Overview
- Kevin Durant told reporters Tuesday that he opposes a preset reduction in his playing time and wants to be available when the team needs him.
- Durant logged a heavy workload in 2025-26, appearing in 78 regular-season games for 2,840 minutes, then suffered ankle-related injuries that limited him to one playoff game as Houston lost the first-round series in six.
- Rockets coach Ime Udoka and GM Rafael Stone have discussed lowering Durant’s minutes, but team officials appear to prefer managing his load organically rather than imposing a hard cap.
- Houston added and will get back veterans who expand the rotation—Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams are returning and Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanovic were added—which gives the coach more options to rest Durant situationally.
- Durant said those playoff injuries were contact-related rather than fatigue-driven and agreed to sit in lopsided late-game situations, leaving a tense but unresolved workload issue as training camp opens and the season approaches.