he straight-up signed with Houston.

Grade:C-

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