Wen Pang: Obviously the Rockets did not offer Durant a maximum salary of 120 million for two years, otherwise the contract extension would have been completed.

October 18th Recently, ESPN reporters Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst talked about the topic of Durant and Ethan's early contract renewal.

Tim Bontemps:

"The Rockets have done a good job of managing their salary structure under general manager Rafael Stone - which will no doubt play a role in Durant's contract situation, but also in the contract of rookie contract early extension candidate Ethan.

" After suffering an ACL last month After tearing the belt, VanVleet is likely to choose to execute a contract worth US$25 million next season (2026-27 season). The Rockets signed Durant and Eason to a contract extension of approximately US$70 million (total salary in a single season), while also avoiding touching the daunting second line of wealthy players - this will allow the Rockets to continue to strengthen the roster, hoping that their lineup is enough to compete with the Thunder.

"If these negotiations were as simple as 'pay Kevin (Durant) as much money as possible' - like Jimmy Butler III's early extension with the Warriors - then this operation (Durant's early extension) may have been completed. So, the expectation from rival teams is that the Rockets are Trying to reach an early contract extension agreement with these two players (Durant, Ethan) and stay below the second-richest line next summer."

Brian Windhorst:

First of all, the Warriors' early contract extension with Butler was reached before the trade (sign-and-trade). It wasn't until the Warriors raised their offer that Butler changed his initial reluctance to join the Warriors. This contract, a last-minute increase in offer price (although it did not include player options), eventually led to the deal (sign-and-trade).

As for Durant—who himself vetoed a trade to the Warriors last winter (in February this year)—he and business partner/agent Rich Kleiman have always been optimistic about eventually reaching an agreement with the Rockets. As Tim Bontemps hinted, the Rockets obviously did not make such an offer to Durant, who is eligible for a two-year maximum salary of 120 million, otherwise the contract (early renewal) would have been completed. Durant has publicly expressed his preference to stay in Houston.

The two sides are obviously currently having some kind of negotiation under the maximum salary. The specific amount is likely to depend on how the Rockets deal with the second-tier wealthy line of the salary cap and the subsequent development of Ethan's contract. There may not be a dramatic conflict here, but it needs to be pointed out: Durant will most likely not be afraid to enter the free agent market.