yeah Suns fans say he can’t put the ball on the floor and he doesn’t hold up defensively. If we go after him this summer we need to be careful not to give up too much.
KD’s no longer trying in PHX…they’re not even a play-in team and it’s basically already been agreed upon that he’s getting traded this summer KD is on his “I’m just here so I don’t get fined” arc
I agree with both @Reeko and @Aruba77. I think you are going to see Durant put in minimal effort for the rest of the year.
I don't know what's brought on the decline either .... or if it is a decline at all. He's only had 2 seasons where he's shot above 36.5% from 3 and there were 3 seasons between the two while his career average is .355. This year's 34% doesn't seem like much of an anomaly .... maybe the two really good years were the anomalies? Yeah. he'd probably be a minor upgrade over Jalen but not enough that I'd spend the assets to make it happen and then there's the contract that will pay him $20m more than Jalen. Yeah, not my favorite trade target either .... As much as I b!tch about Jalen, I'd rather just keep him and hope he improves rather than trade for Booker. On that note (favorite trade target), I really don't know who I'd want ideally .... Just about all of the options are flawed in one way or another. Too old, too expensive, Fit. I'm beginning to think the target will be someone that isn't currently obvious. According to BBR, Booker hasn't played a single minute at PG. Link below - scroll down to Play by Play. Devin Booker Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more | Basketball-Reference.com
Call me crazy, but I'd rather have Lauri than KD if you're looking for that archetype (tall, bad-defense jump shooter). Lauri's contract is looking bad right now and he's having a down season--probably totally checked out playing for a tanking team--so he probably costs very little in assets. Buy low opportunity on a guy who's only 27. I think there's a decent likelihood he can return to his 2022-2024 form playing for a better team with guys like Amen, Jalen, and Sengun putting out some actual gravity and getting him open shots. KD probably actually costs more assets--teams right on the edge of winning a chip will bid up the price, whereas they're not going to want to be locked into the cap implications of Lauri's max deal. KD also doesn't fit our timeline at all. Lauri kinda does, if you assume he's going to bounce back. Yes, the contract is too much money. But it becomes an expiring contract the same season a presumptive max deal for Amen would kick in, so it should be tradeable if we need to free up cap space to keep everybody. Since he should cost very little in the way of draft picks/young players, there should also still be plenty of ammo left in case a legit top 10 player becomes available. It's not really an "all-in" move in that sense. Of course it might depend on how far into the luxury tax Tilman is willing to go. In order to keep the young core together, we would probably have to become a first apron team and stay there for awhile. He might be too cheap to pony up for that.
My order of preference is Zion, Giannis, Ja, Booker. But unlikely any of these players available in offseason.
I dont care about the mid range, mid range players dont go anywhere in the playoffs. He is making the super max and has a career 58% TS. It is better than 54% TS of JG but I dont think that is worth paying a supermax for. Super maxes should be giving you 62% TS or more IMO.
I dig it, getting enough from the stats to feed your fandom without so much it becomes annoying. I haven't gambled on basketball since I won a lot of money (for a teen) betting Rockets over Knicks. Everyone else I knew in the city was a Knicks fan. If I didn't have some stats friends translating/justifying/refuting this stuff I'd need far fewer stats in my life. That said, DARKO's current season snapshot is fun on its own.
I think KD is going to be a Rocket. I was thinking that hed only be here if we flame out, but now i think hes coming here regardless.
KD allows the core to continue to be the focus while being a sniper as a 3rd or 4th option unlike Harden or Giannis. I’m sure KD is ready to take a back seat Amen / Reed Green / Cam KD / Brooks Jabari / Tari Sengun / Adams Add a back up point in free agency, Ty Jerome, and I think you have a better team than this year. Might be some growing pains with Amen but I think it’s a better team. Tari and Cam can fight over who will replace KD in a year or two
