Suns aggressively shopping Durant before draft

[Fo-Real]

I think NY makes a little too much sense.

Phoenix covets acquiring a center in any KD trade.

NY has one that’s reportedly available that conveniently is Devin Bookers best friend.

Salaries match almost perfectly.

NY is one alpha away from being real contenders.

KAT is probably the best single player Phoenix could trade Durant for.

Durant goes to the best team in the East (presumably) where it’s wide open.


If Im NY, Im doing everything possible to make that swap. Perfect player, perfect timing and perfect trade imo.

I would have said there is not one reason for NY to want to swap Kat for Durant a couple weeks ago. The death stares given to Kat during the playoffs by OG, Bridges, the coach, etc.... make me think its not out of the question. OG wanted to fight Kat on the bench. The entire team was death staring each other every time they thought he messed up, not to mention how the commentators loudly called out how badly the Pacers kept attacking his drop coverage. I still don't think they will, but can see the whole teams visual disgust with him.

[sp6r=underrated]

Come on Nuggets, do something!

Denver badly needs a talent upgrade but the pairing of Durant and Jokic hits me as a disaster on the defensive end. And on the offensive end Durant wouldn't maximize Jokic's passing given the ambivalence he showed for Golden State's motion offense at the end of his tenure there.

Well Nuggets have MPJ and Murray and neither of them can guard a garbage can. Durant is 100x better than MPJ and isnt as bad defensively.

Durant can't play the three so if you acquire him you lose Gordon minutes. The Nuggets would be better if they acquired Durant but the opportunity cost of acquiring Durant makes it a bad idea. They need to use their limited resources to beef up the roster one through three not pair an offensive-centric PF with Jokic. A Jokic centric team doesn't need an offensive centric Power Forward.

[sp6r=underrated]

Knicks can straight up offer Kat for KD right? KD is old, but still an elite scorer and NY really needs that. Brunson is too athletic limited to be a number one option on a championship team.

I don't want Durant and will be upset if the Knicks get him. The trade is unworkable anyway. Phoenix wants assets for Durant and KAT is a comparable player to Durant. It doesn't make sense for them to do a one for one trade.

[sp6r=underrated]

I really don't get why people are so high on Durant right now. If he was as good as people thought, Phoenix would have been a better team.

[liquidswords]

Brunson - Bridges - OG - KD - Robinson with Hart, McBride, FA Center off the bench is a pretty damn decent rotation

[Woodsanity]

Denver badly needs a talent upgrade but the pairing of Durant and Jokic hits me as a disaster on the defensive end. And on the offensive end Durant wouldn't maximize Jokic's passing given the ambivalence he showed for Golden State's motion offense at the end of his tenure there.

Nuggets biggest problem is getting bucket while Jokic is on the bench. Murray has been a failure in that regard.

AG is also not an ideal defensive pairing with Jokic with his porous rim protection. But I rather keep AG over Murray. Also don't want to sell low on MPJ.

Perhaps as part of a 3 team trade with Sacramento, involving Murray and perhaps Braun (more assets coming to Denver in this case) as well.

With Durant, Nuggets would be fine with a Derek Fisher type PG.

KD thrives playing alongside an all-time great offensive player that can make play for him and the team, while KD plays his role as a pure scorer and not a first option playmaker. Start with Jokic and Durant as your core, then surround them with defensive pieces like Gordon, Braun, etc.

KD with the Nuggets would have beaten OKC in the 2nd round.

Just don't see any package that the Nuggets could provide that could be remotely appealing. Murray and MPJ aren't exactly net assets. They have very few picks too.

[sp6r=underrated]

Nuggets biggest problem is getting bucket while Jokic is on the bench. Murray has been a failure in that regard.

AG is also not an ideal defensive pairing with Jokic with his porous rim protection. But I rather keep AG over Murray. Also don't want to sell low on MPJ.

Perhaps as part of a 3 team trade with Sacramento, involving Murray and perhaps Braun (more assets coming to Denver in this case) as well.

With Durant, Nuggets would be fine with a Derek Fisher type PG.

KD thrives playing alongside an all-time great offensive player that can make play for him and the team, while KD plays his role as a pure scorer and not a first option playmaker. Start with Jokic and Durant as your core, then surround them with defensive pieces like Gordon, Braun, etc.

KD with the Nuggets would have beaten OKC in the 2nd round.

I don't disagree there. I think Denver is screwed frankly. The Murray/MPJ contracts only made sense if both guys continued developing after signing. Neither one did and now they are hosed.

I just don't think chasing Durant helps the Nuggets much.
Just don't see any package that the Nuggets could provide that could be remotely appealing. Murray and MPJ aren't exactly net assets. They have very few picks too.

[tamaraw08]

I think NY makes a little too much sense.

Phoenix covets acquiring a center in any KD trade.

NY has one that’s reportedly available that conveniently is Devin Bookers best friend.

Salaries match almost perfectly.

NY is one alpha away from being real contenders.

KAT is probably the best single player Phoenix could trade Durant for.

Durant goes to the best team in the East (presumably) where it’s wide open.


If Im NY, Im doing everything possible to make that swap. Perfect player, perfect timing and perfect trade imo.

Why can't NY go for a younger and much better defender like Giannis? How many FRP's can they offer?

They don't have any after trading 5 away for Bridges. They technically own their 26 and 30 but they can't trade those due to the Stepien Rule.

yikes. Should they go for it by offering OG too? KAT+OG for Giannis, fillers ?

[Woodsanity]

Realistically Kat for KD is possible but not sure if I would do that since KD is quite old at this point.

I don't think Giannis is possible unless he forces his way to NY.

[SkyBill40]

Realistically Kat for KD is possible but not sure if I would do that since KD is quite old at this point.

I don't think Giannis is possible unless he forces his way to NY.

It's definitely going to require some crafty work since both teams are over aprons and the Knicks are only ~ $53k under the second. Making this move will push them over and into the second and I don't think that's a place they want to be.

[tamaraw08]

I really don't get why people are so high on Durant right now. If he was as good as people thought, Phoenix would have been a better team.

I don't know about people being "so high" but the guy is 6-11 who still mobile and shoots 41% from 3.
No, he won't be around and effective by 2028 and that is why no one should expect multiple FRP's in return.
but teams can benefit from him if they manage his minutes to 28-30, rest him for like 5-6 mins in the 3rd quarter and by critical 4th, he can shoot over shorter defenders for a high% 15 footer or drive past taller ones for layups. He also still a pretty decent defender, not great but decent if rested.

[Chuck Everett]

If the Spurs end up doing it, it will be funny to watch them succumb to pressure from the dumb fans and build this way around Wemby (especially when it fails). I don't care if he wants to win now, he needs to first play a full season and figure out his best/most efficient place on the court.

[Woodsanity]

Durant doesn't fit Wemby's timeline not sure why Spurs would trade for him to be frank.

[Sixers in 4]

I really don't get why people are so high on Durant right now. If he was as good as people thought, Phoenix would have been a better team.

I don't either. It's like people think the dude is 30 instead of 36 on the tail-end of his career.

He can still play but you have to treat him like a two year rental at this point.

[Bornstellar]

If the Spurs end up doing it, it will be funny to watch them succumb to pressure from the dumb fans and build this way around Wemby (especially when it fails). I don't care if he wants to win now, he needs to first play a full season and figure out his best/most efficient place on the court.

Meh, it depends on the price. If the Spurs only have to give up 14 and a future swap or pick and matching salary, they are still in a great spot going forward and will add the #2 in the draft this year. Spurs need to capitalize on Wemby's rookie deal while they can. I don't think this move would make SA contenders by any means but I'm more concerned about our guys getting their feet wet in the playoffs first and I think trading for KD is a good way to do that. Plus considering his age he won't be around for long. Spurs can certainly retool/reset in a couple years, Wemby will barely be entering his prime by then

[Sixers in 4]

He's near the end of the line noone should give up too much for him and any team that does will regret it

Austin Reeves + Knecht salary filler plus a first round pick and a couple of swaps seems like a more than fair deal.

First of all those salaries are way off a third team would likely need to get involved to finesse that trade, and even if they weren't I wouldn't trade Reaves straight up let alone add another asset in Knecht and a first round pick for Durants geriatric ass.

It's not hard to come up with guys on the lakers who are salary filler. The more difficult part of the trade is the Suns are in the 2nd apron so they might need to do a salary dump as part of a 3way likely they'll have to do so regardless of whether they trade with the lakers or not.

[Sign5]

Because Bam can't guarantee even a playoff spot.

... uhhh neither can the current KD... with Booker and Beal at his side to boot

In the East he can. Bam can't.

Still doubtful at this stage in his career, even then no ones throwing younger assets to barely get their team to the play in/ playoffs. Bam has made the playoffs 7/8 years of his career. So implying Bam can't get his team to the playoffs is emphatically false.





So again why pay KD to do something Bam is/has already been doing his whole career?

So you switch KD for Bam and then what? At best a first round exit? Please, you may as well keep Bam or trade him for YOUNGER assets not a geriatric Durant that doesn't guarantee even a conference berth.

KD needs to go to a team with a couple bonafide stars in place to win as he did the very first time he bolted.

He can longer carry a team solo, hell he couldn't even make the play-in with Devin booker another all nba/ top 15-20 caliber player and Beal his 3rd option, west or not. Most pundits and fans pegged Suns as title contenders prior to the season starting. So you trying to use "the west" as an excuse to why he couldn't even make the play-in doesn't really cut it considering his all-star running mates and previous expectations.

If this were KD fresh off 2021's outing, sure but he's no longer even that guy. He's soon to be 37 and has been riddled with injuries almost every year since his final year with the Warriors.
Juice just isnt worth the squeeze unless you're the Rockets, Nuggets, Knicks, Warriors and couple other playoff teams with potent talent/depth already in place. Not even spurs are a slam dunk fit and every Front office will weigh trading assets for a guy likely to retire in < 3 years.

[durden_tyler]

remember, most of these reports are just speculation or even agent/team driven narratives so should be treated as such. None of these teams are going to telegraph their intentions to beat writers, Youtube "scouts" or talking heads on TV.

Speculations yes, but he’s an expiring contract so this should happen in the offseason— it’s guaranteed.


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[phanman]

Durant doesn't fit Wemby's timeline not sure why Spurs would trade for him to be frank.

It does accomplish the goal of kick starting this current of era of Wemby to meaningfully compete for a playoff seed next year and possibly make some real noise. Also I think adding KD would do wonders for the individual improvement for Victor as their offensive package as their offensive game is eerily similar in the ways they use their length to create space to take jumpers. After all, KD is his favourite player.

The Spurs have young prospects, big contracts and draft capital to get the deal done and a trio with Fox is intriguing.

[Dan Z]

Houston is the only club that:
1. has stuff Phoenix wants
2. could contend with Durant after a trade
3. a city Durant would be okay with
4. get Durant the credit he craves.

Detroit is a fit but he'll never accept going there

Who does Houston send back to Phoenix to match KD's 54 million dollar contract? If FVV is part of it then who is the PG for Houston? Reed starts?

They'll also need to add more salary than just FVV to make it work.

??? They have Green (33M) and Jabari (12M) as the main package along with picks.
Houston keeps FVV and has Whitmore/Sheppard fill Green's role
FVV
Amen
Brooks
KD
Sengun

Bench: Sheppard, Whitmore, Eason, Adams, Etc.

If you read the article it specifically mentions FVV.

The deal you mention above...the Suns trade KD and end up with another SG? Green, Beal and Booker. How will that work?

Jabari could play PF, so that part makes sense.