KD to the Spurs / Vassell, Sochan, picks to the Suns.

[Saberestar]

Suns trade Kevin Durant ($54M) to the Spurs for:

Devin Vassell ($27M)
Harrison Barnes ($19M)
Jeremy Sochan ($7M)
#14
2027 FRP (from the Hawks).
2029 FRP (from the Spurs).


Why for the Suns?

The Suns trade KD to get a couple of young rotation players and solid draft capital to rejuvenate their roster and retool around Booker.

Why for the Spurs?

The Spurs gets one of the best 10/15 players in the league without losing any of Wemby, Fox, Castle or Harper (#2) and get the OK from Durant to sign an extension with them.

This way the Spurs can have him for the next 3 years and be a serious contender for years to come.

[wemby]

This proposal is so off if I posted it I'd be banned for trolling within 5'.

Also, there's a bazillion KD to the Spurs trade ideas, did this need its own thread?

[Bornstellar]

Way too much to give up for an old KD who PHX is desperately trying to trade. Remove those two future firsts and Sochan from the deal and it looks more palatable

[Texas Chuck]

This proposal is so off if I posted it I'd be banned for trolling within 5'.

Also, there's a bazillion KD to the Spurs trade ideas, did this need its own thread?

You've expressed major outlier opinions literally hundreds of times with no ban. So that's an odd accusation and then we don't need you moderating itt. If you had felt this OP has no place, you should use the report function. Note: Don't do so now as a Mod is here and seeing it.

[ReggiesKnicks]

I don't think the Spurs want to use assets to dump Vassell, as bad as he is, teams don't dump bad salary often nor should they.

I think Vassell/Barnes/Sochan is, at best, neutral, with slightly negative being what I assess all 3 players at. This means the root of value in the trade is #14 and 2 additional 1sts, which is one 1st too many.

I think the trade ends up being salary you provided (Vassell/Barnes/Sochan) and then #14 + 2nd best of 2 1sts in the future.

[Texas Chuck]

As to the trade, this is too much for KD. Take out Sochan and one of the firsts.

[Texas Chuck]

I don't think the Spurs want to use assets to dump Vassell, as bad as he is, teams don't dump bad salary often nor should they.

If they want t o extend Durant, which I assume would be part of any KD trade, I think they should move out his money in the deal. If they don't want to extend KD (or Fox) then I would tend to agree.

[jayjaysee]

I think without the 2029 first, it’s a good enough overpay to make Phoenix fans happy.

[Blame Rasho]

I am of the opinion that is too much for KD.

[gswhoops]

I don't hate the KD to the Spurs concept, but agree that this is an overpay. Think they need to keep either Sochan or #14 and one of the future 1sts

Vassell
Barnes
Sochan/#14
Future 1st

I don't see teams offering more than that, at least not if PHX is focused on returning some "win now" players rather than a pure "cap space and picks" deal.

[wemby]

I don't hate the KD to the Spurs concept, but agree that this is an overpay. Think they need to keep either Sochan or #14 and one of the future 1sts

Vassell
Barnes
Sochan/#14
Future 1st

I don't see teams offering more than that, at least not if PHX is focused on returning some "win now" players rather than a pure "cap space and picks" deal.

This is aligned with what I think an upper limit to a realistic Spurs offer for KD would be. The lower limit would be
Vassell
Keldon Johnson
14/Future 1st/Sochan
some second rounders

If it happens, it should land somewhere in between (depending on competing offers, whether KD extends, etc). Probably some second rounders are included because the Suns need them and Spurs have more than they can count.

[KdoubleDees23]

If I am suns I push them to trade Castle or #2, Sochan, Barnes or Vassell.

They dont need Harper, Castle, and Fox! Keep Fox and Castle, KD, Barnes, Wemby. You have yourself a contender.

[Jojothewhale]

I think Vassell/Barnes/Sochan is, at best, neutral, with slightly negative being what I assess all 3 players at. This means the root of value in the trade is #14 and 2 additional 1sts, which is one 1st too many

I was a little surprised this is the only post saying that Sochan is a slight negative to neutral on the open market. I guess maybe if you were a big fan, you might give a small positive. But he's never been good in the NBA, is a tricky fit on most teams, and has one year of cost control left. He's a textbook example of a guy who turns into a clear negative the second his next deal is signed.

Before someone says it, yes I know the Spurs don't think this way and won't trade him for peanuts. Two different discussions.

[wemby]

I think Vassell/Barnes/Sochan is, at best, neutral, with slightly negative being what I assess all 3 players at. This means the root of value in the trade is #14 and 2 additional 1sts, which is one 1st too many

I was a little surprised this is the only post saying that Sochan is a slight negative to neutral on the open market. I guess maybe if you were a big fan, you might give a small positive. But he's never been good in the NBA, is a tricky fit on most teams, and has one year of cost control left. He's a textbook example of a guy who turns into a clear negative the second his next deal is signed.

Before someone says it, yes I know the Spurs don't think this way and won't trade him for peanuts. Two different discussions.

Saying a player who just turned 22 years old, is an expiring with RFA option, has MASSIVE defensive potential and posted 11.4 points, 6.5 rebounds 2.4 assists on 53/31/70 splits is a negative is a wild, wild take. You can argue about value, but it'd take the Spurs less than it took me to write this post to find a team willing to take him for free, if nothing else.

[ReggiesKnicks]

I think Vassell/Barnes/Sochan is, at best, neutral, with slightly negative being what I assess all 3 players at. This means the root of value in the trade is #14 and 2 additional 1sts, which is one 1st too many

I was a little surprised this is the only post saying that Sochan is a slight negative to neutral on the open market. I guess maybe if you were a big fan, you might give a small positive. But he's never been good in the NBA, is a tricky fit on most teams, and has one year of cost control left. He's a textbook example of a guy who turns into a clear negative the second his next deal is signed.

Before someone says it, yes I know the Spurs don't think this way and won't trade him for peanuts. Two different discussions.

I think Sochan is worth one of Charlotte's good 2nds.

Maybe Brooklyn trades one of their late 1sts for him?

I think the combination of Vassell (Negative), Barnes (Neutral) and Sochan (slight positive) lies in that gray area. Could be negative, could be neutral, don't see a team valuing that trio at positive.

[Jojothewhale]

Saying a player who just turned 22 years old, is an expiring with RFA option, has MASSIVE defensive potential and posted 11.4 points, 6.5 rebounds 2.4 assists on 53/31/70 splits is a negative is a wild, wild take. You can argue about value, but it'd take the Spurs less than it took me to write this post to find a team willing to take him for free, if nothing else.

For one year, he's not a negative. He doesn't make enough money to be one. Next year, I'll die on that hill if he signs for 4/80 or whatever the rumor was and doesn't show significant improvement.

I don't see massive defensive potential. You do. That's fine. Perfectly normal to disagree on players. But he's not there yet. That's inarguable.

[wemby]

Saying a player who just turned 22 years old, is an expiring with RFA option, has MASSIVE defensive potential and posted 11.4 points, 6.5 rebounds 2.4 assists on 53/31/70 splits is a negative is a wild, wild take. You can argue about value, but it'd take the Spurs less than it took me to write this post to find a team willing to take him for free, if nothing else.

For one year, he's not a negative. He doesn't make enough money to be one. Next year, I'll die on that hill if he doesn't show significant improvement and no amount of Rebounds per Game like it's 1996 will change that.

I don't see massive defensive potential. You do. That's fine.

He routinely guarded the opposing team's best player, from Brunson to SGA to Ant to Luka, and did a fantastic job most times. He's just playing in a tanking team, and doesn't rack up counting stats (blocks, steals) so if you combine that with the fact that he's on the floor when the opposing team's best player is and the team has no structure, then he obviously gets the short end of the stick in terms of most defensive stats. But if you watched him, you can't say he doesn't have enormous defensive potential.

It's a matter of him adding something on offense to go along, so that he doesn't get played off the floor in the playoffs. Hell, if the Spurs had shooting around him that wouldn't even be a problem. The only way I see the Spurs offloading him would be if he has crazy expectations for an extension, then they'd be much more inclined to move him. Otherwise he's a more interesting bet that a lot of first rounders in this very class.

[Jojothewhale]

He routinely guarded the opposing team's best player, from Brunson to SGA to Ant to Luka, and did a fantastic job most times. He's just playing in a tanking team, and doesn't rack up counting stats (blocks, steals) so if you combine that with the fact that he's on the floor when the opposing team's best player is and the team has no structure, then he obviously gets the short end of the stick in terms of most defensive stats. But if you watched him, you can't say he doesn't have enormous defensive potential.

It's a matter of him adding something on offense to go along, so that he doesn't get played off the floor in the playoffs. Hell, if the Spurs had shooting around him that wouldn't even be a problem. The only way I see the Spurs offloading him would be if he has crazy expectations for an extension, then they'd be much more inclined to move him. Otherwise he's a more interesting bet that a lot of first rounders in this very class.

I have watched him. Obviously not nearly as many times as you have and I recognize my limitations there. We completely agree that the Spurs are going to keep him and probably extend him.

I see a good but not great one way player who is exactly the type you can't afford to pay anymore because of the structure of the CBA. To be honest, I think that archetype gets a ton of excuses made for their shortcomings. I argued this until I was blue in the face with my fellow Sixers fans who loved Thybulle because of this ethereal defensive value. Never good. Never will be good. And now I've pissed off Blazers fans too, so I should probably quit.

Just to be clear, I'm not trying to convince you of anything. If you like him, great!

[Saberestar]

As to the trade, this is too much for KD. Take out Sochan and one of the firsts.

I think that there are gonna be a bidding war in the next couple of weeks.

Too many teams interested in KD and with Giannis presumably out of the market he is gonna be the best player somewhat available in the trade market.

Miami, New York, Toronto, Atlanta, San Antonio, Houston, Minnesota, LA Clippers ... so many teams have been linked to KD.

That's one of the reasons why I think his value is gonna be higher than some fans expect it.

The Suns are gonna ask for Sochan because they are trying to get better defensively and younger and he is precisely a young defensive player with some upside but he will enter his last rookie year and he is gonna ask for a good new contract pretty soon.

He isn't a known commodity around the league and his value probably isn't really high, so I think the Spurs agree to trade him in the package.

I think that #14 + 2 FRPs is the right draft capital to pay for the Spurs to get a player that great and put him NOW next to Wemby. They need to maximize Wemby's healthy years ASAP.

[Texas Chuck]

That's one of the reasons why I think his value is gonna be higher than some fans expect it.

.

You might be right.

And we will almost certainly all get to find out and some of us will eat crow and some of us will thump our chests.

I can only go by what I think taking into account everything, including reports from yesterday that KD will be heavily involved in the process making me think that while 5 or 6 teams may be interested, he might only be interested in 1 or 2 of those and if Phoenix accommodates him like all evidence suggests, then some of that vaunted leverage is lost.

But again that's just my take. I respect yours is different. And trust me if the Suns get a huge haul, I will eat up all the crow you want.