The vibes have been off in Houston lately, and the Rockets need to find a solution before it’s too late.
Amid various concerns from within the organization, former NBA power forward Charlie Villanueva says the team’s struggles stem from a growing rift between their two best players: Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun.
“The real issue to me is, your two best players don’t get along,” said Villanueva. “I don’t know what the relationship is, but it looks like they don’t f**k with each other. You can see whenever Sengun does some sh*t, KD’s making faces, body language ain’t good, and vice versa. Whenever your two top stars are not on the same page, you’re gonna see results like this. At a time when you’re supposed to be coming together, I guarantee you that it’s pushing them more apart, games like this.”
The Rockets added Kevin Durant last summer in a deal for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in 2025 (Khaman Maluach), and multiple second-rounders. At the time, the Rockets were just coming off a dominant regular season, where they finished second in the West at 52-30. By adding Durant, they believed they could raise their ceiling and compete for a title for the first time since James Harden’s departure.
The results looked promising at first, with Durant averaging 26.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game on 51.8% shooting and 41.1% shooting from three to help rack up plenty of early wins. But the Rockets have recently fallen on hard times, which has now put them down to sixth in the West at 43-29. Despite their talent on the court, the chemistry and camaraderie between teammates (and specifically with co-star Alperen Sengun) seem to be off right now amid a concerning stretch of play (4-6 in their last 10). It’s gotten to a point where the team is starting to feel some regret over trading for Durant.
The signs of division have always been there, but things only got worse when Durant’s burner account was exposed earlier this month. In a secret and alternate account, he was caught talking trash about his own teammates and talking down on his tenure with the Rockets. To this day, many believe it’s causing major tension in the locker room. That’s not even to mention reports of misalignment with his coach, Ime Udoka.
Regardless of the reasoning, the body language really tells the whole story. When Durant is on the court these days, he’s frequently in a state of frustration he fails to draw any connection with his teammates. While there may be no active hate or vitriol, you can sense that there’s a lack of togetherness with this team that limits their effectiveness in games. The question now for the Rockets is what they plan to do about it.
With this season already nearing the end, there’s not much left to do but let things play out. Then, depending on how far they go this summer, they can change their roster or run it back for another year. Of course, with a $46 million player option for 2027-28, the only way to part with Durant is via trade, which would make things very chaotic in the upcoming offseason. Or, if they want to get really crazy, the Rockets could go the other way and trade Sengun in a deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
