To be fair, the Spurs could give up Castle and pick 14 (along with salary filler Barnes and Johnson) and that is a great deal for them. Fox Harper Vassell Durant Wembenyama Sochan / Champagne/ Wesley / Branham They still have a ton of 2nd round picks to flesh out the roster with role player trades, and bird rights on Bassey (and others). And Castle might not even be that good? I don't see a better deal for PHX than that. 2 vets, a rookie and a lotto pick. Of course the flipside is to pick at 14, keep Castle and let the young core grow together
Kevin Durant is expected to be traded before the 2025 NBA Draft, and league sources tell RG the Toronto Raptors are among the teams seriously evaluating a deal, despite not being on Durant’s preferred destination list. League sources say the Raptors have explored a range of trade concepts that could involve a framework including any combination of RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Jakob Poeltl and the No. 9 overall pick. While nothing appears imminent, there is internal openness to parting with one of Barrett or Quickley in a larger package, and Poeltl could be included depending on the structure. While San Antonio and Houston have long been viewed as top suitors for Durant, league sources tell RG that neither team has presented its strongest possible offer. This has created a fluid situation with just over a week remaining until the start of the NBA Draft. Houston’s front office exercised caution when considering a trade for Durant before the midseason deadline. That conservative approach has continued, even after the team’s offensive struggles in the first round against Golden State. The Spurs have remained practical as well, with a focus on aligning any major moves with Victor Wembanyama’s timeline. There is internal recognition of the potential value in having Durant not only as a running mate but also as a veteran presence Wembanyama could learn from — but only at the right cost. https://rg.org/news/basketball/raptors-weigh-kevin-durant-trade-ahead-nba-draft-shakeup
Reed would be backup to Amen. Durant, Jalen, Amen, Sengun, Jabari all get shots with a more balanced attack. Amen can get into the lane and either pass or shoot depending on what the defense is doing. Jalen, Durant, Sengun, and Jabari would all be positioned on the outside. If the center backs into the lane, Sengun repositions to right inside the key. If he can’t hit his shots next year, he needs to be traded. If Jalen doesn’t improve he needs to be traded. For the record, I would trade either one now for the appropriate return. Durant is not an appropriate return for Jalen in my opinion. Amen is the only untouchable on this roster and FVV is holding back the offense.
I didn’t look at overall length. Jalen makes $33M next year and Bane makes $36. Bane had obviously proven a lot more by the time an extension was offered. Carry on.
I don’t understand what the Raptors are doing wasting time with a KD who doesn’t want to go there and won’t re-sign there they’re not even close to being a good team Even tho Miami is a joke basketball-wise as well, at least KD actually wants to be there. Wolves going after KD makes sense. Rockets and Spurs weighing it out makes sense. The Raptors tho?
So we'd be stuck with Jalen (who would likely have about 30% usage in that lineup) AND have no PG at all in the starting lineup? Sounds like something that would be awful to watch.
Why apply in reverse when they're both true? If Sheppard can have all the good and the bad games and achieve the same averages at the same high volume, he can get 4 years too.
Call me curious you make an all in move like Durant and go with inexperience at point guard... Jalen getting 10 shots a night with Durant on the team isn't helping his trade value. They could sign Durant to a 2 year extension... Expiring contracts: Durant Van Vleet Adams Brooks Extension: Amen Thompson So they would have Sengun (resigned), Jabari (resigned), Amen cap hold, and Reed with max cap space open... The other option is no max free agent and keep Jalen...
Which is why the Spurs should look to trade him now, there's still people out there who don't realize that he's terrible yet. Give it a few more years and like happened with Jalen, everyone will know he's terrible.
Yes, Bane is ahead in a lot of ways. But Green has also shown more upside as a potential go to scorer. They have played a similar number of games, but Green has had way more 40+ point games (9 v. 2) and 30+ games (52 v. 29). And that’s another point that people underrate about Green - he’s been an Ironman. Green has averaged 77 games played per season and played all 82 the last two years. Bane? 63.
If he can win them in Ime's eyes of course, I'm a Rockets fan and I root for both of them. You can see my posts in the Sheppard thread believing heavily in Sheppard. I said 20, 30 and 40-pt games. Because your ceiling is just as relevant as your floor. You had already brought up the floor.
Man you're jumping the shark. Tyus Jones took 8.4 shots with Beal, Durant and Booker on the floor. To say Jalen will take 8-10 shots is ridiculous. Jalen is the team's leading scorer, with Durant here he'll be the second leading scorer and be more efficient.
I've actually thought for a while that Green could thrive in a #2/#3 scorer role taking 13 - 15 shots v. 17+ with the upside of occasionally exploding.
It makes no sense to me why Toronto would try to get KD. But if the Suns want to compete, at least Quickly/Poetl/#9 combo gets what the Suns want. A center, a young player, and a pick. In which case you have KD/Ingram/Barnes trio which is what, a 6th seed in the East? Not sure what would even be the point here, and KD obviously isn't staying in Toronto after a year.
