GSW - Utah - Heat

[One_and_Done]

Why would the Heat move a good player for a bad one?

[DB23]

I would much rather just do the Wiggins part and leave Utah out of it. I share the fit concerns with Kessler in GS, and I certainly don’t want to give 2 firsts for the right to pay him $25m a year

Just makes me nervous relying on horford and that Houston series was seriously tough on the frontline. If you could guarantee horford a health in the playoffs then I think we are just about alright but I’d love us to add some more size.

I’m not against adding more size, but paying a premium for a guy who doesn’t fit our system and is about to get a big new contract isn’t the way to go about it

Kessler is a traditional center who’s good at traditional center things - rebounding, defending the paint, dunking - but Kerr’s system calls for a very non-traditional center. Kessler’s not a good passer, creates zero spacing, and cannot operate switching on the perimeter.

I’m really high on Kessler, had him in my fantasy team two years ago so watched a lot lol. If you aren’t high on him then get why you wouldn’t want to do it. My concerns fit wise are limited, we have played with a non shooting center quite a bit (looney, bogut, zaza) and only bogut was a good passer imo. Rest just played in the offense. I believe he’s a massive, distuptive force on the defensive end and Kerr could make it work if he does the little things. I’m more concerned about the money, don’t think you could pay that role more than 20-22 mil per year anymore but seems he wants more.

Just to add - adding size is really difficult with the aprons, not sure there are too many other appealing options out there but I’m open to alternatives.

[DB23]

Why would the Heat move a good player for a bad one?

Mainly because the league and media still believe in kuminga’s upside. And I guess the heat are really going nowhere with the current roster.

It’s a flier on upside talent and value.

[One_and_Done]

Why would the Heat move a good player for a bad one?

Mainly because the league and media still believe in kuminga’s upside. And I guess the heat are really going nowhere with the current roster.

It’s a flier on upside talent and value.

There seems to be little evidence of the teams around the league valuing him highly. If they did he'd have been traded. The media gets clicks off stories, but that doesn't necessarily correlate to talent. They're getting alot of clicks about Westbrick right now too.

[DB23]

Why would the Heat move a good player for a bad one?

Mainly because the league and media still believe in kuminga’s upside. And I guess the heat are really going nowhere with the current roster.

It’s a flier on upside talent and value.

There seems to be little evidence of the teams around the league valuing him highly. If they did he'd have been traded. The media gets clicks off stories, but that doesn't necessarily correlate to talent. They're getting alot of clicks about Westbrick right now too.

It’s hard to know what to believe but reports were that suns and kings would offer him a contract in the 20mil per season range for multiple years.

Not that I disagree with your valuation of his talent but seems some teams still have hope for his development.

[Nate the Great]

Just makes me nervous relying on horford and that Houston series was seriously tough on the frontline. If you could guarantee horford a health in the playoffs then I think we are just about alright but I’d love us to add some more size.

I’m not against adding more size, but paying a premium for a guy who doesn’t fit our system and is about to get a big new contract isn’t the way to go about it

Kessler is a traditional center who’s good at traditional center things - rebounding, defending the paint, dunking - but Kerr’s system calls for a very non-traditional center. Kessler’s not a good passer, creates zero spacing, and cannot operate switching on the perimeter.

I’m really high on Kessler, had him in my fantasy team two years ago so watched a lot lol. If you aren’t high on him then get why you wouldn’t want to do it. My concerns fit wise are limited, we have played with a non shooting center quite a bit (looney, bogut, zaza) and only bogut was a good passer imo. Rest just played in the offense. I believe he’s a massive, distuptive force on the defensive end and Kerr could make it work if he does the little things. I’m more concerned about the money, don’t think you could pay that role more than 20-22 mil per year anymore but seems he wants more.

Just to add - adding size is really difficult with the aprons, not sure there are too many other appealing options out there but I’m open to alternatives.

Starting a non-shooting center worked when the Warriors had Klay next to Steph, and a better shooter than Jimmy at the 3. If they made this deal, Kessler wouldn’t start.

[ChuckDurn]

That’s a steal for Utah - Kessler isn’t worth Moody (on a great contract) and two #1’s.

And sure, Kessler could play Looney’s role on offense with the Warriors (actually, I think he could be a bit more of a lob threat and finisher than Looney was) and be a disruptor on defense. But the Warriors’ offense with Looney on the court was constipated, and only survived because of Curry’s brilliance, so saying the “the Warriors have experience with non-spacing centers” misses the point - it was a bad experience.

I’d do the deal for the Warriors if one of the #1 picks was removed from it. But I’d also be really worried about my books for ‘26-‘27 (Kessler will be an RFA this off-season, and when you add his and Wiggins’ salary together, it might be untenable on top of Curry / Butler / Green). Plus I’d have to try to make a trade to balance the roster, since pretty much the only playable forwards we have would be Butler, Wiggins, and Green, and it’s likely that 2 of those guys are going to to miss 15-20 games.

[DB23]

That’s a steal for Utah - Kessler isn’t worth Moody (on a great contract) and two #1’s.

And sure, Kessler could play Looney’s role on offense with the Warriors (actually, I think he could be a bit more of a lob threat and finisher than Looney was) and be a disruptor on defense. But the Warriors’ offense with Looney on the court was constipated, and only survived because of Curry’s brilliance, so saying the “the Warriors have experience with non-spacing centers” misses the point - it was a bad experience.

I’d do the deal for the Warriors if one of the #1 picks was removed from it. But I’d also be really worried about my books for ‘26-‘27 (Kessler will be an RFA this off-season, and when you add his and Wiggins’ salary together, it might be untenable on top of Curry / Butler / Green). Plus I’d have to try to make a trade to balance the roster, since pretty much the only playable forwards we have would be Butler, Wiggins, and Green, and it’s likely that 2 of those guys are going to to miss 15-20 games.

They did win a championship with that model.

But I agree the books are the main problem. Dubs want to keep it clean post Steph so they would really need to believe in Kessler.