After a first-round exit at the hands of the Golden State Warriors in a hard-fought seven game series, the Houston Rockets signalled their intention to make the jump into true championship contention this offseason with the blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant.
A likely season-ending knee injury for Fred VanVleet has thrown those contention hopes into chaos, but while that's certainly front of mind for the Rockets right now, there's also another potential Durant concern they may have to deal with.
The Rockets still haven't got Kevin Durant on a new contract
Part of the reason Houston got Durant relatively cheaply in a trade sense this offseason was because he's entering the final year of his contract, having subsequently reduced the leverage the Phoenix Suns had in negotiations.
But while there was and still is a sense of expectation that the Rockets will extend Durant's contract beyond 2026, the absence of a deal to this point has raised some concern within league circles.
The Athletic's Sam Amick even mentioned Durant's final year with the Warriors as a reason why the Rockets might want to be careful, having joined The Ringer's Zach Lowe to discuss the topic on a recent episode of his podcast.
It would make me a little nervous. I mean this is a game-changing, X-factor move for a Rockets team that obviously made the choice to speed up their timeline," Amick said. "I've seen Kevin Durant in the last year of his deal before and it's not necessarily a great thing."
There was also some surprise given that trades of this magnitude are usually accompanied with a new contract, the likes of which we saw when Golden State gave Jimmy Butler a new two-year, $110 million extension upon his arrival to the franchise in February.
Many including Lowe and Amick have pointed to the fact the Rockets are trying to get an extension done with Tari Eason before a Durant deal is forthcoming, but that's fraught with danger if this drags into the season where it can then become a distraction.
Durant's final year with the Warriors was full of controversy and speculation regarding his future, having really reached boiling point when the 2x Finals MVP and Draymond Green got into a now infamous argument on the sidelines during a game against the L.A. Clippers in November.
Durant would unsurprisingly depart Golden State in the 2019 offseason, joining forces with Kyrie Irving at the Brooklyn Nets. The Warriors at least won two championships and had three trips to the NBA Finals during Durant's tenure, with the Rockets now facing a potential problem before the 36-year-old even takes to the floor in their uniform.