The Minnesota Timberwolves heavily pursued Kevin Durant during the trade deadline and this summer. Ultimately, Durant wasn't open to landing in Minnesota, and he ended up with the Houston Rockets. Durant's extension was a big factor in trade talks, and he reportedly wouldn't have signed that extension with the Wolves. Now, it wasn't guaranteed that the Wolves would have given Durant his full two-year $122 million extension. However, if Durant was open to landing in Minnesota, given their interest in him, it's likely that the Wolves would have offered KD at least a similar contract.
Recently, ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported that the Rockets are unlikely to give Durant his full extension.
"The Rockets aren't gonna go all-in, by all appearances and by what I've heard, they're not going all-in on an extension for Kevin Durant," MacMahon said. "Now, doesn't mean it won't happen, but there've been rumblings KD's not gonna push for the full max. I don't know that the Rockets are going to put anything on the table that's close to the max. I think the Rockets are -- like it's not ideal -- but I don't think they'd panic if they go into the season with Kevin Durant just on the contract that he's on, just on the expiring."
From the Rockets' standpoint, it's understandable for them to be apprehensive about giving a soon-to-be 37-year-old such a large contract, especially considering his injury history. After this recent report, it's hard for Wolves fans not to smile about how the Durant-sweepstakes played out. While Minnesota missed out on Durant, it's ironic that one of his desired landing spots might end up not extending him.
The Wolves could have given Durant the best of both worlds
Durant's lack of interest in Minnesota never really added up. The Wolves have made back-to-back conference finals and would offer Durant a chance to compete for a title. Furthermore, he has a known friendship with Anthony Edwards. Given these factors, it was somewhat surprising that Durant wasn't open to landing with the Wolves.
Undoubtedly, the Rockets offer Durant a significant chance to compete for a championship as well. The Rockets don't have the same playoff experience as a core that the Wolves do. Nevertheless, the Rockets were just the No. 2 seed and have a talented young core that they were able to mostly keep intact despite trading for Durant.
These extension reports are coming nearly two months after the trade went down. However, this shouldn't be news to Durant's camp, who certainly talked to all interested teams about a possible extension. Perhaps Durant takes a slight pay cut, and the two sides agree to an extension before the season starts. Another scenario, as MacMahon noted, is that Durant enters the year on an expiring deal. This is certainly risky for Durant.
Ultimately, while the Rockets benefit Durant from a title contention standpoint, Houston also poses a risk if the two sides can't agree to an extension. If they agree to an extension, it looks like Durant will have to sacrifice some money, which he might be happy to do. Still, Durant likely could have had a similar chance to compete for a title with the safety of an extension in Minnesota.