Durant traded to Houston for Green, Brooks, #10 pick, and multiple 2nd rounders

Alpi is NBA'S best passing big after Jokic, s0 5 guys that can pass

 

I think this is mostly a great post, but I watched a ton of that Nets team, and KD wasn't the problem. It was actually a great squad derailed by Harden's injury, Kyrie doing Kyrie things, and Harris getting injured and forgetting how to shoot. Even with all that, they had a good shot at the chip if KD had been a half inch further back on what turned out to be his 2-pointer. I'm not nearly as familiar with the Suns, but from a casual perspective it seems obvious the Beal trade destroyed them. BUT if your point is he cannot be the leader, then I totally agree.

 

This puts a lot of pressure on Amen. He's excellent in 1-on-1 situations, but to me, his biggest strength is his relentless motor and disruptive presence when he’s free to roam. If he’s locked into guarding the other team's best player every night, that advantage disappears, see the Warrior series. Trading Brooks could wear Amen down over time. Who’s guarding Chet and Wemby now? Brooks was physical with both and made their lives a living hell on the court. Jabari struggled against both of them. Sure, Brooks had limitations against quicker guards, but his defense against long, skilled 4's was well above average. With that said, we need Cam and Reed to take that next step.

 

And that is not going to work against teams like OKC and Indy who run superior offenses based on fast ball movement and are even faster defensively. Also, I still have to see Ime show he can coach offense because last year was very predictable and pedestrian. Their lack of outside shooting was exposed and exploited and I believe that this is an attempt to put a quick fix on that offensive shortcoming. Time will tell but I'm not expecting this move to catapult them to the NBA Finals in the next couple of years.

 

Maybe they pull a rabbit out of their hat, but Houston couldn’t find a third team that wanted to give any value for Green. Maybe Phoenix is able to find a team - maybe they try to run Booker and Green together but the defense would be an issue.

 

Grats, you got your player.

 

I smell a Westbrook signing soon....

 

This is a smart gamble by Stone, even if the window's tight. Kevin Durant is still Kevin Durant. He may be 37 but he bends the game to his will.

Now take the swing. Use what's left and go get Giannis. You do that, and this team doesn’t just compete, it terrifies.

 

This is just an assumption of mine… my belief is that getting Durant alone is not enough to win a championship, there will be more pieces needed. But that’s just my opinion, perhaps Durant is all we need with this current roster to get to the Finals.

Again, I’m not against trading Jalen Green. I think he had plenty of time here to prove himself.

 

Amen + Jabari now being mentored by KD is an underrated part of this trade

 

One thing that makes me feel infinitely better, is that if Jalen does in fact manage to grow a pair of testicles and break out as a star, Amen will shut his ass down so fast and so hard Jalen might never play a playoff game again in his life.

 

We gave up two franchise players for Durant...

 

It all still seem to be a lot for a old guy that will most likely pull up lame at some point of the season. I can agree with the youth and athleticism on the team but most of them like Cam and Reed don't play defense.

 

I think it was a great trade. I never was high on Jalen, (I wanted him to succeed more than anything), but I just didn’t trust him.

We needed a guy who we could give the ball and say “go get us a shot”, and Durant is that guy.

the fact that we didn’t have to trade Jabari or Eason is a huge win. I get there’s risk with age and injury issues, but for a guy with his talent, it’s worth it IMO.

 

If he'd played decent but underwhelming I'd be inclined to hold out more hope. He was diabolical for all but one game. Out of seven.

 

Mobley Mob victory lap.

Let the insufferable Green stans that made this website inhospitable for the last 4 years hear it for a bit.

Green is a bum. Good riddance.

 

I’m surprised the Suns didn’t at least try and get pick protections added to the 2027 pick.

The 10 pick was fine, not special. Green was probably more or less neutral value, and Brooks is a solid player. Udoka will be able to guide the team to a solid regular season and then have Durant as a closer in the playoffs. Huge deal.

 

Anxious to see Durant embrace Ime's defending style. Since Amen will always take on the best scorer, Durant will look fantastic taking on the second-best wing. And the switches from Durant to Jabari/Eason should be pretty smooth.

That threesome--Jabari, Tari, and Durant--can go places.

 

It is, it is one of the reasons I did want him. Not just those two, we still have Reed, Cam, Sengun.

Fans don't realize it but players always talk about how much they learn from playing with great players. It's more of a thing where they see how hard they work, how they work, etc etc, that if a player is willing to learn, can improve.

In the end, I'm glad we only gave up Jalen. I'll miss Brooks, but had to be done.