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Kevin Durant #7 of the Houston Rockets looks on in the second half while playing the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on January 23, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan.
Since Feb. 1, the Houston Rockets hold an 11-9 record with a negative net rating — a concerning trend for a team that started the season 30-17 and had the fifth-shortest odds to win the NBA championship.
Amid the Rockets’ struggles, Kevin Durant has copped a lot of flak, with fans, analysts and even former teammates blaming his burner controversy for creating disharmony in the locker room. Rockets legend Vernon Maxwell is the latest to voice his issues about Ime Udoka’s team not rallying around Durant.
“This s—t is crazy,” Maxwell told “All the Smoke” podcast [H/T Basketball Network].
“It’s so much s—t going on over there in Houston, man.”
“Like I said last year, all we need was KD. We got KD — a guy to roll the ball out to get you a bucket. But now everybody’s standing around watching KD.
“And I mean, s—t, it’s just — I mean, I don’t know. They said some s—t about some secret page KD did and talked about some of the players on the team, and they split the goddamn guys up.”
Kevin Durant Burner Controversy
The “secret page” Maxwell mentioned was a reference to Durant allegedly using burner accounts on social media to criticize some of his teammates, specifically Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith.
“Guys don’t like to high five each other no more,” Maxwell said of the Rockets.
“No s—t. Everybody don’t want to bump chest no more with each other. Everybody just — it’s just split up the whole team.”
“So I don’t know, man. It’s a lot of s—t going on out there in Houston.”
Rockets in Turmoil?
ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins has also blamed Duran’s burner controversy for the Rockets’ recent struggles.
“I see a disconnect in this organization,” Perkins told “The Road Trippin’” podcast.
“In my mind, I’m starting to think, I don’t see a lot of high fives, chest bumping, are they over the allegations of the burner account? The KD burner account. Are they over these allegations? Because since the All-Star break, when those allegations came out, this team hasn’t been clicking.”
Durant himself has faced his fair share of struggles recently. After scoring just two second-half points in Monday’s 100-92 loss to the Lakers, he took accountability for the lack of cohesion in his team’s offense.
“I just felt like I lost the game for us tonight,” said Durant after committing seven turnovers against the Lakers, via ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
“It’s that simple. Of course we probably could make more 3s, but it’s on me. I mean, to be honest, I’m the offense and the opposing team is going to use all their resources and not let me get comfortable.”
Durant admitted that the Rockets were a different team without Sengun, who sat out Monday’s game with lower back soreness.
“I just feel like it just makes us stagnant,” Durant said of the Rockets without Sengun.
Luckily for Houston, Sengun has been cleared to return for Wednesday’s rematch against the Lakers. The crucial game will determine the tiebreaker between the two conference rivals locked in a close battle for the third seed in the West.
Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan
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