Kevin Durant detailed his vision for the Houston Rockets and explained how the Phoenix Suns' roster construction ultimately doomed the team despite their star power. Durant acknowledged his own disappointment with how the championship window closed for the Suns.
"I wanted to retire in Phoenix," Durant said in mid-September. "But the picture in your head doesn't always come to fruition."
Durant attributed Phoenix's first-round sweep and playoff miss to a fundamental lack of frontcourt depth. The Suns' acquisition of Bradley Beal further limited roster flexibility after trading Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson and four unprotected first-round picks for Durant.
"Our best lineups were me at the five with four guards that were under 6'5," he said. "That's a horrible formula to win basketball games at a high level, especially when teams are consciously getting bigger."
Durant rejected the narrative that his acquisition caused the downfall. Instead, he identified inadequate personnel construction as the core problem.
Durant expressed genuine commitment to remaining with Houston for the remainder of his career. He emphasized the Rockets' organizational approach, noting other franchises valued young player development over immediate contention.
"I think other teams valued growing their younger players and draft picks," Durant said. "I'm a veteran, now 37 years old, with a high price tag. Not a lot of people in the league wanted to make that move to change the franchise and add me to the equation."
He appreciated Houston's defensive identity and deep talent pool spanning multiple scoring options. Ime Udoka's straightforward approach also resonated with Durant.
"I'm looking to be here as long as I can, play my last years of my career," Durant said. "That's the intent. I would love to do that. I mean, I'm 37 years old and I'm going on 19 years in the league. I want to be solidified in a spot and build with a team with a group of guys that's going to be around for a while. So hopefully this is it."