Rafael Stone says Kevin Durant wants to remain with the Houston Rockets, with the team set to discuss a new contract at the end of the season as the NBA playoffs picture continues to shape their long-term plans.
The Rockets general manager said Durant has made it clear how happy he is in Houston and stressed that the fit has been strong since the veteran forward arrived. That matters because Durant is 37 and already sits at the centre of Houston's future thinking, with his current deal moving toward a 2027-28 player option.
Stone's message was straightforward. Durant, he said, is happy in Houston, has been a good teammate and simply wants to play. For a Rockets team trying to build something stable in the Western Conference, that is exactly the sort of response a front office wants to hear.
Durant's first season gave Houston a clear direction
On the court, Durant gave Houston the production expected of him. In the 2025-26 season, he averaged 26.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, while shooting 52 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from three-point range.
Those numbers explain why the Rockets view him as more than a short-term addition. Even at 37, he remains a high-level scorer who can change the shape of a playoff run, and Houston's front office now has to decide how to manage that value over the next phase of the team's rise.
The contract question is now the key storyline
Stone said the Rockets will sit down with Durant at the end of this year as he reaches the player option on his contract. Until then, his future remains a focal point, and the expectation is that there is mutual interest in him returning beyond the upcoming season.
That does not remove the business side of the conversation. Houston still wants to see whether it can remain a factor in the Western Conference playoff race, and that competitive position will matter when the front office starts talking about what comes next.
Why Houston believes the fit works
Stone's comments also pointed to culture as much as talent. Durant, he said, fits because he wants to hoop, and that mentality has already been welcomed inside the organization.
That is important for a Rockets group built around younger pieces such as Alperen Şengün, Amen Thompson and Jabari Smith Jr., with Fred VanVleet also part of the wider mix. A veteran star can only help if the fit works in the locker room as well as on the floor, and Houston believes that is already the case.
The Rockets will now try to turn that alignment into something more lasting. They reached the playoffs last season and lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round after Durant was limited to one postseason appearance because of injury, a reminder that the margin in the NBA playoffs can be very small.
For Houston, the next step is simple enough to say, even if it is harder to achieve: keep Durant happy, keep competing, and make sure the contract conversation becomes a formality rather than a problem.
