A head coach and a general manager can have a fluid relationship. When the two are aligned, everything works smoothly. When they aren’t aligned, it leads to organizational implosions. When it comes to the Rockets' trade for Kevin Durant, it looks like head coach Ime Udoka took from the Bill Parcells playbook and went “shopping for the groceries,” and fortunately, everything aligned.
There’s an old adage that sometimes it's “who you know, not what you know.” In this case, Kevin Durant knows quite a bit about basketball, but a relationship from the University of Texas and a prior stint in Brooklyn played a part in getting Durant to Houston.
According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, the Rockets were initially set on moving forward with their young core. This was the commitment that GM Rafael Stone and the front office had made after the Rockets' playoff exit. Udoka had seen success with this approach in his time in Boston, as the Celtics were perennial contenders, so it makes sense that he was on board with this initially. He also saw the “star chasing” approach backfire in his time in Brooklyn as an assistant coach, so he knows what to avoid.
That didn’t mean Udoka didn’t like what he saw in his time with Durant on the Nets. While Durant comes with a reputation for not being a culture guy, Udoka knew enough about his approach and skill set to want Durant in red and white.
"Ime Udoka, who had him in his Brooklyn—Royal Ivey is on his staff—he was his teammate at Texas. He wanted him. He went to ownership and front office and said 'Can we can get Kevin Durant? Get him."Brian Windhorst, ESPN
It also helped that a former teammate who also happened to play with Durant in college was on Udoka's staff. Assistant Royal Ivey’s experience with Durant helped Udoka’s push, making it easier to convince GM Rafael Stone that this was a risk worth taking. Once multiple voices start making a case for a move, it makes it harder to say no. With multiple people pushing Stone to explore a trade, it was wise for him to at least entertain the conversation.
Once that conversation started, it simply came down to asking price. To be able to keep three young potential stars in Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, and Jabari Smith certainly helps. The asking price never gets lower if Udoka doesn't push the front office to ask the question first. Windhorst reported that Durant kept rejecting trades. Durant knows all too well the difficulties in building a contender once the cupboards are bare. It helped lead to his departures in Brooklyn and Phoenix.
To Udoka and Stone, the price and skill obviously matched. But without Udoka's experience with Durant and influence in the organization, Durant potentially ends up on a different contender. Luckily for fans, Udoka pushed the Rockets to make this move. He continues to shape the Rockets both on the court and off. As he does so, he moves the Rockets closer to bringing a championship back to Space City.