Four-party trading storm: Durant returns to Texas, Rockets team Big Three

Core framework of the transaction: each of the four teams takes the required ‌

Rockets get‌: Durant (Suns), Tobias Harris (Pistols), Jaden Ive (Pistols), Kiyante George (Jazz), Mikhailuk (Jazz)

Suns get‌: Van Vleet (Rockets) + ‌5 first-round picks‌ (Rockets 2025/27 Suns, Jazz No. 5 in 2025, Pistons 2026/28)

Jazz get‌: Reed Shepard (Rockets Rookie), Cam Whitmore (Rockets Forward)

Pistons get‌: Jaylen Green (Rockets)

Intrinsic logic‌: Rockets sacrifice potential to exchange for combat power, the Suns are completely rebuilt, and the Jazz/Pistols bet on the new generation.

Rockets: Bet on the future championship sprint ‌

Score: Durant (average 27.1 points per game) transforms into the ultimate scorer, Harris (space-type fourth position) fills the shooting gap, and Ivey (breakthrough guard) improves the vitality of the backcourt.

Loss: Jaylen Green + Whitmore + Shepard's three potential stocks, plus two first round picks, completely overdrawing their talent reserves.

Tactical adaptation: Durant + Shen Jing's high and low post combination replicates the "Jokic-Durant" mode, and Ivey's bench firepower fills the vacancy of Green.

Risk Warning‌: If you do not enter the Western Conference Finals in 2025, the Rockets will fall into a desperate situation of "no draft pick + salary explosion".

Suns: The first round of signing recycling plan‌

dumped Durant’s 4-year, 194 million yuan contract‌, VanVleet’s annual salary due (42.8 million) releases its salary space in 2026;

regain the key first round‌: 2025/27 self-signing (previously traded to the Rockets) to ensure the initiative in reconstruction;

Jazz’s 2025 No. 5 sign‌: Toby Bailey or Matas Buzzellis-level new core, with a value far exceeding the income from trading Durant.

The Sun has completely bid farewell to the era of the Big Three and has officially entered a cycle of bad luck.

Jazz and Pistons: Talent Recombination Experiment ‌

Jazz Strategy‌:

Shepard (NCAA three-point shooting percentage 52.1%) + Whitmore (rookie first-team potential) replaced Kiyant George (real shooting percentage 53.2%);

Give up the No. 5 draw due to insufficient rookie depth in 2025, the talent for double-lottery winning is more secure.

‌Pistols Abacus‌:

Jaylen Green (19.6 points per game) replaces Ivy (overlapping with Cunningham's function), coach Bickstaff restarts the "Green Training Program";

clears Toharris's remaining 1 year and 52 million contract, making room for Cunningham renewal in 2026.

The fatal loophole in the three-party game‌

The Suns are suspected of losing money‌

Durant’s true value should be exchanged for the All-Star + 3 first round. This plan only has 5 signs + VanVleet (non-core assets), which is difficult to draw fans’ anger. The value of the Jazz No. 5 draw is miscalculated‌

In the 2025 draft year led by Flag and Pele, the cornerstone player can be selected for the No. 5 draw, and the risk of replacing Shepard (predicted 3-8 pick) is too high.

Pistols reconstruction logic collapsed‌

The 26-year-old Ivy + two rounds of Green (efficiency value PER14.7≈Ivy 14.9), and the shortcomings in the backcourt defense have not been solved, so it may repeat the same mistake.

💎 Ultimate influence: Western power reshuffle

Rockets jump to the championship echelon: Durant + Shinkyung + Amen Thompson's core framework, paired with Dillon/Smith's defensive system, offensive efficiency prevails to the top three in the league;

The Suns Fall in Rebuilding Long Night: Relying on Draft Choice in the next five years, but Phoenix's free market has weak attractiveness;

Jazz Pistons continue to play badly: the two teams hoard talents but have no clear core, or may recreate the "Thunder-style" long reconstruction.

Trading win-win:

If the Rockets win the championship in 2025, the overdraft will be a magical operation in the future;

If Durant's injury history recurs (32% absentee rate in the past three years), Houston will fall into a ten-year darkest moment.