Houston Rockets 2025 Offseason: Durant Lands in Houston, Finney-Smith Adds Defense
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HOUSTON — September 12, 2025: The Rockets spent the summer reshaping their roster around a headline acquisition of Kevin Durant while fine-tuning the supporting cast on both ends of the floor.
Major Transactions
Blockbuster trade: Houston emerged as the centerpiece of a seven-team deal that delivered Durant from Phoenix and brought center Clint Capela from Atlanta via sign-and-trade. To complete the package, the Rockets sent Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, David Roddy (two-way), the rights to No. 10 pick Khaman Maluach, No. 59 pick Jahmai Mashack, several conditional second-round selections stretching to 2031, and $85,300 in cash to various partners in the deal.
Additional trade: Forward Cam Whitmore was flipped to Washington in a three-team arrangement that returned the draft rights to Mojave King plus Chicago’s 2026 and Sacramento’s 2029 second-round picks.
Free-Agent Signings and Re-signings
- Dorian Finney-Smith — four years, $52.705 million; third season non-guaranteed, fourth-year player option, 3.232% trade kicker (non-taxpayer mid-level).
- Fred VanVleet — two years, $50 million; second-year player option (Early Bird).
- Clint Capela — three years, $21.105 million; 5% trade kicker (Bird via sign-and-trade).
- Jeff Green, Aaron Holiday, Jae’Sean Tate, Josh Okogie, Cameron Matthews — one-year minimum contracts (Matthews non-guaranteed Exhibit 9).
Two-Way Contracts
- Isaiah Crawford — $85,300 partial guarantee (rising to $318,218 when the season opens).
- JD Davison — same structure as Crawford.
- Kevon Harris — $25,000 partial guarantee.
Roster Changes and Extensions
- Jabari Smith Jr. secured a five-year, $122 million rookie-scale extension beginning in 2026-27.
- Steven Adams added three years and $39 million to remain through 2027-28.
- Centers Jock Landale and wing Jeenathan Williams were waived from non-guaranteed deals.
Cap Snapshot
Houston is operating above the $154.6 million salary cap and sits over the $187.9 million luxury-tax threshold at roughly $194.7 million in committed salary. The club is hard-capped at $195.945 million, leaving only $1.404 million of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception and a $3.539 million traded-player exception unused.
What’s Next
With only 14 guaranteed contracts, the Rockets cannot fill the final roster slot until January without breaching the hard cap. Attention now turns to extension talks:
- Kevin Durant is eligible for an extension all season. Reports indicate negotiations continue, but Houston has so far resisted offering a full two-year maximum that would cover his age-38 and age-39 campaigns.
- Tari Eason faces an October 20 deadline for a rookie-scale extension. Failure to reach agreement would push the forward into restricted free agency in 2026.
The Rockets will also evaluate future commitments to Amen Thompson when he becomes extension-eligible next summer, making cost control on Eason and any Durant deal critical.
Houston enters training camp with a retooled core highlighted by Durant’s scoring punch, Finney-Smith’s defense on the wing, and added depth at center, positioning the club to chase a deeper postseason run in 2025-26.
Source: Hoops Rumors
