NBA Analyst Analyzes Kevin Durant Addition to Rockets With Questionable Take

Kevin Durant will not have strong support on the wing in Houston, according to former Grizzlies VP John Hollinger.

NBA Analyst Analyzes Kevin Durant Addition to Rockets With Questionable Take

Kevin Durant Rockets (FS Image)

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As always, Kevin Durant finds himself on the firing line of NBA reporters in subtle, yet clear and obvious ways. On many occasions, KD has been downplayed as a ‘bus rider’, a ‘passenger’ and a ‘non-leader’. Sometimes, this spills over to the way people in the media view and treat the players he teams up with. Often, the media likes to portray teams around him in an unjust and dishonest manner to pressurize him.

Now on the Houston Rockets, Kevin Durant is, for the first time in over 14 years, on a team with no immediate championship expectations. Although the Rockets were the No. 2 seeds last year, their first round exit showed that the roster has a lot of growth still to be made. The likes of Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr have shown enough promise, but they went missing in the crucial games.

Yet, the way that the Durant move has been pushed to NBA fans, many would believe that the team is a true contender as currently constructed. ESPN analyst John Hollinger attempted to pump the brakes on that notion by pointing out a few obvious flaws on the roster. He joined Zach Lowe on his podcast to discuss the move.

One of the things he mentioned as a flaw was very interesting and popped off on NBA Twitter. Specifically, he refused to categorize some of their 3-and-D players and swingmen as true wing players. When Lowe asked him about Dorian Finney-Smith, Tari Eason and Amen Thompson, Hollinger dismissed their identities as wing players:

I think it’s been really good, I do wonder how this is actually gonna play out on the court. I mean, there are no real wings on this team. And there is one point guard that they trust…If you were building a team from scratch, you would have all of them at the 4 (Dorian Finney-Smith, Tari Eason and Amen Thompson).

Hollinger, much like the NBA media he tried to chastize, is himself missing the mark to a certain degree. The Rockets will not necessarily depend on long-range shooting from their wings. In the event that they do, in Fred VanVleet, Kevin Durant and Finney-Smith are still capable of making those shots.

How the Rockets can build around Kevin Durant on offense

One thing that Hollinger got right on the Rockets is that they are sorely lacking in offensive playmaking. This was a problem with the Phoenix Suns in the past two years as well. Devin Booker tailed off as a playmaker in 2024-25, while Tyus Jones couldn’t really get going. Unlike his Thunder tenure or at the Nets, Durant will have a lion’s share of playmaking duties for the Rockets.

Kevin Durant
OKC Kevin Durant (Imagn)

Luckily for him, the Rockets are perhaps the springiest, most explosive team in the league. They have built their identities on being a tough defensive team that can run out in transition. Although he’ll be 37 next season, Kevin Durant has shown during his Nets tenure that he can play on fast teams even after his Achilles tear.

The key for Ime Udoka and the coaching staff would be to utilize Durant as an offensive specialist who can also be a rim protector alongside Alperen Sengun. Durant is still one of the highest-IQ players in the league and can run pick-and-rolls with former teammate Steven Adams when Sengun is off the floor. Sengun will be the primary playmaker when on the floor and can draw defenders off him to give him open looks.

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