I keep going back and forth on this. Assuming KD wants 3yrs (2yr extension), he’ll be 39 in that last year making a ton of money with a history of injuries. But it will be an expiring contract so even if he’s hurt or not playing well anymore, he’ll still have value to a team trying to get under aprons or luxury taxes. So we’d need him productive and healthy the next two seasons. That seems reasonable. He’s a ready-made #1 shooting option; the closer that could vault us to champion contenders…depending on who we have to give up for him. If we could get him for Jalen, Fred (1yr $45 mil option), and a pick then I think u do it. Jalen, Dillon and a pick also makes sense to me. But either way, we need to get off of the Jalen money so we can accommodate a max salary. I probably don’t trade for KD without moving off Jalen’s contract. And it should go without saying that I would not give up Amen, Sengun or our best picks for him. Including other core prospects is a grey area for me. It would have to be a case by case basis.
That's how it would work. Very small detail. The draft is a week before FVVs new option date and I believe FA so they could consummate the trade ahead of the draft and have all of that covered.
This board is so funny. You want a superstar in their prime? Who's trading a player with superstar output that's a proven winner in their prime? No one. Further, superstars are not proven before the age of 25 nor is anyone trading then on rookie scale contracts. Like Westbrook, CP3, Howard > these people become available when they fail a few times. The one that works best is the one that's the best fit. Still, they will all be declining rapidly. You have a young 2nd seed and you are the richest team in the trade market. After you acquire KD you can still trade: Brooks, Jalen, Sheppard, Tari, Bari, 3 first round picks and 1 swap. You can still acquire a disgruntled superstar with those assets easily. KD is the right move and price point. In 2 years when he's finished, our own youngsters will be the championship age (25 years old). We will have replenished our picks cabinet also (2 future rockets picks). This season we lacked playoff experience and an iso scorer in the playoffs. We got the playoff experience. Now just need the closer. If we had acquired Durant at the deadline, we'd be up 1-0 on the Wolves right now.
Is there any chance that Durant would take a discount on an extension if we traded for him? I see that he's expecting to get 2 years $122m from the Suns, so I guess that's a longshot. But if he decides he wants to facilitate a championship run in his final years and take a paycut to $35m/yr, that might change my interest level in him.
A third team is needed for a Durant trade because the most valuable asset Rockets willing to give up is Jalen Green but Suns don't need Jalen Green. We need someone like Brooklyn to take JG and give up Cameron Johnson and Nick Claxton. We give Brooklyn their swap back and give suns their draft pick back. Then it's a win win for everyone. I would gladly give up Green plus fillers and picks for Durant. We essentially kept our core and added Durant. Phoenix got couple of solid players and their pick back. Brooklyn got a high flyer who can sell tickets and is ok that he doesn't contribute to winning because they are tanking.
If we could add Durant without giving up assets, sure. Giving up assets to acquire a player over 35 is stupid.
It just depends what we would have to give up and what the Durant extension would look like. His offense is exactly what we need. Assuming the deal would include Jalen, I'm not sure what other moves we would need to make for the roster to make sense.
Compete now and compete later. The world rarely presents itself in the manner you prefer. You have to continually adapt to your environment. Giannis is all in now no future. Durant is available because of the red flags and he is "cheap." For the right price and the competition for Giannis I think PHX is going to be very upset. Even better if Durant picks us. So many on here were ready to resign FVV. Would you rather bet on 3 years of FVV or Durant?
Seriously. Durant is a sweet spot that upgrades your greatest weakness now without trading away half the team in return. You can continue to develop our guys while managing his minutes like we did with Steven Adams. It's such an obvious idea that everyone in NBA media is talking about it, but on the board here, it's like "Trade Jalen Green and a pick for a top 20 player? LOL whut r u smokin bro?"
It won't include Jalen, why on earth would we give up a 23 year old who just shot 35.5% on 8+ 3PA? If he improves this summer as much as last summer, he’ll be at 37.6% on 9+ attempts - that’s Dame Lillard’s career average. Plus you can trade Jalen after acquiring Durant for another upgrade because we won't be done shaping the roster. Suns have no leverage whatsoever. Durant will only accept an extension with his preferred team. Without an extension agreement, no one will give up more than a middling pick for him. Similar to Kyrie-Dallas trade, he will be traded for 1.5 picks this summer to the team of his choice. Higher contenders who want Durant don't have good picks or young players - except OKC. I doubt he wants to live in Oklahoma. It's FVV, Cam and pick(s). FVV has as many years left as Durant to be impactful and Amen is ready to take over playmaking (can sign a backup for MLE). Suns have already stated they’re interested in financial flexibility. They can swing FVV and the pick to a 3rd team for whatever they want, not our problem. Sengun Durant/Jabari (can limit Durant's regular season minutes) Brooks/Tari Green Amen/Reed
Why on earth would we trade a guy who shot league average on 3-point attempts? He is both the salary and the potential talent that make sense for the Suns. He's just not particularly good yet and just came off a disastrous 7-game playoff performance. Inefficient scorers are not a precious commodity. Jordan Poole, Malik Monk and Collin Sexton are all available. So should be Jalen Green. You are undervaluing FVV's role on this team. He cannot just be replaced by Amen and Reed. You are overvaluing Jalen Green. Especially as Durant would be taking over Jalen's role as the primary offensive threat.
I just can't imagine the Suns rolling out Beal, Jalen, and Booker the next two years. Maybe they would, but that fan base would continue to be mad.
We honestly don't even know if Durant can be had for cheap - what if Ishbia/PHX thinks that the deal is too cheap for his taste? Who says that they're going to trade Durant for sure? What if they're dumb enough to think they can just run it back one more time with a new coach (again)? If you're PHX and you're offered Jalen, your own 2025 pick (not top 4), and Dillon... would you take that package or just try to run it back one more time?
I’m not sure I understand how we can get KD without giving up one of our max salary slot players. It’s got to be Jalen or Fred’s $45 mil team option (which may not even be a positive asset), no?
Sorry. I was trying to understand if you prefer to deal Fred and picks vs Jalen. Because I doubt Fred at $45 mil is much of an asset. I’d assume we’d have to throw in much more draft compensation vs if we included Jalen. To be clear Pheonix may not even want Jalen and they may like what Fred provides better, but objectively I’m pretty sure we’d have to include more draft capital with Fred. Sounds like you prefer that to dealing Jalen? I’m not trying to bait u into a Jalen debate I promise. Just trying to get a better handle on what realistic trade offers would work for us.
