- 10/07/2025
🔥 On NBA Gametime, ESPN analysts break down why the Houston Rockets, now featuring Kevin Durant, have surged to become the biggest threat to the Oklahoma City Thunder next season. With Denver's off-season tweaks and the departure of West depth, Houston has vaulted to a top contender behind OKC. Could Durant lead the team to the NBA Finals?
Rockets bolstered their roster not only with KD but also key signings like Dorian Finney‑Smith, Clint Capela, and coach Ime Udoka’s leadership, earning praise for improved depth, defense, and playoff readiness
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#NBAGametime #KevinDurant #Rockets #Thunder #NBAFinals #NBA2026 #KDinHouston #WesternConference
Keyword Tags (Inside Description):
Rockets biggest threat to Thunder, KD leads Rockets to finals, Houston Rockets offseason moves, ESPN Gametime Rockets analysis, KD NBA Finals push, Rockets vs Thunder preview 2025, Rockets Denver offseason comparison
Rockets bolstered their roster not only with KD but also key signings like Dorian Finney‑Smith, Clint Capela, and coach Ime Udoka’s leadership, earning praise for improved depth, defense, and playoff readiness
🔖 Hashtags + Keyword Tags (Inside the Description)
Hashtags:
#NBAGametime #KevinDurant #Rockets #Thunder #NBAFinals #NBA2026 #KDinHouston #WesternConference
Keyword Tags (Inside Description):
Rockets biggest threat to Thunder, KD leads Rockets to finals, Houston Rockets offseason moves, ESPN Gametime Rockets analysis, KD NBA Finals push, Rockets vs Thunder preview 2025, Rockets Denver offseason comparison
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SportTranscription
00:00Back here on HQ's Spotlight.
00:02So Kevin Durant to the Rockets is now officially official,
00:06and it turns out it's a seven-team trade,
00:08the first transaction like that in league history.
00:11So besides the main teams involved in that trade
00:14and the Suns and the Rockets,
00:15there's the Warriors, Lakers, T-Wolves, Nets, and the Hawks.
00:19So when it's all said and done,
00:20this trade includes six players and 13 draft picks.
00:24So if you break it all down, here's how it all played out,
00:27of course, with the Suns getting the most here in Jalen Green,
00:30Dylan Brooks, come on, Malawash, Rashear Fleming, Kobe Brea, and so forth.
00:34This is, of course, with players and the draft.
00:37So all of this had to happen for KD to go to Houston.
00:41So there's a lot of players, a lot of draft picks,
00:42a lot of teams that are involved here in this historic seven-team trade.
00:46But we are going to focus in only on the Rockets
00:49and look ahead to them for a season outlook.
00:51And for that, let's bring in our NBA analysts, Sam Quinn and John Gonzalez.
00:55Gentlemen, always great to see us.
00:56So now that that trade is finally official,
00:58we knew it was kind of coming for some time, right?
01:01We have had some time to reflect.
01:03So, John, I'll kick it to you first here.
01:05Your overall thoughts, feelings, now that we've seen this go down,
01:09your overall takeaways, when you see that entire list
01:12of everybody that was involved.
01:15Yeah, I mean, a big trade,
01:16mostly just moving pieces around the board here.
01:18For the Rockets, that's the big thing.
01:20I mean, the Rockets have had just a remarkable off-season, Jacqueline.
01:23Sam and I had talked about this on the Beyond the Arc podcast previously,
01:26where I thought, you know, they were the No. 2 seed last year.
01:29They've got this young core.
01:30Maybe they should just go the OKC route
01:32and just wait on this thing a little bit.
01:35Wait till the trade deadline, then see if you want to add a piece.
01:37Man, I was wrong about that, Jacqueline.
01:39I love what they've done.
01:40They add Kevin Durant.
01:41They add Dorian Finney-Smith.
01:42They're instantly better right there
01:43after moving off of Jalen Green,
01:45who's a bucket but is also extremely inconsistent.
01:48And Dylan Brooks, that's net-net win for the Rockets.
01:50Now, they also added Clint Capella
01:52as their third center.
01:53And to do so, they had to move off of Cam Whitmore,
01:55who's gone to the Wizards.
01:57I personally would rather have Cam Whitmore
01:59than Clint Capella as my third center.
02:01But these are, like, when we're talking about guys
02:03who are going to be at the end of the bench here
02:04for a Rockets team that has designs
02:06of potentially winning the Western Conference,
02:08it's hard for me to really quibble with that.
02:10That's, like, a minor issue that I would have with them.
02:13But, man, the Rockets are absolutely loaded.
02:15And Oklahoma City is going to go into this year
02:18as the number one favorite,
02:20obviously, the defending champions.
02:21But I think the Rockets are right there with them.
02:24Yeah, the more I look at everything the Rockets did,
02:26the more I love just all of it, right?
02:28Today, it comes out that the four-year deal
02:31that Dorian Finney-Smith signed
02:32is only guaranteed for two years.
02:34Oh, so that takes the sting out of it, right?
02:36He's an older player, but you don't have to deal
02:38with the back end of that contract.
02:40I hate losing Cam Whitmore, just like John said,
02:42but he wasn't going to play, right?
02:44There weren't minutes for him.
02:45So if you can turn him into somebody in Clint Capella
02:48that you can get good usage out of in the regular season,
02:52you know, they're going to run a lot of those two big lineups.
02:54They're going to hopefully keep Steven Adams healthy
02:57and rested throughout the regular season.
02:59I think that makes sense.
03:00You know, I, right now, have them as a pretty firm
03:03number two in the West.
03:04Denver may be right behind at number three.
03:07But the really great thing about this offseason for them
03:10is they didn't have to really pick a direction
03:12between all-in right now
03:14versus going that Oklahoma City route.
03:17They didn't have to surrender their best assets.
03:19They still have those future Phoenix picks.
03:21They still have Amon Thompson.
03:23They still have Alper and Shen Goom.
03:24If they want to make another significant trade,
03:27they can, but they might not need to
03:29because they might just have a 60-win team as it is.
03:32So I think there's a real chance they win the West,
03:34but it's not going to be a flash in the pan.
03:37They're going to be competing with Oklahoma City
03:38and San Antonio for years to come.
03:41This isn't just one of the best teams right now.
03:43It's one of the best-run organizations in all basketball.
03:47Sam, Dorian Finney-Smith and I were at Florida
03:49at the same time,
03:50so I'm just going to forget that you called them
03:52a smackdown to reality for me.
03:54All right, let's take a deeper dive
03:56into the state of the Rockets, right?
03:57So they're coming off their first 50-win season
04:00since the 2018-2019 season.
04:02They haven't won a playoff series.
04:04It's been a little bit, right?
04:05They signed Imei Yudoka to that contract extension.
04:08So, Sam, how much pressure is Imei Yudoka under
04:12with this new revamped roster?
04:14Everything we just talked about,
04:15there's a lot of excitement and expectation.
04:18So how much pressure is he under, in your opinion?
04:21Honestly, not much, right?
04:22Remember, the Knicks tried to hire him
04:24and the Rockets said,
04:25no, we're not going to let you do that.
04:27Steven Silas got three full years in Houston,
04:30never won more than 22 games.
04:32Well, this is going to be Imei Yudoka's third year
04:33and he's already succeeded much more than Silas did.
04:36I think they're looking at this partnership
04:38with Imei Yudoka as a really long-term thing.
04:41They're hoping he can be their coach
04:42for maybe the next decade or more.
04:44And given how well he's done in that position,
04:46I have no reason to believe that won't be the case.
04:49He's one of the best coaches in the NBA.
04:51He's reasonably young.
04:53They're just going to keep him
04:54and they're going to roll with this, right?
04:55The pressure starts if they maybe don't have
04:57as much playoff success in the next couple of years
05:00that you would like to see.
05:02But for now, I mean, he's about as secure
05:03as any coach in basketball.
05:06Yeah, Sam is right about him being secure
05:08and there not being much pressure in that.
05:10But I would take a little bit of umbrage
05:12on pressure overall
05:13because when you have a team this loaded,
05:15there's going to be pressure,
05:16even if it's just from himself,
05:18to make this team get deep into the postseason,
05:22make a run in the Western Conference.
05:23The Western Conference is loaded, Jacqueline.
05:26I mean, like, when you go out
05:28and you get Kevin Durant
05:29and Dorian Finney-Smith
05:30and Clint Capella
05:31and you've got an ascendant,
05:33Amon Thompson
05:34and Alperin Shen-Goon
05:35has looked fantastic.
05:36I mean, this team, Tari Eason,
05:38when you get into the bench,
05:39they're really deep and really talented.
05:41And when you're trying to compete
05:42in the Western Conference
05:43and unseat the Oklahoma City Thunder,
05:45I think that that does come
05:46with a measure of pressure.
05:49And I'm sure that
05:49Ime Adjoko would tell you that,
05:51that he wants not to be a first-round exit
05:54like they were last year.
05:55They were the No. 2 seed.
05:56That's great.
05:56They're playing with the house money a little bit.
05:58But moving forward,
05:59eventually people are going to look around
06:00and go, OK, this roster is really good.
06:02Now, what have you done with it?
06:04So I think there is a little bit of pressure there.
06:06Maybe not as much pressure, though,
06:07as Sam having to dig out of that hole
06:09that he just had there
06:10where he said that you
06:11and Dorian Finney-Smith
06:12were older players.
06:14I would never say that, Jacqueline,
06:15but that's something, you know,
06:16Sam's going to have to atone for.
06:18It's all right, Sam.
06:19Maybe by the end of this segment,
06:20I'll forgive you.
06:20But it did sting just a little bit.
06:22I'm like, is he that old?
06:23Yeah, we're the same age, basically.
06:25All right.
06:25So Houston, you talk about the squad
06:27as being loaded.
06:28They have a young core.
06:29They just, you know,
06:30signed their head coach.
06:31He maybe took it
06:32to that contract extension.
06:33They get that superstar vet
06:34in Kevin Durant.
06:35It all looks promising and great, right?
06:37But John, what are some more needs,
06:39some voids that they do still need
06:40to fill there in Houston?
06:41Yeah, I puzzled over this one
06:43because, honestly,
06:44they're really loaded.
06:45I mean, like, this team
06:46doesn't need a whole lot.
06:48As Sam mentioned,
06:49maybe they make another move
06:50on the margins here.
06:51Just looking at the roster,
06:52Fred Van Fleet
06:53is their only true, true point guard.
06:56Maybe that means
06:56we're going to get more point.
06:57Amon Thompson,
06:58I really love that.
06:59You are talking, Jacqueline,
07:00to two of the foremost
07:01Reed Shepard fans in the world.
07:04Outside of the Shepard family,
07:05I think you'd be hard-pressed
07:06to find two guys
07:06who like Reed Shepard more.
07:08He didn't play much last year.
07:09Maybe this is a plan
07:10where they decide,
07:11okay, we're going to dust off
07:12Reed Shepard,
07:13give him the keys
07:13a little bit more.
07:14He's going to maybe run
07:15some of that second unit.
07:16So, just on the surface
07:18as I look at their roster,
07:19I would think maybe
07:20a backup point guard.
07:22And then, of course,
07:22the answer for every team
07:23everywhere in the NBA
07:24is more shooting.
07:25Everybody can always
07:26use more shooting.
07:27But honestly, Jacqueline,
07:28in terms of rosters
07:29in the NBA go,
07:31aside from like Oklahoma City,
07:33I'd look at the Rockets
07:34and I'm like,
07:35they're good.
07:35They are good.
07:36This is a fantastic job
07:38that they've done.
07:39Yeah, the lead-in
07:39to this segment
07:40was all about Kevin Durant
07:41and the trade
07:42and everything that had
07:42to happen for KD.
07:43And in the commercial break,
07:44you guys were talking
07:45about Reed Shepard.
07:46So, just to support
07:47your statement there
07:48that you guys
07:49are the biggest fans,
07:49let's talk about
07:50the season prediction,
07:52right?
07:52Because it's funny
07:53when you look at
07:54the East and the West.
07:55The East is wide open,
07:56right?
07:56That's what we're saying.
07:57With the West,
07:57it's very competitive.
07:58It's kind of like a gauntlet.
07:59You've got to compete
08:00with OKC, Denver,
08:01the Timberwolves,
08:02just to name a few.
08:04So, Sam,
08:04what is your season prediction
08:05for this Rockets team
08:07as it's constructed
08:08right now?
08:09High 50 wins
08:11and number two seed
08:12in the Western Conference,
08:13right?
08:13What they'll do
08:14in the playoffs
08:15probably is going to
08:15come down to health.
08:16It's going to come down
08:17to matchups.
08:17We'll see if they wind up
08:19with Denver in the second round,
08:20if they wind up
08:20with whoever.
08:21So, I don't want to say,
08:22oh, they're absolutely
08:23making the Western Conference
08:24finals,
08:24but I think they're
08:25so well positioned
08:27for the regular season,
08:28given how deep they are,
08:30that I would be
08:31pretty surprised
08:32if they weren't
08:32a top three seed
08:33in the West, right?
08:34I think that's the reason
08:35you go the extra mile
08:36and you bring in
08:37a Clint Capella
08:38is now you can afford
08:40to be a little bit stingier
08:41with minutes
08:41for your other bigs.
08:43John and I have been
08:44spreading the gospel
08:45of Reed Shepard
08:45for months now.
08:47I think he's going to come in
08:48and have a huge season
08:48as a backup,
08:49really give them
08:50the shooting that they need.
08:50So, no real holes here.
08:52I'm really excited
08:53for this team.
08:54I'm going to go
08:55number two seed
08:55in the West
08:56and the sky's the limit
08:57from there.
08:59Yeah, I'm going to
09:00echo Sam here.
09:00I'm going to go
09:01number two seed.
09:02Again, I think Oklahoma City,
09:03obviously the defending champions,
09:06they're going to be
09:06the favorites
09:06in the Western Conference
09:07next year.
09:08But the West, Jacqueline,
09:09as you noted,
09:10is so loaded, right?
09:11I mean, we're looking
09:11at 13, maybe 14 teams
09:13with real designs
09:15on trying to make
09:16the postseason.
09:17I just think that
09:18the Rockets are a cut
09:18above most of them.
09:19I think, you know,
09:20the Nuggets are probably
09:21right there behind them.
09:22But I'll go with
09:23the two seed again
09:24for the Rockets
09:24for the second straight year.
09:26And then Sam wanted
09:27to stop short of,
09:28you know, saying that
09:28they're going to make it
09:29to the Western Conference
09:30finals.
09:31I'm not.
09:31I'm going to say
09:32they're going to make it
09:33to the Western Conference
09:33finals.
09:34In fact, I've even been
09:35test driving this idea
09:36of like, can I interest
09:38anybody in a Houston Rockets
09:39Atlanta Hawks NBA
09:41finals next year?
09:42I'm really high
09:42on both of these teams
09:43and what they've done
09:44in this offseason.
09:46So I just absolutely
09:47love the Rockets.
09:48They're going to be
09:48my number one
09:49league pass team.
09:50Tap it into my veins,
09:51Jacqueline.
09:51They're going to be so fun.
09:52All right.
09:53Will do, John, Sam.
09:54We certainly appreciate it.
09:55The guys are sticking
09:56around, though,
09:57because we have more
09:57to discuss in the NBA.
09:59Some more superstars
10:00that could be on the move
10:01that's coming up.
10:02But in the meantime,
10:03getting a look at the odds
10:04to win the West,
10:05the Thunder.
10:06They're the favorites
10:07to repeat at plus 160.
10:09Then we have the Rockets
10:09and the Nuggets
10:10at five to one.
10:12Yeah.
10:12Up next, we're going to
10:12look at what the Celtics
10:13might.
Recommandations
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