The Kevin Durant Thread

[lilfishi22]

Now that he's officially a Sun, one of the greatest players of all time deserves its own thread on our humble board







Let's get that hardware !!!

[Saberestar]

PODCAST - KD is on the Suns. We talk about what it means and where we go from here.

Read on Twitter

[kennydorglas]

Stay HEALTHY KD.

[handsome salary]

I hope he has a simple pattern with his career. Teams 1 and 3 = no ring. Teams 2 and 4 = ring.

[Paradise]

You just got the best player in the league when healthy. He was on his way to being the first ever MVP in Nets franchise history.

He’s going to make the Suns a franchise where fans on the road erupt constantly. He’s also going to talk a lot of **** to other superstars.

The Suns are going to be rockstars going forward. I will be rooting for y’all to win the West.

[Crives]

I love how everyone in media is now saying phx paid way to much, since trade request media has been saying Phx doesn’t have nearly enough. The level of corruption is gross

[bwgood77]

I love how everyone in media is now saying phx paid way to much, since trade request media has been saying Phx doesn’t have nearly enough. The level of corruption is gross

Phx did pay way too much. But that doesn't mean we are not favorites. I think originally people thought Bridges was off limits, but even if not, that was before Bridges broke out and I don't think people originally thought we'd trade Crowder, Bridges, Cam and 4 (really 5) unprotected picks. Sure in 28 if it swaps we get Brooklyn's but they could get the #1 pick from us.

But the fact is, to get a star these days, you do have to pay too much. I guess you can say it's the market rate but it killed the Lakers (though most think it's worth it for 1 championship and then not make playoffs) but they have won lots of championships. Clips gave up a lot but I'd probably rather have Shai right now than George, as good as George is, and then you add the picks (of course at the time they had to get George to get Kawhi)...but that trade hasn't really paid off either. I won't be surprised if in 2-3 years we haven't won anything and people would rather have Bridges straight up than KD. It's probably more likely than not.

[handsome salary]

I love how everyone in media is now saying phx paid way to much, since trade request media has been saying Phx doesn’t have nearly enough. The level of corruption is gross

I don't get how the media says the Suns roster after the trade is now so thin. Crowder hasn't touched the court all season and Cam less than half of the games.

[Qwigglez]

It is what it is. Suns got KD now, it's time to move on and live with it. The 2023 pick, 2025 pick likely will be in the 20's hopefully only as low as pick 17. Those shouldn't be too much of a concern.

I'm excited to see what KD can bring.

[MrDollarBills]

At first, I was upset with KD for how everything went down during his time in Brooklyn. And for good reason, which doesn't need to be said here. But reading the details of how he handled his departure, and how it ensured that we got a good return for him that didn't leave us spiraling, I've had a change of heart. No hard feelings from me. KD is the greatest player to ever a wear a Nets uniform, and that's that.

Good luck to you guys. You'd better win the f*cking championship or else.

Also, come by our board if you want to still root for Mikal and Cam. All are welcome. Tell us about your good mexican food in Arizona.

[MrDollarBills]

I love how everyone in media is now saying phx paid way to much, since trade request media has been saying Phx doesn’t have nearly enough. The level of corruption is gross

You guys gave us a lot, I'm not even gonna sugarcoat that fam.

F*ck the media. Go. Win.

[sashaturiaf]

I don't care if it's Mikal and 4 picks, on paper that sounds like a lot but we're talking about KD here. Players as good as KD simply don't get traded. In NBA history Kareem is only player who's been traded who is on KDs level as a player.

Suns fans should know better than anyone if you get a bona fide superstar you win the trade no matter what you gave up. Ok so the Suns diehards on this board might remember what you gave up for Barkley but nobody else does.

Sure KD is a good deal older than Barkley. But with his length he's going to be effective for a long long time, even an Achilles tear in his 30s can't slow him down.

[bwgood77]

I don't care if it's Mikal and 4 picks, on paper that sounds like a lot but we're talking about KD here. Players as good as KD simply don't get traded. In NBA history Kareem is only player who's been traded who is on KDs level as a player.

Suns fans should know better than anyone if you get a bona fide superstar you win the trade no matter what you gave up. Ok so the Suns diehards on this board might remember what you gave up for Barkley but nobody else does.

Sure KD is a good deal older than Barkley. But with his length he's going to be effective for a long long time, even an Achilles tear in his 30s can't slow him down.

We didn't give up NEARLY as much for Barkley and he was in the middle of his prime at 29. No picks...one really good player in Hornacek and two role players..Hornacek was basically a role player too...not better than Bridges. So we gave up 4 unprotected picks and an unprotected pick swap and overall better players for a guy 5 years older.

Also, the Suns won the same # of games the 4 years with Barkley as they did the 4 years before getting him and made the WCF one time less than the 4 years prior. They did make the finals but obviously didn't win. It was still worth it, but we really didn't give up all that much.

[Saberestar]

I don't care if it's Mikal and 4 picks, on paper that sounds like a lot but we're talking about KD here. Players as good as KD simply don't get traded. In NBA history Kareem is only player who's been traded who is on KDs level as a player.

Suns fans should know better than anyone if you get a bona fide superstar you win the trade no matter what you gave up. Ok so the Suns diehards on this board might remember what you gave up for Barkley but nobody else does.

Sure KD is a good deal older than Barkley. But with his length he's going to be effective for a long long time, even an Achilles tear in his 30s can't slow him down.

We didn't give up NEARLY as much for Barkley and he was in the middle of his prime at 29. No picks...one really good player in Hornacek and two role players..Hornacek was basically a role player too...not better than Bridges. So we gave up 4 unprotected picks and an unprotected pick swap and overall better players for a guy 5 years older.

Also, the Suns won the same # of games the 4 years with Barkley as they did the 4 years before getting him and made the WCF one time less than the 4 years prior. They did make the finals but obviously didn't win. It was still worth it, but we really didn't give up all that much.

This trade is similar to that one for Barkley and that's why:

1. Hornacek was better than Mikal is now.
He was an All- Star that season averaging 20, 5 and 5 with 2 steals...how can you say that he was a role player??

2. Tim Perry was a solid role player, and you can argue that he was as valuable as Cam Johnson is right now. At the moment of the trade he was an upcoming PF.

3. Andrew Lang was a serviceable young C who averaged 2.5 blocks per game. I wouldn't say that his value could be lower than Crowder's value now.

So...all in all I would say that the package is pretty similar and the picks are there because KD is a better player than Barkley.

You can't seriously compare this trade to the Shaq trade because Shaq was averaging 14.2 points, 7.8 boards and was TERRIBLE on defense for the Heat. He was just a big name at that time.

KD is having an MVP season.

[sashaturiaf]

I don't care if it's Mikal and 4 picks, on paper that sounds like a lot but we're talking about KD here. Players as good as KD simply don't get traded. In NBA history Kareem is only player who's been traded who is on KDs level as a player.

Suns fans should know better than anyone if you get a bona fide superstar you win the trade no matter what you gave up. Ok so the Suns diehards on this board might remember what you gave up for Barkley but nobody else does.

Sure KD is a good deal older than Barkley. But with his length he's going to be effective for a long long time, even an Achilles tear in his 30s can't slow him down.

We didn't give up NEARLY as much for Barkley and he was in the middle of his prime at 29. No picks...one really good player in Hornacek and two role players..Hornacek was basically a role player too...not better than Bridges. So we gave up 4 unprotected picks and an unprotected pick swap and overall better players for a guy 5 years older.

Also, the Suns won the same # of games the 4 years with Barkley as they did the 4 years before getting him and made the WCF one time less than the 4 years prior. They did make the finals but obviously didn't win. It was still worth it, but we really didn't give up all that much.

This trade is similar to that one for Barkley and that's why:

1. Hornacek was better than Mikal is now.
He was an All- Star that season averaging 20, 5 and 5 with 2 steals...how can you say that he was a role player??

2. Tim Perry was a solid role player, and you can argue that he was as valuable as Cam Johnson is right now. At the moment of the trade he was an upcoming PF.

3. Andrew Lang was a serviceable young C who averaged 2.5 blocks per game. I wouldn't say that his compared value could be lower than Crowder's value now.

So...all in all I would say that the package is pretty similar and the picks are there because KD is a better player than Barkley.

You can't seriously compare this trade to the Shaq trade because Shaq was averaging 14.2 points, 7.8 boards and was TERRIBLE on defense for the Heat. He was just a big name at that time.

KD is having an MVP season.

You also can't include the picks when comparing these trades since picks weren't really an asset to be traded back in Barkley's era. Trading half a decade worth of picks for a star is a recent phenomenon just like jacking up 40 3 pointers a game.

Hell I think when the Lakers traded Shaq they didn't even get a pick back at all, and that was not all that long ago.

[WeekapaugGroove]

His length and shooting aren't going away so I think he's a guy whos game is going to age very well. The question is will his body age as gracefully, maybe CP can get him on the vegan plan

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

[Damkac]

His length and shooting aren't going away so I think he's a guy whos game is going to age very well. The question is will his body age as gracefully, maybe CP can get him on the vegan plan

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

In theory he should age well. Even if he will become slower he could just become PF and play more Dirk's style. But he needs to avoid serious injuries.

[bwgood77]

I don't care if it's Mikal and 4 picks, on paper that sounds like a lot but we're talking about KD here. Players as good as KD simply don't get traded. In NBA history Kareem is only player who's been traded who is on KDs level as a player.

Suns fans should know better than anyone if you get a bona fide superstar you win the trade no matter what you gave up. Ok so the Suns diehards on this board might remember what you gave up for Barkley but nobody else does.

Sure KD is a good deal older than Barkley. But with his length he's going to be effective for a long long time, even an Achilles tear in his 30s can't slow him down.

We didn't give up NEARLY as much for Barkley and he was in the middle of his prime at 29. No picks...one really good player in Hornacek and two role players..Hornacek was basically a role player too...not better than Bridges. So we gave up 4 unprotected picks and an unprotected pick swap and overall better players for a guy 5 years older.

Also, the Suns won the same # of games the 4 years with Barkley as they did the 4 years before getting him and made the WCF one time less than the 4 years prior. They did make the finals but obviously didn't win. It was still worth it, but we really didn't give up all that much.

This trade is similar to that one for Barkley and that's why:

1. Hornacek was better than Mikal is now.
He was an All- Star that season averaging 20, 5 and 5 with 2 steals...how can you say that he was a role player??

2. Tim Perry was a solid role player, and you can argue that he was as valuable as Cam Johnson is right now. At the moment of the trade he was an upcoming PF.

3. Andrew Lang was a serviceable young C who averaged 2.5 blocks per game. I wouldn't say that his value could be lower than Crowder's value now.

So...all in all I would say that the package is pretty similar and the picks are there because KD is a better player than Barkley.

You can't seriously compare this trade to the Shaq trade because Shaq was averaging 14.2 points, 7.8 boards and was TERRIBLE on defense for the Heat. He was just a big name at that time.

KD is having an MVP season.

I personally didn't really think Hornacek was a role player. But I don't think of Bridges that way either. Others do, probably in the same way they would think Hornacek was. They were both key very important guys.

I don't think of it as the same as Barkley at all. Barkley was 29 and in his prime without serious injury history and we didn't give away 4-5 unprotected picks, some well into the future after he would be gone.

KD is better than Barkley but Barkley was also a top 5 player...and had a lot longer left in his career...while at the height of his game and was an MVP for us.

I am excited though, in the sense I think we will be really good, with higher upside and have a good chance at a championship. Will it be worth it to me if we win a championship? I don't know...it would depend on what the entire next decade brings. If we have a three peat or something it would be for sure.

There are just concerns and I am a fan of organic teams, Mikal was my favorite player, I've watched teams who gave up tons of picks/swaps for older players regret it (Brooklyn/Boston) or for injury prone super duos have big struggles (AD-Lakers/George/Kawhi Clippers)...then KD's last team with Kyrie didn't do much.

So there are obvious concerns. Losing Mikal hurts but I understand that. All those picks for such and old player could bite us. But so many I understand care about none of that if our chances at a ring get a little better. Some people think a ring would be worth sucking for a number of years, and like you say you never know what happens in the future. Maybe we sign a big name or two, or Bridges in 26.

[bwgood77]

His length and shooting aren't going away so I think he's a guy whos game is going to age very well. The question is will his body age as gracefully, maybe CP can get him on the vegan plan

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

Yeah, the game obviously. Just the injury stuff. People would have been stoked (well some would have been) to get Kobe at this age, but he quickly declined and wasn't good after this age. And he hadn't had the past injury issues. You just never know at that age regardless of injury history, but when it's there the risk factor goes up signficantly.