I am all ears and would be happy to be proven wrong, that KD going to Washington could make them an ECF contender.
Ghost of Kleine wrote:lilfishi22 wrote:Ghost of Kleine wrote:
Simply put, KD being added to their team changes their plans, calculus and competitive trajectory man. Now of course your right that ye alone by himself wouldn't carry them to much better outcomes.
But basketball is a team sport and as a team it could be accomplished. The mechanisms for dramatic roster upgrades/ improvements I've already shared as part of the KD pursuit plan. Now obviously they wouldn't sell KD on playing their and just stand pat!
They'd likely make moves with his approval/ input to upgrade their roster around him. And unlike us, they'd have the assets and cap space to do it. Sure, you make great points around an unproven front office, coach, etc. But they obviously were clever enough to completely grift our front office on Beal and multiple picks for years!
Also we're talking about a much easier eastern conference that'd be wide open for most any competitive team to make the playoffs as opposed to the bloodbath that's the western conference.
Just an easier pathway, especially when considering the multiple factors around the majority of teams in the east, and the fact that you actually can have teams with losing records ( below .500) sneaking into the playoffs as the bulls and Hawks did last year in 24.
It's just a much easier proposition honestly man. And that's the primary selling point for them in a KD pursuit. The idea that it's not a serious proposal is subjective opinion when all factors are legitimately considered man.
Player's are unpredictable. And even absent players personal interests, you also have front offices that can make decisions that are considered surprising or unexpected. KD for all his greatness and notoriety may just not carry the same level of clout as he once had, and is under contract in this premise.
Under contract can obviously be moved without consent. Unless they're Bradley Beal of course.........lol. Did our very own front office not try to trade him without consent??
Yes adding a KD to any team would change the team. That's plainly obvious. It's not a matter of adding KD, it's a matter of how different that team could actually be and my contention is not very much for all the reasons I already provided.
If you really want to play out the scenario you're proposing instead of just throwing words out, then I challenge you to build a realistic Wizards team based on their roster and cap space last season. Show me the team you build that you think is going to be a problem in the East.
sure man,
Pre or post Avdija/ Gafford trade. And any other inclusionary factors for this challenge?
Conditions to make this realistic and not 2K level GM'ing:
- Must begin when KD became available for trade and it was clear KD and Suns were moving on from each other so the start of free agency on 30 June 2025.
- No trades for players purely for the purpose of flipping them ie any trade must either have the player(s) stay with the team or waived
- Any trade into free cap space (mainly Brooklyn's) must have fair value going to them such as good picks or a promising young player ie no unilateral salary dumps for token assets
- The KD trade to the Wizards would need to be more or less similar in value to what we got back from Houston.
- You have the option to not do the Poole for CJ trade given if they (you) were serious about making a move for KD in the offseason then they may not have traded for CJ or may have done something else with Poole's contract.
To help you along, here are some info on the Wizards situation prior to free agency:
Washington Wizards
Below the tax: $13 million
Below the first apron: $18 million (Note: The Wizards intend to use more than 100% of the expanded traded player exemption to acquire CJ McCollum and Kelly Olynyk. They are hard capped at the first apron.)
Also this
https://www.spotrac.com/news/_/id/2767/washington-wizards-2025-offseason-preview
Just to make it more fun, and less subjective on my part, I'll put up a poll so the board can vote on two criteria; must be able competitive enough to fight be in the top 4 conversation (48win minimum) and how realistic those trades are
