Houston patiently waiting to see Kevin Durant's availability

The consistent whispers out of Houston amid its 9-4 start have painted the Rockets as a team that would prefer to wait until the offseason before they seriously consider parting with any of the various prized recent draftees they have amassed. This has been interpreted in some corners of the league, as noted in a recent Sunday notebook, as a strategy designed to give the Rockets more time to see if dream trade target Kevin Durant were to become available down the road … no matter how adamant Phoenix has remained about its desire to keep Durant in the desert.Source: marcstein.substack.com What’s the buzz on Twitter? StatMuse @statmuse Clutch blocks this season: 5 — Cade Cunningham 3 — Kevin Durant The only players with more than two. pic.x.com/Iar9DtV8zf – 12:03 PM Danny Cunningham @RealDCunningham The #Cavs have won 14 straight games and their playing style has started garnering comparisons to the pre-KD Warriors. The Cavs feel inevitable. It always feels like it’s a matter of when, not if. My latest at The Inside Shot open.substack.com/pub/theinsides… pic.x.com/i1c4a3YYEp – 9:42 AM StatMuse @statmuse Luka tonight: 37 PTS 7 REB 9 AST Ties Kevin Durant in all-time 30/5/5 games. pic.x.com/nvt8jrNAtf – 11:21 PM Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin Suns injury report vs. Thunder: OUT: Bradley Beal (left calf strain), Kevin Durant (calf), Collin Gillespie (ankle). QUESTIONABLE: Grayson Allen (hamstring), Jusuf Nurkic (ankle). #Suns pic.x.com/ycsmeEDKUU – 7:37 PM Brandon Rahbar @BrandonRahbar Bradley Beal is out tomorrow vs OKC. Jusuf Nurkic and Grayson Allen are both questionable. KD had already been ruled out. – 7:17 PM Gerald Bourguet @GeraldBourguet Bradley Beal (left calf strain), Kevin Durant (left calf strain) and Collin Gillespie (right ankle fracture) are out for tomorrow’s game against the Thunder. Grayson Allen (right hamstring soreness) and Jusuf Nurkic (left ankle sprain) are both questionable – 6:36 PM Kellan Olson @KellanOlson Bradley Beal (left calf strain) and Kevin Durant (left calf strain) remain out for the Suns tomorrow against the Thunder. Grayson Allen (right hamstring soreness) and Jusuf Nurkic (left ankle sprain) are questionable. – 6:31 PM More on this storyline Many NBA sources assume Durant and the team will wait until the summer when he can add two seasons at $123.8 million ($59.5 million starting salary). -via Bleacher Report / November 16, 2024 Duane Rankin: Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said he has “no idea” if Bradley Beal (calf) will be available for Sunday’s game at Minnesota. On Kevin Durant (calf): “His work ethic is kind of similar with rehab. He gets after it. He’s pushing to get back and be healthy as quick as he can.” #Suns pic.x.com/e64mhPent3 -via Twitter @DuaneRankin / November 15, 2024 The Austin group is represented by former WNBA champion Fran Harris, who is leading the city’s capital raise but has not yet disclosed her lead investor. She would also neither confirm nor deny that Durant will be a minority partner. “I have a team of people who are assisting in the cap raise,” Harris told SBJ. “We are at this point, putting together some strategic people in Austin, because sometimes when you’re putting a raise together, it’s not just about getting one big fish. It’s about who are the other people who are around the table…You kind of round it out with some usual suspects of people who might have attended the University of Texas and play in the NBA.” -via Sports Business Journal / November 15, 2024

Nov 18, 2024 - 02:24
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Houston patiently waiting to see Kevin Durant's availability
The consistent whispers out of Houston amid its 9-4 start have painted the Rockets as a team that would prefer to wait until the offseason before they seriously consider parting with any of the various prized recent draftees they have amassed. This has been interpreted in some corners of the league, as noted in a recent Sunday notebook, as a strategy designed to give the Rockets more time to see if dream trade target Kevin Durant were to become available down the road … no matter how adamant Phoenix has remained about its desire to keep Durant in the desert.
Source: marcstein.substack.com

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

StatMuse @statmuse
Clutch blocks this season:
5 — Cade Cunningham
3 — Kevin Durant
The only players with more than two. pic.x.com/Iar9DtV8zf12:03 PM
Danny Cunningham @RealDCunningham
The #Cavs have won 14 straight games and their playing style has started garnering comparisons to the pre-KD Warriors.
The Cavs feel inevitable. It always feels like it’s a matter of when, not if.
My latest at The Inside Shot
open.substack.com/pub/theinsides… pic.x.com/i1c4a3YYEp9:42 AM
StatMuse @statmuse
Luka tonight:
37 PTS
7 REB
9 AST
Ties Kevin Durant in all-time 30/5/5 games. pic.x.com/nvt8jrNAtf11:21 PM
Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
Suns injury report vs. Thunder:
OUT: Bradley Beal (left calf strain), Kevin Durant (calf), Collin Gillespie (ankle).
QUESTIONABLE: Grayson Allen (hamstring), Jusuf Nurkic (ankle). #Suns pic.x.com/ycsmeEDKUU7:37 PM
Brandon Rahbar @BrandonRahbar
Bradley Beal is out tomorrow vs OKC.
Jusuf Nurkic and Grayson Allen are both questionable.
KD had already been ruled out. – 7:17 PM
Gerald Bourguet @GeraldBourguet
Bradley Beal (left calf strain), Kevin Durant (left calf strain) and Collin Gillespie (right ankle fracture) are out for tomorrow’s game against the Thunder. Grayson Allen (right hamstring soreness) and Jusuf Nurkic (left ankle sprain) are both questionable – 6:36 PM
Kellan Olson @KellanOlson
Bradley Beal (left calf strain) and Kevin Durant (left calf strain) remain out for the Suns tomorrow against the Thunder.
Grayson Allen (right hamstring soreness) and Jusuf Nurkic (left ankle sprain) are questionable. – 6:31 PM

More on this storyline

Duane Rankin: Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said he has “no idea” if Bradley Beal (calf) will be available for Sunday’s game at Minnesota. On Kevin Durant (calf): “His work ethic is kind of similar with rehab. He gets after it. He’s pushing to get back and be healthy as quick as he can.” #Suns pic.x.com/e64mhPent3 -via Twitter @DuaneRankin / November 15, 2024
The Austin group is represented by former WNBA champion Fran Harris, who is leading the city’s capital raise but has not yet disclosed her lead investor. She would also neither confirm nor deny that Durant will be a minority partner. “I have a team of people who are assisting in the cap raise,” Harris told SBJ. “We are at this point, putting together some strategic people in Austin, because sometimes when you’re putting a raise together, it’s not just about getting one big fish. It’s about who are the other people who are around the table…You kind of round it out with some usual suspects of people who might have attended the University of Texas and play in the NBA.” -via Sports Business Journal / November 15, 2024