Kevin Durant

[Worm Guts]

You guys are getting off topic, and ill contribute.. i do think DDV value needs to be exploited on our end for playoff guys. Trade him.

Bro, you are completely off topic... Malik Beasley was paid 60/4 in MIN, DDVs 12 AAV is a bargain.

That is my point. He carries value. Need to convert it towards an asset that improves us in the postseason.

His value is that he’s cost effective. I’m not sure that’s the type of value we can afford to give up.

[Loaf_of_bread]

Bro, you are completely off topic... Malik Beasley was paid 60/4 in MIN, DDVs 12 AAV is a bargain.

That is my point. He carries value. Need to convert it towards an asset that improves us in the postseason.

His value is that he’s cost effective. I’m not sure that’s the type of value we can afford to give up.

If we are serious about winning a championship, I would squeeze every ounce of value we have in an attempt to get there.

There is this so-called "aura/perception" that Ddv played well in the playoffs for nyc. Not true at all. His numbers sucked, as well with us, and as well as a WHOLE in his career in the playoffs.

Makes the decision easier with jaylen and tsj..

[moss_is_1]

Spurs going to offer Castle, Keldon Johnson and Vassell, picks for Kd? I would've said Barnes but he makes slightly too much for Phx so had to be Vassell, unless there's a 3rd team.

The Spurs would be crazy to abandon their roster building around Wemby by trading Castle for a 37 year old.

My guess is Castle is untouchable and any trade for KD would evolve around Vassell and Sochan.

Sent from my N152DL using RealGM mobile app

Yeah I would agree. Still an immediate Fox, KD, Wemby core is nice. I think they could get him without moving Cassell though.

[Worm Guts]

That is my point. He carries value. Need to convert it towards an asset that improves us in the postseason.

His value is that he’s cost effective. I’m not sure that’s the type of value we can afford to give up.

If we are serious about winning a championship, I would squeeze every ounce of value we have in an attempt to get there.

There is this so-called "aura/perception" that Ddv played well in the playoffs for nyc. Not true at all. His numbers sucked, as well with us, and as well as a WHOLE in his career in the playoffs.

Makes the decision easier with jaylen and tsj..

Being 2nd apron has consequences that also impact winning, so I don’t think it’s that simple.

[younggunsmn]

If we trade for Kevin Durant that team needs to be able to get to the finals and beat OKC, or it is not worth it and a waste of assets.
Also, we are not beating OKC with Rudy Gobert playing major minutes, their D is too good to win playing 4 on 5.

That means any trade for Durant needs to send out Randle and Gobert and either bring back a decent PG and C or leave us enough room to sign one, as well as having enough quality depth.

Trade Randle/Gobert in 3or 4 way trade for Durant and bring back player like Okongwu, use taxpayer MLE on Tyus Jones?

For what it is worth, the first sentence is semi-true. Ultimately, a Championship is the goal, but the honest truth is that this current squad probably isn't making the Western Conference Finals next season, barring luck. Anything that improves the roster to be a real contender is positive, even if the final result doesn't end up that way.

Minnesota would have roughly $11.2MM in space in the Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle for Kevin Durant swap, so some names that could make sense to trade for are...
Daniel Gafford ($14.3MM), Moritz Wagner ($11MM), Jonas Valančiūnas ($10.3MM), Walker Kessler, or Mark Williams (HUGE injury risk)

Viable Free-Agent Centers are...
Clint Capela, Steven Adams, Brook Lopez, Mo Wagner (Team Option), Al Horford, Andre Drummond (PO, would need to pay >$5MM), and yikes.

I think that trading Rudy Gobert without a strong contingency plan is a little scary, but Minnesota being able to remove protections from the 2029 FRP and offer swaps might be enough for Utah for Walker Kessler. Not fully confident about it, though, definitely feel safer about having Rudy Gobert as the starting Center to bolster Minnesota's defense.

I don't think Kessler is realistic, and they will get much better offers from needier teams if they decide to move him.
He's the only guy from their last 3 drafts that has shown any flashes of being a long term piece for them.

You could see something like Wendell Carter Jr for Divencenzo swap. Or Vucevic/Collins as salary filler from the Bulls as part of a bigger deal.

Rudy Gobert's 2025 playoff performance, if you look back on it honestly, dwarfed any struggles KAT ever had in terms of how ineffective he was and how much it dragged the whole team down.
I don't understand how anyone can want to go forward with an Ant/Rudy pairing and expect anything better than we got in the beatdown vs OKC.

IMHO any loss defensively from trading away Rudy Gobert should be more than offset by replacing Julius Randle with a competent defender.

I dont know what its going to look like and it might be a step back in the next year, year and a half, but I know we will be a treadmill team having to fight really really hard just to make the 8 team playoff bracket every single year if we move forward with Rudy (and Julius).

And if we do have to take a step back to retool, next year would be the year to do it.
We own our own pick. Utah has swap rights, but almost assuredly only within the top 8 (probably no lower than 5 or 6).

We've spent the last 3 offseasons trying to go all-in, its time to start thinking 2-3 years down the road.

IMHO Rob Dillingham is too small to ever be a positive player on the court and if we can get any value out of him we should probably move on it now. I would move him before I would move 17,31 or any future picks.

I'm starting to believe KD ends up in San Antonio next year for Vassell and a pick or a young player like Sochan anyway.

[KATKlownFeet]

Durant is old and injury plagued and so my best offer would be Randle, pick 31 and Minott and maybe add DDV to make numbers work.

[Loaf_of_bread]

If we trade for Kevin Durant that team needs to be able to get to the finals and beat OKC, or it is not worth it and a waste of assets.
Also, we are not beating OKC with Rudy Gobert playing major minutes, their D is too good to win playing 4 on 5.

That means any trade for Durant needs to send out Randle and Gobert and either bring back a decent PG and C or leave us enough room to sign one, as well as having enough quality depth.

Trade Randle/Gobert in 3or 4 way trade for Durant and bring back player like Okongwu, use taxpayer MLE on Tyus Jones?

For what it is worth, the first sentence is semi-true. Ultimately, a Championship is the goal, but the honest truth is that this current squad probably isn't making the Western Conference Finals next season, barring luck. Anything that improves the roster to be a real contender is positive, even if the final result doesn't end up that way.

Minnesota would have roughly $11.2MM in space in the Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle for Kevin Durant swap, so some names that could make sense to trade for are...
Daniel Gafford ($14.3MM), Moritz Wagner ($11MM), Jonas Valančiūnas ($10.3MM), Walker Kessler, or Mark Williams (HUGE injury risk)

Viable Free-Agent Centers are...
Clint Capela, Steven Adams, Brook Lopez, Mo Wagner (Team Option), Al Horford, Andre Drummond (PO, would need to pay >$5MM), and yikes.

I think that trading Rudy Gobert without a strong contingency plan is a little scary, but Minnesota being able to remove protections from the 2029 FRP and offer swaps might be enough for Utah for Walker Kessler. Not fully confident about it, though, definitely feel safer about having Rudy Gobert as the starting Center to bolster Minnesota's defense.

I don't think Kessler is realistic, and they will get much better offers from needier teams if they decide to move him.
He's the only guy from their last 3 drafts that has shown any flashes of being a long term piece for them.

You could see something like Wendell Carter Jr for Divencenzo swap. Or Vucevic/Collins as salary filler from the Bulls as part of a bigger deal.

Rudy Gobert's 2025 playoff performance, if you look back on it honestly, dwarfed any struggles KAT ever had in terms of how ineffective he was and how much it dragged the whole team down.
I don't understand how anyone can want to go forward with an Ant/Rudy pairing and expect anything better than we got in the beatdown vs OKC.

IMHO any loss defensively from trading away Rudy Gobert should be more than offset by replacing Julius Randle with a competent defender.

I dont know what its going to look like and it might be a step back in the next year, year and a half, but I know we will be a treadmill team having to fight really really hard just to make the 8 team playoff bracket every single year if we move forward with Rudy (and Julius).

And if we do have to take a step back to retool, next year would be the year to do it.
We own our own pick. Utah has swap rights, but almost assuredly only within the top 8 (probably no lower than 5 or 6).

We've spent the last 3 offseasons trying to go all-in, its time to start thinking 2-3 years down the road.

IMHO Rob Dillingham is too small to ever be a positive player on the court and if we can get any value out of him we should probably move on it now. I would move him before I would move 17,31 or any future picks.

I'm starting to believe KD ends up in San Antonio next year for Vassell and a pick or a young player like Sochan anyway.

Rob turned 20 in January. He is short, but so was Iverson. Rob hasn't gotten any run, and even if he did, he is YOUNG. I wouldn't write him off quite yet.

[shrink]

“I wouldn't be surprised if KD to the Spurs is done already and they just haven't announced it,” Simmons said on “The Bill Simmons Podcast.” “Basically, they've agreed on specifics, just announce it on the week of the draft. This goes back to the Giannis thing. I think they trade for KD because it just costs less. They'll be able to be real competitive and maybe go a couple of rounds in the playoffs, but they're also going to keep the No. 2 pick and do it that way, which is my prediction.”

[Loaf_of_bread]

“I wouldn't be surprised if KD to the Spurs is done already and they just haven't announced it,” Simmons said on “The Bill Simmons Podcast.” “Basically, they've agreed on specifics, just announce it on the week of the draft. This goes back to the Giannis thing. I think they trade for KD because it just costs less. They'll be able to be real competitive and maybe go a couple of rounds in the playoffs, but they're also going to keep the No. 2 pick and do it that way, which is my prediction.”

Whew.

[BlacJacMac]

“I wouldn't be surprised if KD to the Spurs is done already and they just haven't announced it,” Simmons said on “The Bill Simmons Podcast.” “Basically, they've agreed on specifics, just announce it on the week of the draft. This goes back to the Giannis thing. I think they trade for KD because it just costs less. They'll be able to be real competitive and maybe go a couple of rounds in the playoffs, but they're also going to keep the No. 2 pick and do it that way, which is my prediction.”

Whew.

Its just Simmons speculation, so take it with a boulder of salt.

[FrenchMinnyFan]

I think Suns wants a big in any deal with KD. So Rudy name will be on the table :
+/ He is an elite defender, which help during the regular season to win games.
-/ His offensive limitations are a real issues when PO come.

I think the answer is about which position we value most. If we keep the same combo PG ( Rob, Mike, DDV), then we need a top scorer at SF and KD is a good choice.
If we go for an upgrade for PG, then keep Rudy, trade Randle, start Naz and get a 20PPG/6 Assist PG if we can afford. If we can't get Tyus.

[Loaf_of_bread]

Whew.

Its just Simmons speculation, so take it with a boulder of salt.

Fair enough, but that's a BOLD statement to make if it's PURE SPECULATION. I don't know him well enough to know how much he values his own integrity.

IF TRUE, I don’t like it for the spurs at all. No reason for that team to mess with OKC next year. Durant for a year for them does nothing. Dude probably just ring chase in 26-27, and they regret the overpay of the 1 year rental.

[BlacJacMac]

Simmons is a personality, not a reporter or news guy.

[Klomp]

Read on Twitter

[thinktank]

Down for the deal but…

Simmons is not a source.

Durant replaces at best half of what Rudy does on D. Maybe a little more than half.

[shrink]

I thought with the recent confirmation that PHX will try to help Durant go where he wants to go, I went looking for an article on probable destinations. This guy says the top five likely destinations are DEN, HOU, MIA, MIN, SAS

https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2025/6/8/24443958/phoenix-suns-kevin-durant-trade-destinations-san-antonio-denver-miami-houston-minnesota

[shrink]

There is more and more steam out there that PHX will trade Durant at the draft. This makes it less likely that he’ll end up in MIN, because our likely salary-matching components won’t have guaranteed money next year (new deals), until after the draft, and it would make Randle, Naz and NAW ineligible to be included in a trade.

[TimberKat]

There is more and more steam out there that PHX will trade Durant at the draft. This makes it less likely that he’ll end up in MIN, because our likely salary-matching components won’t have guaranteed money next year (new deals), until after the draft, and it would make Randle, Naz and NAW ineligible to be included in a trade.

If SAS wants him, we can't compete.

We are at around $140 mil salary. Could move Gobert or package DDV+Conley+JMcD etc. After that, re-sign NAZ, NAW, and Randle to go over the cap. I don't know if Suns can accept a package that is less in salary due to apron rules. If we trade Gobert for KD, we will end up being the new Suns so would want to keep Gobert to anchor the defense.

[younggunsmn]

There is more and more steam out there that PHX will trade Durant at the draft. This makes it less likely that he’ll end up in MIN, because our likely salary-matching components won’t have guaranteed money next year (new deals), until after the draft, and it would make Randle, Naz and NAW ineligible to be included in a trade.

It might already be agreed to just waiting to be on the clock.

My prediction is something like Vassell, Keldon Johnson, and 14
Which isnt a ton for them to give up and actually helps them with their long term salary situation by moving Vassell and Johnson.

Thats more than we can offer unless the Suns front office gets moronic with short term thinking with the delusion that Julius Randle or Rudy Gobert is going to put them back into contention.

[Norseman79]

For what it is worth, the first sentence is semi-true. Ultimately, a Championship is the goal, but the honest truth is that this current squad probably isn't making the Western Conference Finals next season, barring luck. Anything that improves the roster to be a real contender is positive, even if the final result doesn't end up that way.

Minnesota would have roughly $11.2MM in space in the Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle for Kevin Durant swap, so some names that could make sense to trade for are...
Daniel Gafford ($14.3MM), Moritz Wagner ($11MM), Jonas Valančiūnas ($10.3MM), Walker Kessler, or Mark Williams (HUGE injury risk)

Viable Free-Agent Centers are...
Clint Capela, Steven Adams, Brook Lopez, Mo Wagner (Team Option), Al Horford, Andre Drummond (PO, would need to pay >$5MM), and yikes.

I think that trading Rudy Gobert without a strong contingency plan is a little scary, but Minnesota being able to remove protections from the 2029 FRP and offer swaps might be enough for Utah for Walker Kessler. Not fully confident about it, though, definitely feel safer about having Rudy Gobert as the starting Center to bolster Minnesota's defense.

I don't think Kessler is realistic, and they will get much better offers from needier teams if they decide to move him.
He's the only guy from their last 3 drafts that has shown any flashes of being a long term piece for them.

You could see something like Wendell Carter Jr for Divencenzo swap. Or Vucevic/Collins as salary filler from the Bulls as part of a bigger deal.

Rudy Gobert's 2025 playoff performance, if you look back on it honestly, dwarfed any struggles KAT ever had in terms of how ineffective he was and how much it dragged the whole team down.
I don't understand how anyone can want to go forward with an Ant/Rudy pairing and expect anything better than we got in the beatdown vs OKC.

IMHO any loss defensively from trading away Rudy Gobert should be more than offset by replacing Julius Randle with a competent defender.

I dont know what its going to look like and it might be a step back in the next year, year and a half, but I know we will be a treadmill team having to fight really really hard just to make the 8 team playoff bracket every single year if we move forward with Rudy (and Julius).

And if we do have to take a step back to retool, next year would be the year to do it.
We own our own pick. Utah has swap rights, but almost assuredly only within the top 8 (probably no lower than 5 or 6).

We've spent the last 3 offseasons trying to go all-in, its time to start thinking 2-3 years down the road.

IMHO Rob Dillingham is too small to ever be a positive player on the court and if we can get any value out of him we should probably move on it now. I would move him before I would move 17,31 or any future picks.

I'm starting to believe KD ends up in San Antonio next year for Vassell and a pick or a young player like Sochan anyway.

Rob turned 20 in January. He is short, but so was Iverson. Rob hasn't gotten any run, and even if he did, he is YOUNG. I wouldn't write him off quite yet.

Iverson was small, but his athleticism, toughness and strength as well as his handle were next level. Dillingham does not have the explosiveness that Iverson had. Probably not the best comparison.