The Rockets entered this season as NBA Finals favorites, a franchise that had just posted back-to-back 52-win seasons, added a superstar in the prime of his second act, and genuinely believed its window had arrived. What followed was a 20-point blowout loss on their home floor in Game 6, a second consecutive first-round exit, and a night so bad it ranked among the lowest-scoring playoff games in franchise history. Yet, according to a report from Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports, Houston’s front office has already made up its mind on the two men most likely to face calls for accountability. Neither Kevin Durant nor Ime Udoka is going anywhere.

“At this juncture, there are no plans to move on from either Udoka or general manager Rafael Stone, sources told Yahoo Sports,” Iko reported. “Ownership has remained steadfast in its belief in a three-pronged leadership sector because of a combination of the turnaround in recent years and consecutive 50-win seasons, the latter of which was marked by major injuries, resulting in confidence from the top down.”

The internal reasoning is grounded in what the front office believes this team looks like at full strength. “One of the prevailing internal beliefs concerning this roster is assuming that VanVleet and Adams are healthy, along with Durant, the Rockets aren’t too far removed from Western Conference powers Oklahoma City and San Antonio,” Iko added. It is a reading of the situation that requires significant charitable projection, but it is also not entirely without basis.

Kevin Durant missed all but one game of the series with knee and ankle ailments, and the compounding effect of losing Fred VanVleet to a season-ending injury before the campaign even began, alongside the absence of Steven Adams, left Houston without its shot creator, its floor general, and one of its best possession extenders simultaneously.

Udoka named the specific void Durant’s absence created in terms that were hard to argue with. “It’s nights like this where guys are struggling, you want a 25-, 26-point scorer on the efficiency and the way he does it to avoid some of these nights. Myself and the coaches said that these are the nights you have him for. Throughout the season, he carried us on nights like this,” Udoka said.

Without that carrier, Houston shot 35% from the field and 17.9% from three in Game 6, turning the ball over 14 times and getting dominated on the glass in a performance that was, as Iko described it, a microcosm of the entire series.

Ime Udoka, for his part, did not deflect the result. “Everybody’s disappointed. Not what we expected coming into the game tonight or the series in general. We all thought we’d be taking it back for Game 7. But to your point, a tough night for a lot of guys. It’s tough when a lot of guys are struggling like that, and we need somebody to step up,” Udoka said following the elimination.

He also acknowledged the pattern that has become the defining storyline of his tenure in Houston. “It feels like two years in a row in the playoffs getting behind the 8-ball a little bit,” he said.

The Rockets lost three of the first four games to a Lakers side missing both Luka Doncic for the entire series and Austin Reaves for most of it, a fact that sits uncomfortably alongside the front office’s confidence in the current leadership structure.

The Summer Ahead Will Determine Whether That Confidence Is Warranted

The decision to retain Udoka and Stone clears the fog around the coaching question, but it only opens the door to a more complicated set of conversations about personnel. Udoka said he and Stone will sit down “ASAP” to discuss the roster, with the Rockets holding eight players under contract for next season but a significant number of pressing decisions to resolve.

Tari Eason will become a restricted free agent, with the sides having come close to a deal worth more than $100 million before October’s deadline, and Amen Thompson is eligible for a five-year extension worth more than $250 million. The cap sheet is filling up, and that is before addressing whether Durant, who can opt out after the 2026-27 season, actually wants to remain in Houston if the franchise cannot demonstrate a credible path to a title.

There is no guarantee the Rockets will want to bring Durant back long-term, particularly given he will be 38 years old next season and has shown a willingness to request trades when he does not believe his team is a legitimate contender.

Sources told Iko that nothing is off the table in terms of roster upgrades, with the Rockets confirmed to be in the conversation for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Houston owning five picks in the next three drafts, and a variety of young players who could form a compelling trade package for Milwaukee.

The offensive structure also needs to be addressed at its roots. Bleacher Report identified the need for a true floor general capable of making jumpers off the dribble and generating ball and body movement in the half-court as the primary gap, pointing to names like LaMelo Ball, Donovan Mitchell, and Darius Garland as high-profile targets, alongside options like Tyler Herro and Payton Pritchard.

Iko’s report draws a clear line under the question of accountability; ownership is not blaming its coach or its front office for what happened in the first round. The argument they are making internally is that a fully healthy version of this roster, one that has not yet existed for a single playoff game, represents a different proposition entirely.

That is either a reasonable assessment of an injury-plagued season or a significant case of institutional loyalty overriding honest evaluation. The summer will reveal which of those readings is closer to the truth.