Shams on Pat McAfee show saying Rockets and Kevin Durant had mutual interest in trade

I seriously cannot see FVV signing for under 25 million

Rocket River

 

Amen is, but Tari most certainly is not. (which isn't to say I'd move him in a deal for KD)

 

Unless Durant forces a trade he won’t come here. Some team will outbid Houston.

 

Depends on guaranteed years--if the Rockets guarantee enough years I bet he'd take $20M AAV. I don't see any teams this offseason who I'd expect to offer him even that much, hardly anybody has cap space, and the few who do are pretty set at PG. If you go under $20M though, you're competing with full MLE bidders, and I'm sure there would be plenty of those.

 

Some of you guys wanting to include Sheppard in a Durant deal are seriously retar ded

 

Wrong thread

 

The Rockets don’t need to trade for a 37 year old player. Unless it costs us almost nothing.

The Rockets will to continue to improve because of all the young players that are just getting started. Cam and Sheppard are 20 years old and we have another first rounder this summer. If the Rockets play this right they could be contending for many years to come.

 

I'm not disagreeing with you about what was reported. You are correct about that as shown here. What I am going on are sources from earlier than that time. Not something reported. To answer your question about "How does that sound like KD demanding out and initiating his exit?" Here is where I will make my assumptions.

1. All of the fire coming out of PHX for 6 months has been about KD being traded. Nothing about Booker wanting out or the Suns wanting to improve their roster, just KD is getting traded. Ishbia who has flatly stated he would not trade KD prior to the deadline tried to do exactly that with multiple teams. Like Butler (not the same contract), that doesn't happen without KD and his agent's foreknowledge. KD would want an extension, approval of the team. As we saw, KD WANTED to be traded to Timberwolves, Rockets, Knicks, Heat, Spurs. NOT GSW. Mutual interest means the Suns had to check with KD beforehand. As repeated he turned them down when they had a deal with GSW. Suns went about this for WEEKS. Before that they tried everything they could to appease Durant for MONTHS. Desperately so. They foolishly traded their 2031 pick for worthless picks to provide some magical "flexibility." In the meantime they squandered a 1st to dump Nurkic and got Richards. They tried to dump Beal all over the NBA with no takers. They exhausted every option but deal with Houston seriously. Houston WAS interested according to this and other reports. Good for Stone not caving to match what GSW offered, again desperately. At the last minute, I believe GSW offered up what they did for Butler because they had so desperately offered it up for Durant.

2. KD doesn't want to play for GSW. If I am him, I play nice with Curry and Green and don't cause drama. My ego is hurt. I don't appreciate the way my injury was handled and I don't like the way I left that team. I am not better off since leaving GSW. I was called a snake for going there and then felt like the third wheel while I was there. Legacy.

3. Reporting is marketing. Nothing gets out for the most part that is not curated. Ishbia has put up this facade that is ironclad about pressing forward as is but behind the scenes frantically doing the opposite. Its logical when everyone knows you're screwed. Why was KD not upset? This is best for KD and the Suns. KD is not a malcontent for wanting out of yet another bad situation. The Suns are viewed as a team that tried everything it could to get better. It is a PR spin that serves their interests. To Draymond, "of course I would have liked to come back but leaving in the middle of the season and uprooting everything just didn't feel right."

4. Honestly, we shouldn't but I do have a feeling like Lucy with the football we will get outbid for Durant unless he just makes it clear he wants to come here or like I said he and Harden get connected.

 

If OKC wins 70 games he’ll go there

 

The fit with Durant is perfect if healthy. If it is one pick or two with one being highly protected Rockets’ pick with no more than a one year extension it would be a slam dunk. FVV needs to be the player going out. Amen, Jalen, Durant, Jabari, Sengun. Reed, Dillon, Tari, Cam, and an MLE big that can shoot. OKC and Boston would be your only real competition if everybody else stands pat (unlikely).

 

Return back to where he started...that's the excuse.

 

Lol exactly. Dude wants the easiest path possible.

 

Explain to me how that works. Dort, Hartenstein, Joe and picks? OKC may be a championship team and they are going to carve that up for 38 year old Durant?

OKC is OPTIMIZED and at the top with crazy draft assets that are going to get squandered because there is no room for them. Not the worst problem to have. We are highly DISORDERED where the majority of our salary are in assets that can and will be removed but still achieving just under their level. OKC has no desire or incentive to break up their COMPLETE team. We know we have to make changes to our team.

 

Here’s the problem…

I’d trade for him. As long as it doesn’t involve any of our roster.

…there’s that

 

They’re hella delusional if that’s the case, they have no kind of leverage considering KD’s old, injury prone, and already wants out anyway. Only way they get any kind off haul is if they trade Booker, which I definitely see happening considering they have no picks and very little cap space if any to work with

 

I could see the Suns getting their picks back in a Durant trade.

 

Nope

I rather keep on an eye on Giannis. He seems frustrated in Milwaukee

 

I only see protected picks coming back to them.

 

Instead of trading for someone that is old and will enrouage at least one player of our core to take a backseat, trade for complimentary guys that amplify our core's strengths.

Think about how BOS developed its team: no need for a big 3 if the team is good enough.

If you ask me, we already have a big 3, AND we still have ammo to acquire players to surround ours.

Depending on where the PHX pick lands, here a list of trade targets:

Long shots but perfect in terms of fit and timeline:
Jaren Jackson Jr. (taking into account the imminent extensions to Amen and Jabari/Tari[?], would the salaries even work?)
Austin Reaves (tempt LA into drafting someone that fits around Luka and Lebron)

Three more good fits; more attainable than the two above:
PJ Washington
Naz Reid
Myles Turner

And...
Derrick White - perhaps the riskiest trade target on this list because his value is at an all-time high atm, plus he's older than the rest of the guys here... BUT!
- BOS has to let go of one big contract, and they might want to get younger esp if they don't repeat this year.
- he entered the NBA late and barely played in two of his ten seasons.
- he can both replace and play alongside fred.
- he gives some level of rim protection that the current team lacks esp when we go small
- sometimes you gotta overpay (in a trade) to construct a contender.

One last name to consider: Deandre Ayton
- finals exp; hope he's over himself and no longer yearns to be a star.
- Sengun-Ayton double big lineups? Let Steve-O pass the torch.
- Athleticism compliments Jalen and Amen.

Don't use the pick (unless you are getting Flagg - duh). Not worth slowing down our timeline for other young guys that would take too long to develop. There are already so many good NBA players that are ready to contribute to a contender.