Take advantage of your illness to kill you! Suns KD is cutting prices to seek transactions, is the time for the Rockets to rob?

The Suns finally couldn't sit still. From insisting on asking for All-Stars + multiple first-round tough stance in February to now, according to Rockets Kelly Iko, the Suns have put down their figure in the Durant trade, and even try to advance as long as the other party is willing to take over. In just four months, the Sun's asking price experienced a dramatic plunge. More importantly, the Suns are locking their eyes on Houston. Since the end of the regular season in mid-April, they have called the Rockets many times, eager to reach a deal before the June 26 draft.

The Suns' core demand is very clear: get the draft pick back and fill the center black hole. The Rockets hold the Suns' first round picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029 have become the negotiation target that the Suns cannot bypass. The Suns are eager to exchange for the Rockets' No. 10 pick this year as the starting point, and match it with the first round in the future. In addition, the Suns made it clear in the negotiations that they needed to obtain high-quality center players to fill the loopholes after Ayton left the team. The target is directed to the 22-year-old All-Star upstart Shin Kyung or the experienced Adams. As the core of Rockets' focus training, Shin Kyung almost touched the bottom line of the Rockets' management. If the sun forces it, the transaction is likely to fail.

chip flexibility has become the key to the Sun's attitude change. The Suns initially had a tough trading position, requiring young potential players + draft picks, but recently they were willing to accept a plan to use veteran contracts (such as VanVleet and Dillon) as the main body to match draft picks, and even no longer force young players, which opened up new possibilities for the transaction.

Some media boldly deduced the Rockets' operation plan: send out Dillon + Jordan + Holiday + Randale + the 10th pick this year + the first round of Durant in 2027; at the same time, they renewed Van Jordan (70 million in 3 years), Adams (40 million in 3 years), and Ethan (70 million in 4 years), and signed back to Melton, Jeff Green and Tate at a better price.

Then the Rockets' main lineup will be: Van Vreet, Jaylen Green, Amen, Durant, and Shin Kyung. Subs: Shepard, Melton, Whitmore, Ethan, Adams. The core game point of this transaction lies in the Rockets management's judgment on its own winning window period. Durant must be good. His historical shooting hardware talent is expected to play for another two years. But the key lies in the timeline: the support of the Rockets' young core Shin Kyung, Amen's projection, and the confrontation between Xiao Jia and Shepard are generally believed to still take at least two years to polish. Two years later, Durant entered the retirement window. If the fire tube judges that it will be difficult to truly win the championship in the next two years, the huge cost of introducing KD is worth discussing.

However, Rockets fans' rejection of Durant is filled with a large number of unexamined arguments, which need to be clarified one by one:

"He is already 37 years old, can't he do it?" The data is a silent refutation. Last year, Durant's average efficiency was: 26.6 points + 52.7% shooting percentage + 43% three-point shooting percentage + 83.9% free throw shooting percentage. He averaged 25 points per game for 12 consecutive years, with a real shooting percentage of up to 60%. This is the highest record in NBA history... It is too far-fetched to say that he is no longer able to do it.

"Want to hollow out the young core?" The sun has no confidence to force it! Deeply trapped in the quagmire of luxury tax, no first round is available before 2030, and the playoffs were not scored. The first goal of Suns' trading Durant is to get the salary back and get the Rockets' draft picks. The Rockets have the initiative and cannot sacrifice Shin Kyung, Amen and other foundations to satisfy the Suns.

"Is the defense a colander?" Durant ranked second in the league in defensive efficiency last season, second only to Rockets star Amen Thompson. Although he is not an all-round defender, he is still a reliable defensive pillar with his top-level height, wingspan and awareness, and is by no means a drag.

"He ruined the team he played for?" We all know why the Nets failed. It really doesn't need to be explained. It's not Durant's fault. As for the Suns, the lineup is too poor, there is no reliable point guard, the center depth is too poor, and the defensive lineup is too poor.

Whether Durant can put on the Rockets' jersey is not only about chip exchange, but also tests Houston's forward-looking judgment on his own destiny - should it ignite the present or accumulate strength? The Suns' price cut off offensive has been launched, and the Rockets' answer is at the forefront.

On one side is Durant's unparalleled temptation of combat power, he can instantly push the Rockets into the Western Conference Championship echelon; on the other side is the huge risk of sacrificing future assets and possible mismatching timelines, and the patience path to protect the growth of young cores. As the draft is getting closer and closer, the Suns and Rockets are about to be announced, and we will wait and see.