Kevin Durant was an All-NBA Second Team selection in 2025-26, so it’s not as if the Houston Rockets regret their trade to acquire him in the 2025 offseason.
Yet, the deal did come at a cost — namely, two starters (Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green) from the previous season’s team, which finished with the No. 2 record (52-30) in the Western Conference.
The idea was that Durant would upgrade Green’s efficiency as Houston’s top scorer, and the defense and leadership of Brooks could at least be partly replaced by a subsequent free agency signing (Dorian Finney-Smith).
But Finney-Smith was never close to healthy, and he is now no longer on the roster. The 2025-26 Rockets finished with an identical record to the previous season, as the Durant upgrade was offset by declines (and injuries) elsewhere.
So, in their second attempt to fill those gaps, the Rockets recently signed veteran defensive ace Marcus Smart. In a new interview with Space City Home Network’s Vanessa Richardson, head coach Ime Udoka explained:
He’s obviously a great player, and one that checks a lot of boxes for what we lacked at times last year. The defensive versatility that he brings is huge for us, and playing with a lot of different lineups.
It kind of sets a tone, a lot of what we were missing with Dillon (Brooks) leaving. He’s one of those guys that, every night, brings a certain amount of toughness and physicality. And then he’s another point guard out there. A cerebral, high IQ guy that can make big shots and make big plays.
Smart was the NBA’s 2021-22 Defensive Player of the Year when he played for Udoka with the Boston Celtics. And though he’s a few years older now, the 32-year-old is believed to be fully healthy. (By contrast, Finney-Smith underwent ankle surgery before signing with the Rockets a year ago.)
In terms of the comparison, there are at least some differences. For starters, Brooks is 6-foot-7, while Smart is 6-foot-3.
But as Udoka said, Smart does play with a level of “toughness and physicality” that allows him to successfully guard larger players.
Offensively, Brooks is a better perimeter shooter, while Smart has the advantage with ball-handling and passing. But with Durant now on the roster and veteran guard Fred VanVleet returning from a serious knee injury, it could be argued that Smart’s set of guard skills is even more important.
Regardless, it’s the defensive end of the court that has become Houston’s identity under Udoka. After inconsistency on that end of the court throughout 2025-26, the hope is that Smart’s arrival will do for the 2026-27 group what Brooks did for the 2024-25 version.
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Can Marcus Smart fill Houston’s Dillon Brooks hole? Ime Udoka shares optimism
Reporting by Ben DuBose, Rockets Wire / Rockets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ben DuBose, Rockets Wire | USA TODAY Network
