maybe if Jaylen Brown indicates he’s willing to be in BK long-term…if not, BK could be looking at having to trade Brown in just a year for whatever value they can get or lose him for nothing in free agency…so that’s the risk with the Boston deal Maxey has star potential and would be under team control for many years to come
The 76ers deal is better for Houston ? How many games can Brooklyn win ? i don’t see a playoff team for sure
I have my doubts that the Boston deal was legit. The last few Boston trades have come out of the blue and didn’t get discussed in the media in advance. I think that was something Brooklyn leaked to try to set a market for Durant and while there may have been some truth to part of it, clearly Brooklyn had an interest in leaking it more to suit their preferences.
The range of outcomes from that lineup are gigantic. I think they would trade Irving once Durant is traded is an almost certainty. Simmons could be traded mid season. All for young players and picks. Go for a top ten pick this year (either their own or the Rockets) then transition next year to trying to compete I guess by trading the picks for a few players. Convoluted but makes the most sense in the position they’re in.
Nets traded 24 and 26 to Houston - no swapping. But even if they could - this doesn't look nearly as good as Gobert and i highly doubt the Nets are going to sell low to Philadelphia of all places. It's just not going to happen. Twitter goofballs have tried this rumor back when the Durant demand news first broke and it's still not really credible: Philadelphia doesn't have draft capital to trade, therefore no trade is likely.
I am surprised the Blazers haven't been mentioned as a player for KD. I don't know that he wants to go there, but for the Nets, a deal getting back Simmons, Sharpe, Little, Nurkic + 4-5 FRPs + swaps would seem to me like a decent trade. All the players are young with the exception of Nurkic who is mid-career (Sharpe is a major unknown right now -- big upside but big downside if he flops). You trade KD to a team with Dame, Jeremi Grant, Josh Hart, GP2, etc. and you'd be banking on a declining + ageing KD and ageing Dame giving you some good value 2-3 years post trade. Also keep in mind in the West a Blazers with KD would be no slam dunk to go deep in the playoffs, and we could see discontent out of him after a season or two. To me, that return and possibility of good draft collateral after a few years would be more interesting than a Celtics deal where the Nets get less draft collateral in return and trade KD to a younger Celtics team with a superstar that is entering his prime but get more "win now" ready players.
I get what you are saying - I think it’s unlikely as well but there are ways for Philly to acquire draft capital in a transaction but of course it would require Morey to gut much of the team and basically the team would hinge on Durant/Harden/Embid at that point without much top end talent around them-just aging ring chasers similar to what Brooklyn failed with…but yes, it’s possible if Morey goes “all in” on 3 stars or bust.
The so you are saying bit doesn't hold up well especially when it doesn't accurately reflect the other side. If you want to take down someone's argument give it the strongest honest defense and then just shoot it down with your reasoning. I did say the following and have referenced KD being 34 and injured in almost all of my posts "A lot of things are going to change and these older players are phasing out and don't have the same leverage anymore because they cannot produce." Kyrie - Never said he was washed because of age or talent. People don't like Kyrie because he appears to not care about BASKETBALL above his ego or any number of a hundred other things given which way the wind blows. He is either hurt or disinterested. Still an excellent player when on the court but UNRELIABLE. That is what killed his market, not his age. Those will be the same questions next year when he is a FA that killed his market this year. If this was Kyrie 4 years ago, I would make every effort to get him next year in FA. It is quite clear why that is now a bad idea. He is a star chaser and wants to play with LBJ until he decides to retire a few weeks and picks another team of stars. This is why people respect Giannis, Lillard, Beal, KD - Like LBJ both are older, have nagging injuries and miss a lot of games. Both have incredibly inflated egos and unlike other players in their same position with those facts STILL possess an imbalanced perceived value. KD, IMHO, is a bad deal that I wouldn't want for what it costs (ie assets). If I could sign him outright of course you would. However, AT THIS TIME, he is still arguably the best player in the NBA and his value will reflect that at the time of this trade. Teams and KD expect someone to overpay for him for win now ability.
No way Maxey is close to a centerpiece in a Durant deal.....I mean, the Nets are probably only getting half of what they're asking for, but....still, more than Maxey.
The narrative back then was that Harden wanted out because he was mad at Durant for siding with Kyrie. I think there was a report that Harden and Durant hadn't been talking to each other for a long time or something like that.
That is correct and it's SO much easier than this. Harden wanted out of Houston because he was tired of having to carry the load alone. Draymond outright admitted they couldn't beat Harden straight up but they could wait him out when he got tired. He went to be with his friend again. Someone he knew would carry his end...and then he didn't. In two seasons, Harden got to play with that team 16 TIMES. 16 TIMES. He always wanted to win and be called a winner. It's clear that is all he ever wanted. For all of his faults, which there are many, they pale in comparison to his greatness and every other player knows that including Snake. 76ers would win the chip but I don't believe this trade happens. Outside of an Atlanta or other team I think the Celtics get this done.
