According to ESPN reporter Shams Charania on the "NBA Today" show on Wednesday, the Houston Rockets and Kevin Durant's agent Rich Kleiman are in close communication regarding a contract extension.

He then added: "I'm told that both sides are optimistic about completing the extension before the start of the regular season."

The 2025/26 NBA regular season will kick off on October 21st, with the Rockets opening against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. If Charania's report is true, the Rockets and Durant have less than two weeks left to finalize their contract extension.

Durant has only one year left on his contract with the Rockets, with a salary of approximately $54.71 million. Unless he reaches an extension in advance, he will become a free agent after the 2025-26 season.

With the projected $166 million salary cap for the 2026-27 season, the 37-year-old Durant is eligible to sign a two-year extension worth $119.1 million. About six months after the extension is completed, that amount will increase to $120 million.

The Rockets were once cautious about renewing Durant's contract with a maximum salary due to his age. The two sides may eventually reach an agreement on a two-year, $100 million contract extension, which is slightly lower than Durant's current contract.

As for the contract renewal arrangements, there are reports that the Rockets plan to finalize a new contract with Tali Eason before Durant. He also pointed out that the order of renewal is not a key factor.

Durant, the second overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, has played for the Seattle SuperSonics (predecessors of the Oklahoma City Thunder), Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets, and Phoenix Suns. He has played 1,123 regular-season games, averaging 27.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game. He has been selected to the All-Star team 15 times, the All-NBA team six times, and has been named the 2014 MVP.

Durant also made great contributions to the Warriors' defense of the NBA championship from 2017 to 2018, and was named Finals MVP twice.