Why not Durant?

[Jamaaliver]

Stars Make a Splash, but Continuity Is King in the NBA

it’s worth remembering that blockbuster deals have rarely led to Finals appearances over the years



Since 2000, only one NBA team has claimed the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy with newly-acquired players taking up more than 50 percent of the total rotation minutes in the regular season—the Dwyane Wade–led Miami Heat in 2006. Just three others have made the NBA Finals. But the 2005-06 Heat seem to be the exception that proves the rule.

...the numbers point to a correlation between roster continuity and competitiveness—food for thought for title-aspiring teams. Contenders are constantly looking for opportunities to pry NBA stars away from their opponents, like the Kevin Durant sweepstakes in Brooklyn. But what if a championship favorite needs a roster evolution rather than a revolution—and a deal for a top-tier player such as Durant overcorrects its weaknesses, doing more harm than good?

...outside of Miami’s 2006 triumph, history shows that stability is a title favorite’s best friend. In 15 of the 23 seasons played since the turn of the century, both Finals teams have boasted a roster continuity percentage of at least 60. As many as three in five champions reached the 70 percent threshold—which the reigning champion Golden State Warriors missed by just 2 percentage points last season.

During Golden State’s run of five consecutive Finals appearances between 2015 and 2019, returning Warriors players spent 80 percent of the time on the court in all but one season—2016-17, the year of Kevin Durant’s arrival that inevitably required a roster reshuffle. Roster continuity is a shared trait among some of the greatest teams in NBA history. Michael Jordan’s double three-peat teams with the Bulls, Magic Johnson’s Showtime Lakers, and the late Bill Russell’s Celtics each dipped below the 70 percent line only once during their run of dominance.

Continuity might not guarantee success. But it matters. Plays will slow down and smooth out when run by a group of players familiar with each other’s strengths and weaknesses—even more so if they’ve spent some quality time together that has further united them in pursuit of the same goal. In an environment as competitive as the NBA, the pursuit of perfection never stops, distorting the value of what teams already have. But history shows that sometimes, “perfect” truly is the enemy of the good.

The Ringer

[Jamaaliver]

The Atlanta Hawks offered a package of John Collins, De'Andre Hunter and a draft pick to the Brooklyn Nets for Kevin Durant within the past month, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The Hawks used most of their draft capital to trade for Dejounte Murray in June, just a few days before Kevin Durant requested a trade from the Nets.

Like so many of the talks centered on Durant, Atlanta's offer has gained little traction.

Via Shams Charania/The Athletic

[jayu70]

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[Jamaaliver]

Probably not going to happen just yet. But BK is a dumpster fire.

I'd be standing by with all the trade chips we can muster.

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[jayu70]

Probably not going to happen just yet. But BK is a dumpster fire.

I'd be standing by with all the trade chips we can muster.

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KD has his hand in this mess as well.
Didn't Marks say when KD first joined the Nets - he heard from the media that KD was joining the Nets along with Kyrie. He and KD had no initial conversations?

[Jamaaliver]

KD has his hand in this mess as well.
Didn't Marks say when KD first joined the Nets - he heard from the media that KD was joining the Nets along with Kyrie. He and KD had no initial conversations?

No idea. But we're not Brooklyn. We have more stable ownership and Front Office.


And it takes elite players to compete against elite players. A core of Capela-Durant-Trae-Dejounte can compete with any team in this league...even if we fill out the rest of the roster with low cost vets.

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[HMFFL]

Landry and Korver need to be on the phone with Sean Marks to see if KD is available.

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[CP War Hawks]

Probably should've stood pat on the Murray trade for bigger moves like this. I mean everyone is on the table except for Trae for me.

[jayu70]

The Brooklyn Nets plan to be aggressive leading up to the trade deadline to upgrade their roster around Kevin Durant following their trade of Kyrie Irving for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first round picks and two second round picks.

"Now for Brooklyn, they want to get back to work," said Adrian Wojnarowski on Sunday. "They got the three picks they got in this trade, they have a future Philadelphia first round pick. They'll be aggressive with those picks between now and Thursday's trade deadline to try to get more help around Kevin Durant.

"Quite honestly, this is an organization that wants Kevin Durant to stay committed. Stay the course with this reshaping of this roster. They're going to continue between now and Thursday to do that."

ADRIAN WOJNAROWSKI/ESPN

[jayu70]

KD has his hand in this mess as well.
Didn't Marks say when KD first joined the Nets - he heard from the media that KD was joining the Nets along with Kyrie. He and KD had no initial conversations?

No idea. But we're not Brooklyn. We have more stable ownership and Front Office.


And it takes elite players to compete against elite players. A core of Capela-Durant-Trae-Dejounte can compete with any team in this league...even if we fill out the rest of the roster with low cost vets.

Things change fast in the NBA. Less than 2 months later and Hawks ownership and front office a mess.

[Jamaaliver]

KD has his hand in this mess as well.
Didn't Marks say when KD first joined the Nets - he heard from the media that KD was joining the Nets along with Kyrie. He and KD had no initial conversations?

No idea. But we're not Brooklyn. We have more stable ownership and Front Office.

Things change fast in the NBA. Less than 2 months later and Hawks ownership and front office a mess.

I'm embarrassed how much faith i had in this team.

But really, it was belief in what Travis Schlenk was building. He did it the right way and had a braintrust of experienced talent evaluators.

With him gone and Ressler calling the shots, I'm barely a Hawks fan now.

28 years down the drain...

[Jamaaliver]

NBA Twitter has turned against Nets Owner Joe Tsai. As have the players. Kyrie behaved like a diva for 2+ years...but the owner is somehow the villain of that scenario?

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[HMFFL]

NBA Twitter has turned against Nets Owner Joe Tsai. As have the players. Kyrie behaved like a diva for 2+ years...but the owner is somehow the villain of that scenario?

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The players are entitled.
The players union wants to make it appear that Kyrie is loved and admired.

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[HMFFL]

Kevin Durant is headed to Phoenix.

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[Jamaaliver]

How much would you guys be willing to trade to acquire Kevin Durant?

I'd start the bidding at De'Andre Hunter, Zacch Risacher, Okongwu, the Kings Pick, and the Lakers Pick.

Probably not enough...

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[HMFFL]

Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in this year's draft and five second-round picks, sources told ESPN on Sunday.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45561747/sources-suns-trading-kevin-durant-rockets-blockbuster-deal