Former Houston Rockets players Lou Williams and Chandler Parsons recently shared their thoughts on the rumors linking the team with Kevin Durant. While discussing the matter on ‘Run It Back’, both players explained why Houston wouldn’t continue to pursue the Suns forward.
Lou Williams addressed the situation first by discussing potential deals involving Rockets guard Jalen Green. He said, “You’ve spent the money already. You’ve shown that these are the two young guys that you’re prepping to be the up-and-coming guys, and I don’t want to overreact over one game.”
Williams addressed the dominance of the Warriors’ duo of Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler and stated their performance to be the driving force behind winning Game 1. However, the former Rockets guard was against the idea of bringing in a star to aid the team in the offseason.
“You can see greatness up close and personal,” Williams added. “But if I’m putting the ball in your hands and I’m telling you to push us forward, as an organization, you bring in Kevin Durant, that’s going to be his job. So that kind of stunts your growth.”
Chandler Parsons chimed in and added to Williams’ comments. He said, “There’s a long runway with this group. You go and get off Jalen Green, who’s super young right now and is not even close to his prime, and you bring in a Kevin Durant? Now there’s expectations and pressure to win right now. So it kind of shifts the whole mindset of where the Rockets are.”
. @TeamLou23 says the Rockets should keep Jalen Green instead of trading him for Kevin Durant 👀@ChandlerParsons adds on by saying bringing KD to Houston would drastically change the expectations of this young team…
Is KD in Houston a good idea? 🤨 pic.twitter.com/CSqteV3G0M
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) April 21, 2025
The Houston Rockets, as constructed, feature a young and talented roster, eager to compete and gain experience. While they are not primed to win a title as currently constructed, they are still a team with immense potential.
Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, and Amen Thompson are among the names that stand out when speaking about the Rockets’ young core. Although inexperienced, it is clear that Ime Udoka has the right pieces to transform this team into a contender.
The trade rumors involving Kevin Durant do appear to be counterproductive to Houston’s vision. As Parsons mentioned, Durant has a rather short window at this point in his career. Acquiring a player of his caliber comes with the pressure of competing for the championship.
Although the rumor has since been shut down to some extent, there appear to be lingering aftershocks that are still being discussed in some circles.
This could be in light of Houston’s inexperience being put on full display on Sunday night in Game 1. A 95-85 loss to the Golden State Warriors saw an underwhelming performance by the Rockets’ young core, garnering favorable reactions from Warriors fans.
Although Sengun had himself a solid showing of 26 points and nine rebounds, he was effectively fighting alone as low scoring plagued the rest of the lineup.
As things stand, the momentum lies with the Warriors, an experienced group with enough championship pedigree to see them through even the toughest matchups. Regardless, the Rockets will still hope to turn things around.
Aiming to tie things up with a resurgent performance, the Rockets will face off against the Warriors in Game 2 on Wednesday at 9:30 pm ET.
