On Sunday afternoon, the Phoenix Suns officially ended the Kevin Durant trade sweepstakes by dealing the superstar to the Houston Rockets, per Shams Charania of ESPN. The Rockets sent back a package including Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, five second round picks, and this year's number ten overall picks.

Let's take a look at where these two teams might rank in the Western Conference landscape following the blockbuster deal.

Rockets: 2nd seed in West

Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green (4) and forward Dillon Brooks (9) defend against Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) during the third quarter at Toyota Center.
Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

In theory, it wouldn't make sense for the Rockets, who were already the second seed in the Western Conference this past year, to remain in that position after trading for a future Hall of Famer in Durant, who is still producing at a level at least close to where he was in his prime.

However, this is more about the greatness of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have a chance to win their first NBA championship on Sunday evening, than it is a slight against the Rockets, who are clearly a more dangerous team now but might suffer through some growing pains early on as they look to integrate Durant into the fold.

Houston's biggest weakness–their halfcourt offense–has been seemingly remedied, but it's also worth considering that the Thunder will have various avenues to improve this offseason, even if they do end up winning the whole thing.

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Suns: 13th seed in West

Phoenix Suns guard Grayson Allen (8) and guard Devin Booker (1) and guard Bradley Beal (3) and forward Royce O'Neale (00) and forward Kevin Durant (35) huddle up before the final seconds of the fourth quarter at Golden 1 Center.
Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

Few teams have undergone as swift a fall from grace as the Phoenix Suns have since their 2021 NBA Finals appearance.

Last year, the Suns missed out on not only the playoffs but the play-in tournament as well, and are now a considerably worse team with Durant out of the picture.

That, combined with the fact that the San Antonio Spurs will almost assuredly take a major leap in 2025-26, as well as other teams like the New Orleans Pelicans and maybe even the Portland Trail Blazers being candidates to surpass the Suns next year, make it so that the only team the Suns appear to be definitively better than at the current moment is the Utah Jazz.

So, in a way, 13th is looking at things glass half full.