Pickled Prunes wrote:ontnut wrote:Future Coach wrote:Seems foolish to trade Durant, but if they're not trading Booker, then Durant is the only player of legit value that can be moved. I imagine they would like to trade him to the Eastern Conference, but no teams really make sense in the East at this point. I think the team that could make the most sense is Denver. Adding KD to Jokic and Murray is the makings of a great team. Porter Jr and/or Gordon (and/or others + picks) will do decently in Phoenix. I think the only thing that stops Denver from pursuing a trade for KD in the summer is if they win the championship this season. My bet is that Denver is more likely to win the championship next season though.
HOU for Green, Brooks, Sheppard + picks?
IND for some combination of Turner, Mathurin, Nembhard, Nesmith and picks?
Would ORL give up Wagner? Prob not I'm guessing.
It's hilarious because DAL could've probably traded for him if they only got back a reasonable package for Doncic...
The Spurs would be crazy, KD + Wmby would destroy. But I doubt they give up their assets for him at this point.
Why would any forward looking team trade for Durant. He's a win now player. IND would be foolish to trade Turner/filler/picks for a guy that will only be around for a couple of seasons. SAS, sure why not; DEN, absolutely... but no young team like HOU, OKC or IND should give up the farm to go get him.
Is IND really that forward looking though? They already traded for Siakam who's 31 in a month. Turner's about to be 29. Their championship window might not be as open as you think - it really might be as long as the rest of Durant's prime (a couple seasons). They NEED to trade for a #1 option, because they don't have one and aren't going to draft one or sign one. Durant can be that guy.
HOU won't be giving up the farm, they give up one of their young guys (Green), who's an inefficient scorer, but an interesting enough prospect for PHX. They have a declining FVV running point and Books/Adams at the tail end of their careers. Sure, maybe they soft reset the team once FVV is gone, but I'm not sure a Whitmore/Green/Thompson/Eason/Sengun team is winning a championship, and they're going to have to (near) max all 3 of Green/Thompson/Sengun, leaving them with not that much cap space. Reed is already riding the bench not getting minutes. They're really good young prospects in some cases, but none are a #1 option, none are leading their team to a chip. Given they all have to be paid at some point, their potential future ceiling isn't really that high without a top tier efficient scorer.
OKC has a MVP + an allstar in Williams, and a borderline all star in Holmgren, so they don't really have that need, no. But HOU? Sengun I think was a pity/injury vote AS because HOU needed someone representing at the ASG. I can't see Green making one, and Thompson, maybe borderline AS if he can get a jumper. If the price is Green, Brooks, Sheppard and picks, I'd really think hard about that one if I'm HOU. They're also young enough that they can still pivot and build around Sengun, Thompson, Eason and whatever else they don't trade, once Durant is gone.
Unless you have a generational talent, the window to win a chip is so small, I think it's worth the risk to swing for the fences for a couple of years.
