The Official 2025 Offseason Thread Part 3

[Slim Charless]

Still believe Giannis will force a trade to Knicks before deadline, Bucks are stagnating and the team will be force to accommodate Giannis because they lack assets.

No. They won't because of this:

Read on Twitter

Not sure if this was posted but yikes.
Makes KD for No 2 pick, Harrison Barnes and Keldon Johnson look a lot nicer.

Bucks won't be forced to take some sub-par offer from NYC since they value Giannis accordingly. That's crazy.

That really doesn't seem like a ton for Giannis. Though I probably would just stay the long course with young guys if I'm SA. But Giannis is a top 5 player in his prime. Castle is awesome and I can see no way would you trade him for KD, but him and even Harper would probably be worth Giannis in a nutshell. Not that I'd do it for sure if I was SA given Wemby's age. I'd keep the core of young guys and have the grow together.

Did you see the rest of that tweet? That wasnt the end.....

The Bucks wanted all of that plus an ADDITIONAL 6 FRPs. All unprotected.

[bwgood77]

I know how stupid and emotional this sounds (because it is) but at this point just keep KD and let him expire and try to sign somewhere else. New FO needs to show these other franchises that we can't be bent over in negotiations anymore. If the non-HOU/SAS/MIA teams are out on their sides because KD won't re-sign the cap space is arguably more valuable than the paltry assets and salary ballast we'll get back. Set a new precedent that the Phoenix Suns don't lose deals anymore. If KD is still interested in max dollars he might have no choice but to re-sign with us anyways. Call these mofos bluffs

I don't do that but I certainly trade him somewhere he doesn't want to go if that's the best deal.

You negotiate and tell them that "hey, even if his deal is up and he doesn't want to stay you will still have all the leverage because he will want a max and no team will have that kind of cap space, at least not one of his desinations, so you will be able to get assets back in a S&T if need be".

The Raptors are probably trying to trade for him to move him at the deadline anyway and unload their crap contracts on us if they can in RJ and JP, then move him for assets they prefer in Feb.

[bwgood77]

Read on Twitter

No thank you Jake. Disgusting.

Eh...you get Smith, #10, and some value for Green. Im not sure how much more you can expect.

I hate the specific pieces traded for Green in this example but the concept remains relatively reasonable, I think.

I still like Lonzo Ball next to Green, and Vucevic isn't great defensively, and is old, but he'd be a lot more fun to watch than any C we've had play in a few years at least. Ayton was fun to watch half the time (for me), but at least Vucevice could spread the floor, hit 3s, pass, etc. Ball is sneakily under the radar good and a great defender. I read somewhere that his on/off was drastic, and that he was a really big impact player for Chicago.

I think he's a nice fit to Book and really not too old...I mean, he came out not that long ago with Tatum and Josh Jackson remember and you don't think of Tatum as old...I don't think.

Then yes, you get Smith and a first.

I think in a way that gets us what we want as far as being about as competitive as we can expect while also getting a pretty nice young prospect and a lotto pick.

[RaptorLakerJay]

Per Jake Fischer:

The Suns' attempts to find a Kevin Durant trade have not progressed as swiftly as they would have hoped.

Among the reasons for that: Teams such as Houston and San Antonio simply see little need to make asset-rich offers for Durant when A) they know that the Suns face self-imposed pressure to try to assemble a deal that delivers even half as much as they gave up to acquire the future Hall of Famer in February 2023 and B) both teams have long-held reservations about bidding aggressively for a player who will be 37 in September … and when their respective cores are so much younger.

Minnesota's level of interest, meanwhile, also appears to be in flux. The Timberwolves are said to be reluctant to go ahead with a trade unless they know Durant would embrace it and ESPN's Marc J. Spears reported Wednesday that Wolves star Anthony Edwards — despite his well-chronicled fondness for Durant dating to his youth — has not been actively lobbying his Olympic teammate to add Minnesota to his Houston/San Antonio/Miami list of desired destinations.

[bwgood77]

Read on Twitter

Since you are a Raptors fan, why would the Raptors, a team that is young and kind of rebuilding, want KD?

Because they would have Barnes/Ingram/KD and push for the 7/8 seed.

Not to mention that the Bucks/Celtics are down a star player each.

I had completely forgotten they had Ingram. But still, I don't see why you go for KD just to get the 7 seed.

[WuTang_CMB]

fisher.stein

The Suns' attempts to find a Kevin Durant trade have not progressed as swiftly as they would have hoped.

Among the reasons for that: Teams such as Houston and San Antonio simply see little need to make asset-rich offers for Durant when A) they know that the Suns face self-imposed pressure to try to assemble a deal that delivers even half as much as they gave up to acquire the future Hall of Famer in February 2023 and B) both teams have long-held reservations about bidding aggressively for a player who will be 37 in September … and when their respective cores are so much younger.

Minnesota's level of interest, meanwhile, also appears to be in flux. The Timberwolves are said to be reluctant to go ahead with a trade unless they know Durant would embrace it and ESPN's Marc J. Spears reported Wednesday that Wolves star Anthony Edwards — despite his well-chronicled fondness for Durant dating to his youth — has not been actively lobbying his Olympic teammate to add Minnesota to his Houston/San Antonio/Miami list of desired destinations.

[TeamTragic]

Since you are a Raptors fan, why would the Raptors, a team that is young and kind of rebuilding, want KD?

Because they would have Barnes/Ingram/KD and push for the 7/8 seed.

Not to mention that the Bucks/Celtics are down a star player each.

I had completely forgotten they had Ingram. But still, I don't see why you go for KD just to get the 7 seed.

Raptors would be higher than 7/8. That is just the bare minimum IMO.

[bwgood77]

No. They won't because of this:



Bucks won't be forced to take some sub-par offer from NYC since they value Giannis accordingly. That's crazy.

That really doesn't seem like a ton for Giannis. Though I probably would just stay the long course with young guys if I'm SA. But Giannis is a top 5 player in his prime. Castle is awesome and I can see no way would you trade him for KD, but him and even Harper would probably be worth Giannis in a nutshell. Not that I'd do it for sure if I was SA given Wemby's age. I'd keep the core of young guys and have the grow together.

Did you see the rest of that tweet? That wasnt the end.....

The Bucks wanted all of that plus an ADDITIONAL 6 FRPs. All unprotected.

Oh no, I didn't...lol. Well they can't trade 6 of their own unprotected, only 4, so I assume some are Atlanta's? Are they unprotected?

That's a lot then, though I don't expect Spurs unprotected 1sts to be worth much. Having Wemby and Giannis I think is different than when we added KD to Book. I thought those picks, especially the last two, could be very risky and end up being very good picks. I didn't expect us to have the 10th pick this fast, so we did even worse than I expected.

But I have a feeling the Spurs will be a firm playoff team soon and if they had Giannis I think they'd be a top 4 seed and maybe as high as 2. Even with Castle and Harper along with their other guys..oh yeah, forgot about Fox, I expect them to compete for HCA in the first round and to likely avoid the play in entirely.

[bwgood77]

Because they would have Barnes/Ingram/KD and push for the 7/8 seed.

Not to mention that the Bucks/Celtics are down a star player each.

I had completely forgotten they had Ingram. But still, I don't see why you go for KD just to get the 7 seed.

Raptors would be higher than 7/8. That is just the bare minimum IMO.

Yeah, I almost typed that they might be able to get up to the 6 seed with teams like Philly, Miami and Atlanta sinking.

And it would probably be close with some of the rest. With Tatum out Boston would be down. But you'd have Cleveland, Indy, NY, Boston, and I think if the Magic stay healthy their core now will be very tough with Paolo, Franz and Bane all in their prime...plus they have a decent amount of depth, size and length. They will probably be right there at 5/6

[BobbieL]

I had completely forgotten they had Ingram. But still, I don't see why you go for KD just to get the 7 seed.

Raptors would be higher than 7/8. That is just the bare minimum IMO.

Yeah, I almost typed that they might be able to get up to the 6 seed with teams like Philly, Miami and Atlanta sinking.

And it would probably be close with some of the rest. With Tatum out Boston would be down. But you'd have Cleveland, Indy, NY, Boston, and I think if the Magic stay healthy their core now will be very tough with Paolo, Franz and Bane all in their prime...plus they have a decent amount of depth, size and length. They will probably be right there at 5/6

Miami or Toronto.

[Slim Charless]

That really doesn't seem like a ton for Giannis. Though I probably would just stay the long course with young guys if I'm SA. But Giannis is a top 5 player in his prime. Castle is awesome and I can see no way would you trade him for KD, but him and even Harper would probably be worth Giannis in a nutshell. Not that I'd do it for sure if I was SA given Wemby's age. I'd keep the core of young guys and have the grow together.

Did you see the rest of that tweet? That wasnt the end.....

The Bucks wanted all of that plus an ADDITIONAL 6 FRPs. All unprotected.

Oh no, I didn't...lol. Well they can't trade 6 of their own unprotected, only 4, so I assume some are Atlanta's? Are they unprotected?

That's a lot then, though I don't expect Spurs unprotected 1sts to be worth much. Having Wemby and Giannis I think is different than when we added KD to Book. I thought those picks, especially the last two, could be very risky and end up being very good picks. I didn't expect us to have the 10th pick this fast, so we did even worse than I expected.

But I have a feeling the Spurs will be a firm playoff team soon and if they had Giannis I think they'd be a top 4 seed and maybe as high as 2. Even with Castle and Harper along with their other guys..oh yeah, forgot about Fox, I expect them to compete for HCA in the first round and to likely avoid the play in entirely.

Yeah. They wanted 2 of those ATL picks and 4 Bucks picks. In addition Castle, #2, Sochan and Vassell.

[Slim Charless]

Because they would have Barnes/Ingram/KD and push for the 7/8 seed.

Not to mention that the Bucks/Celtics are down a star player each.

I had completely forgotten they had Ingram. But still, I don't see why you go for KD just to get the 7 seed.

Raptors would be higher than 7/8. That is just the bare minimum IMO.

Dinos would be a top 4 team IMO. Scottie and KD would be a monster to defend and Ingram as the 3rd option.

Maybe best offense in the east.

[dremill24]

I had completely forgotten they had Ingram. But still, I don't see why you go for KD just to get the 7 seed.

Raptors would be higher than 7/8. That is just the bare minimum IMO.

Dinos would be a top 4 team IMO. Scottie and KD would be a monster to defend and Ingram as the 3rd option.

Maybe best offense in the east.

Thats what they said about KD/Book/Beal, who are probably a more talented scoring trio lol

[dremill24]

No thank you Jake. Disgusting.

Eh...you get Smith, #10, and some value for Green. Im not sure how much more you can expect.

I hate the specific pieces traded for Green in this example but the concept remains relatively reasonable, I think.

I still like Lonzo Ball next to Green, and Vucevic isn't great defensively, and is old, but he'd be a lot more fun to watch than any C we've had play in a few years at least. Ayton was fun to watch half the time (for me), but at least Vucevice could spread the floor, hit 3s, pass, etc. Ball is sneakily under the radar good and a great defender. I read somewhere that his on/off was drastic, and that he was a really big impact player for Chicago.

I think he's a nice fit to Book and really not too old...I mean, he came out not that long ago with Tatum and Josh Jackson remember and you don't think of Tatum as old...I don't think.

Then yes, you get Smith and a first.

I think in a way that gets us what we want as far as being about as competitive as we can expect while also getting a pretty nice young prospect and a lotto pick.

I just hate the idea of Vooch...you're going absolutely nowhere with that guy. The (overrated) talents he does have can be useful in a vacuum, but at the salary, playing time, and touches he requires, I just dont see him as worth it. At like $10mil/yr and 18min/gm, sure...but not as is.

Ball is good, but it just doesnt seem like hes ever gonna be able to play more than like 40-50 games at 20 minutes per. I'll take him, but at this valuation Im not inspired.

I know Green wouldnt have a ton of value, I guess Im just not willing to concede this being the best Green can get you. Maybe thats delusional lol

[Ghost of Kleine]

Read on Twitter

[Sunsdeuce]

Jabari Smith plays a ton of minutes to average only 12 and 7. AND his stats have been stagnant for three straight years. Call me unimpressed with the Suns decision making.

[One_and_Done]

Jabari Smith plays a ton of minutes to average only 12 and 7. AND his stats have been stagnant for three straight years. Call me unimpressed with the Suns decision making.

Actually according to some reporting neither he nor Jalen have actually been formally offered yet. So it's not even clear a package of those 2 is on the table.

[Blonde]

Jabari Smith plays a ton of minutes to average only 12 and 7. AND his stats have been stagnant for three straight years. Call me unimpressed with the Suns decision making.

Actually according to some reporting neither he nor Jalen have actually been formally offered yet. So it's not even clear a package of those 2 is on the table.

But they have to put that out there in case a trade doesn’t go down so they can tell their guys “see we were never trying to trade you!” I fully expect that a deal for Green/Jabari is on the table but we just don’t want Green and can’t find a team willing to give decent value for him.

Regarding Jabari Smith… I did not like him out of the draft, and will like him a lot less with whatever his new contract is. With that said, he was behind FVV, Green, Sengun, Brooks, and at times Thompson in offensive priority. Still just 21. He played a role on a good team this year, and has good defensive instincts. I don’t necessarily expect it, but he absolutely has breakout potential with the right team. Could be our Markkanen?

[One_and_Done]

Jabari Smith plays a ton of minutes to average only 12 and 7. AND his stats have been stagnant for three straight years. Call me unimpressed with the Suns decision making.

Actually according to some reporting neither he nor Jalen have actually been formally offered yet. So it's not even clear a package of those 2 is on the table.

But they have to put that out there in case a trade doesn’t go down so they can tell their guys “see we were never trying to trade you!” I fully expect that a deal for Green/Jabari is on the table but we just don’t want Green and can’t find a team willing to give decent value for him.

Regarding Jabari Smith… I did not like him out of the draft, and will like him a lot less with whatever his new contract is. With that said, he was behind FVV, Green, Sengun, Brooks, and at times Thompson in offensive priority. Still just 21. He played a role on a good team this year, and has good defensive instincts. I don’t necessarily expect it, but he absolutely has breakout potential with the right team. Could be our Markkanen?

I think Jabari & Green is plausibly on the table, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's the whole deal.

[Mr Puddles]

No. They won't because of this:



Bucks won't be forced to take some sub-par offer from NYC since they value Giannis accordingly. That's crazy.

That really doesn't seem like a ton for Giannis. Though I probably would just stay the long course with young guys if I'm SA. But Giannis is a top 5 player in his prime. Castle is awesome and I can see no way would you trade him for KD, but him and even Harper would probably be worth Giannis in a nutshell. Not that I'd do it for sure if I was SA given Wemby's age. I'd keep the core of young guys and have the grow together.

Did you see the rest of that tweet? That wasnt the end.....

The Bucks wanted all of that plus an ADDITIONAL 6 FRPs. All unprotected.

I mean, ofcourse they do. Look at what Bane just netted the Grizzlies. There is a Grand Canyon level gap between Bane and Giannis.

The only team that can realistically trade for Giannis and keep a core in tact is OKC.