Kings - Mavs - PHX - Magic Durant/Sabonis on the move

[LightTheBeam]

Absolutely do it for ORL, but someone else in the trade will need to eat the additional salary...Isaac is $15m and Black is $8m. ORL is in NO position to take on more big vet salaries with Paolo's max looming and Franz and Suggs hitting the books next season. As a basketball decision - it's easy.

Monk is 18.8 and Klay is 16.7...so ORL would need to drop an additional $12 or 13m (just to stay even-ish). Somebody in this deal is saving a bunch. Maybe, with 2 significant guards coming in, ORL should be looking to move KCP here. Personally, I'd much rather move him than Black, who is approaching his level of contribution at a much lower salary and wear on the tires.

This is on me. Seems Isaac contract scales back down. Cole would need to be included here, which probably isn't a big deal?

Suggs, KCP, Monk cover majority of the guard minutes, Klay covers some along with some backup 3.

Goga/WCJ/Wagner
Banchero/Da Silva
Franz/Klay/Jett
Suggs/KCP
Monk/Joseph

not just next season its after next season that also paolo contract will kick in ..magic need money off the books then ..both klay and monk are on books for 2 and 3 more yrs ..and more reason they need the rookie deal of black for 2 more yrs and he more and more looks like he can step in when kcp contract over and cole expire next season ..magic i think see houstan and da silva off bench as combined third of klays money as stepping into bench roll with better defense and younger legs..they just can not afford any more larger vet contracts..only thing i see is swap out of kcp contract for anything past next yr...even isaac is not guaranteed after next yr and has out for injury

I respect the idea. My thought would be the Magic are 35-38, and while I understand some injuries derailed the season, that isn't acceptable with the good young core they have. This is the last chance to make moves like this before Paolo extension does kick in. If the team is serious about winning, i'd think adding Monk/Klay to the team that is 27th in Offrtg is a huge deal.

This move adds a secondary play maker who has show he can be a spark to a team, and also a sniper who averages 39% on 8 attempts per game (seems important considering Orlando is near the bottom in 3pt attempts) and brings a gravity that KCP can't compare to.

I guess me personally as a fan, I wouldn't be content with ownership saying okay we are going to just run back Banchero, Wagner, Suggs with a bunch of defenders and call it a day. I'd want my team to make moves to get better. Maybe Black becomes a solid player, but it's an ill fit with the core long term no matter how you slice it, and he certainly hasn't shown enough to headline a star package, nor could Orlando afford to add a 4th large salary.

[orlando_joe]

This is on me. Seems Isaac contract scales back down. Cole would need to be included here, which probably isn't a big deal?

Suggs, KCP, Monk cover majority of the guard minutes, Klay covers some along with some backup 3.

Goga/WCJ/Wagner
Banchero/Da Silva
Franz/Klay/Jett
Suggs/KCP
Monk/Joseph

not just next season its after next season that also paolo contract will kick in ..magic need money off the books then ..both klay and monk are on books for 2 and 3 more yrs ..and more reason they need the rookie deal of black for 2 more yrs and he more and more looks like he can step in when kcp contract over and cole expire next season ..magic i think see houstan and da silva off bench as combined third of klays money as stepping into bench roll with better defense and younger legs..they just can not afford any more larger vet contracts..only thing i see is swap out of kcp contract for anything past next yr...even isaac is not guaranteed after next yr and has out for injury

I respect the idea. My thought would be the Magic are 35-38, and while I understand some injuries derailed the season, that isn't acceptable with the good young core they have. This is the last chance to make moves like this before Paolo extension does kick in. If the team is serious about winning, i'd think adding Monk/Klay to the team that is 27th in Offrtg is a huge deal.
then add in the adjusting to lineups over and over again all season
This move adds a secondary play maker who has show he can be a spark to a team, and also a sniper who averages 39% on 8 attempts per game (seems important considering Orlando is near the bottom in 3pt attempts) and brings a gravity that KCP can't compare to.

I guess me personally as a fan, I wouldn't be content with ownership saying okay we are going to just run back Banchero, Wagner, Suggs with a bunch of defenders and call it a day. I'd want my team to make moves to get better. Maybe Black becomes a solid player, but it's an ill fit with the core long term no matter how you slice it, and he certainly hasn't shown enough to headline a star package, nor could Orlando afford to add a 4th large salary.

some injurys? magic were 8 games over .500 before mo and suggs went down for yr without paolo...then lost wagner for 20 games...the 4 of them magics top 4 scorers play 5 games together all yr...suggs will miss almost 50 games third scorer and starting pg..mo the 6th man will miss over 50 games...paolo will miss 35 or half seasons games..and franz over 20 or a quarter of season ..and that is just the top 4 on team..yea some injurys!
take that on any team and see what record is...i think they have done darn good with just some injurys...i know or hope you know even when players come back from injury it takes time...

[SNPA]

Bigger than probably realistic

Mavs out: Washington, Lively, Martin, Powell, Klay
Mavs in: Durant
They would need to add cheap depth like resigning Spencer, Exum. But ultimately a real title contender when Kyrie comes back.

Suns out: KD
Suns in: Sabonis, Martin
Reports were KD is getting traded this summer. They don't want to start fresh with Book and a rebuild. Sabonis might be the type of guy who can make a Booker/Beal duo work.

Magic out: Isaac, Black
Magic in: Klay, Monk
Magic need some offense. Klay is still a legit sniper, and Monk makes a lot of sense on a team with Wagner-Banchero. Great fits at a cheap cost.

Kings out: Sabonis, Monk
Kings in: Lively, Black, Washington, Powell, Isaac

Kings begin the rebuild. DeMar/JV would be shipped out next. The start of the core is Black - Carter - Keon - Keegan - Washington - Lively + this years draft pick. The idea is too tank hard the next 2 years while we are stuck with LaVine, adding the #1 and #2 for the team. And we would have a great complimentary core already put together.

This is awful for Sac. Where is the upside asset? There isn’t one. Sorry, this is just bad and a fireable trade. I’d rather the Clignan two first deal over this…by a lot.

[SNPA]

If Sac is trading Sabonis and Monk with the Magic the target is Wagner, not this collection of blah to average bits.

OP really wants the Kings to lose 60 games next year.

[Texas Chuck]

Lively/Black are the upside pieces. You may not see it in either which is fine, young players tend to be in the eye of the beholder, but you know they are considering promising young players around the league.

I doubt Orlando considers a Wagner/Sabonis based deal. But yeah as always if you get can exactly what you want for your team you should do that.

[LightTheBeam]

If Sac is trading Sabonis and Monk with the Magic the target is Wagner, not this collection of blah to average bits.

OP really wants the Kings to lose 60 games next year.

Actually I do. As opposed to us losing 45-50 next year like we are headed with an aging core in no mans land. Ultimately trading Sabonis for pennies on the dollar like we just did for Fox. Remember the Fox return? Collins, Tre Jones, 2 low end 1st round picks + a protected unlikely to convey 1st + a fake 1st that was really 2 2nds.

Wagner for Sabonis isn't something Orlando considers.

Lively, Black and PJ is a good trio to add to the team. Following this trade the Kings bottom out for 2 years adding two top 5ish picks.

Black - 21
Lively - 21
Carter - 23
Murray - 24
Keon - 25
PJ - 26

This core has size, athleticism, defense. It's positioned perfectly to add a star forward through a draft and become a real team.

There is no fixing the current core. We can shuffle all the LaRavias in the world and it won't fix a flawed roster concept. Sabonis is already past the age of rebuilding around again. Why shoot for the 11th seed next year?

[SNPA]

Lively/Black are the upside pieces. You may not see it in either which is fine, young players tend to be in the eye of the beholder, but you know they are considering promising young players around the league.

I doubt Orlando considers a Wagner/Sabonis based deal. But yeah as always if you get can exactly what you want for your team you should do that.

What’s their upside…average starter. Ugh.

This is a terrible trade package and a below average tanking package. It’s totally unredeemable.

If Sac is going to tank picks are better than this.

[SNPA]

If Sac is trading Sabonis and Monk with the Magic the target is Wagner, not this collection of blah to average bits.

OP really wants the Kings to lose 60 games next year.

Actually I do. As opposed to us losing 45-50 next year like we are headed with an aging core in no mans land. Ultimately trading Sabonis for pennies on the dollar like we just did for Fox. Remember the Fox return? Collins, Tre Jones, 2 low end 1st round picks + a protected unlikely to convey 1st + a fake 1st that was really 2 2nds.

Wagner for Sabonis isn't something Orlando considers.

Lively, Black and PJ is a good trio to add to the team. Following this trade the Kings bottom out for 2 years adding two top 5ish picks.

Black - 21
Lively - 21
Carter - 23
Murray - 24
Keon - 25
PJ - 26

This core has size, athleticism, defense. It's positioned perfectly to add a star forward through a draft and become a real team.

There is no fixing the current core. We can shuffle all the LaRavias in the world and it won't fix a flawed roster concept. Sabonis is already past the age of rebuilding around again. Why shoot for the 11th seed next year?

This is the path to winning around 30 games a year and a treadmill for another decade.

Oh the next pick will be it…picking 6th. Oh the next pick will be it…picking 9th. Oh the…

We’ve done this. For almost 20 years.

If you want them to tank then go full tank in trade proposals, this is a terrible tank trade. Sabonis and Monk and DDV for picks and total trash. That’s the trade framework you are looking for (which, FYI I wouldn’t be totally against).

[Mavrelous]

Thinking about this again, maybe Sabonis AD frontcourt isn't a bad idea, Sabonis can cover for the playmaking deficit on the roster.
I'm higher than most on PJ, and I have Lively as elite prospect as a rim running/protecting big who can anchor elite defense, but he has injury concerns, I'm torn on trading them for Sabonis TBH, but with AD at PF, I can see a deal, but I'm not on board with trading them for KD.

[jayjaysee]

Thinking about this again, maybe Sabonis AD frontcourt isn't a bad idea, Sabonis can cover for the playmaking deficit on the roster.
I'm higher than most on PJ, and I have Lively as elite prospect as a rim running/protecting big who can anchor elite defense, but he has injury concerns, I'm torn on trading them for Sabonis TBH, but with AD at PF, I can see a deal, but I'm not on board with trading them for KD.

It took 2 months, but I got one person on my side.

Though my Sabonis offer doesn’t include PJ if possible.. Lively, 2025 first, 2029 LAL first. Klay/Gafford.. Then one of the 9-10 million dollar salary matching options (Naji / Martin / Hardy+Powell)..

Not the best offer probably, but not the worst.

[longfellow44]

If Sac is trading Sabonis and Monk with the Magic the target is Wagner, not this collection of blah to average bits.

OP really wants the Kings to lose 60 games next year.

Actually I do. As opposed to us losing 45-50 next year like we are headed with an aging core in no mans land. Ultimately trading Sabonis for pennies on the dollar like we just did for Fox. Remember the Fox return? Collins, Tre Jones, 2 low end 1st round picks + a protected unlikely to convey 1st + a fake 1st that was really 2 2nds.

Wagner for Sabonis isn't something Orlando considers.

Lively, Black and PJ is a good trio to add to the team. Following this trade the Kings bottom out for 2 years adding two top 5ish picks.

Black - 21
Lively - 21
Carter - 23
Murray - 24
Keon - 25
PJ - 26

This core has size, athleticism, defense. It's positioned perfectly to add a star forward through a draft and become a real team.

There is no fixing the current core. We can shuffle all the LaRavias in the world and it won't fix a flawed roster concept. Sabonis is already past the age of rebuilding around again. Why shoot for the 11th seed next year?

This is a terrible option. Instead of completely tearing it down we should be sending out Derozan and Lavine and looking for better fitting talent around Sabonis, Murray, Monk and Ellis. We have good talent, but we also have a really bad fitting lineup. If we have to keep one of Lavine or Derozan we keep Lavine. Honestly our best bet would be to trade Derozan for a staring caliber Power forward (Rui Hachimura? John Collins?) move Keegan to SF, Start Keon Ellis at SG and Monk at PG. We follow up the Derozan trade by sending out lavine for quality bench players. Our biggest problem is that we have derozan and lavine and neither guy is fine with coming off the bench.

Sabonis/Valanciunas
Hachimura
Keegan
Ellis
Monk/Carter

[LightTheBeam]

If Sac is trading Sabonis and Monk with the Magic the target is Wagner, not this collection of blah to average bits.

OP really wants the Kings to lose 60 games next year.

Actually I do. As opposed to us losing 45-50 next year like we are headed with an aging core in no mans land. Ultimately trading Sabonis for pennies on the dollar like we just did for Fox. Remember the Fox return? Collins, Tre Jones, 2 low end 1st round picks + a protected unlikely to convey 1st + a fake 1st that was really 2 2nds.

Wagner for Sabonis isn't something Orlando considers.

Lively, Black and PJ is a good trio to add to the team. Following this trade the Kings bottom out for 2 years adding two top 5ish picks.

Black - 21
Lively - 21
Carter - 23
Murray - 24
Keon - 25
PJ - 26

This core has size, athleticism, defense. It's positioned perfectly to add a star forward through a draft and become a real team.

There is no fixing the current core. We can shuffle all the LaRavias in the world and it won't fix a flawed roster concept. Sabonis is already past the age of rebuilding around again. Why shoot for the 11th seed next year?

This is a terrible option. Instead of completely tearing it down we should be sending out Derozan and Lavine and looking for better fitting talent around Sabonis, Murray, Monk and Ellis. We have good talent, but we also have a really bad fitting lineup. If we have to keep one of Lavine or Derozan we keep Lavine. Honestly our best bet would be to trade Derozan for a staring caliber Power forward (Rui Hachimura? John Collins?) move Keegan to SF, Start Keon Ellis at SG and Monk at PG. We follow up the Derozan trade by sending out lavine for quality bench players. Our biggest problem is that we have derozan and lavine and neither guy is fine with coming off the bench.

Sabonis/Valanciunas
Hachimura
Keegan
Ellis
Monk/Carter

My thoughts.

1. LaVine isn't tradable without paying. We took him, but the package we gave was negative/neutral at best. So that means LaVine is here the next 2 years.

2. We have needed a starting PF next to Sabonis for 3 years. The team has refused to do it so far. Do we really think this is the year they finally do that?

I'm with you, the team has some solid pieces, but we are lacking a #1 or #2 (with the way Keegan has been playing lately maybe a year 4 leap is in order!). Maybe we can hope we can replicate what the Grizzlies have done this year with solid depth and team first mentality.

If the team commits to trading DeMar for a legit 4, like PJ, Naji, Rui, Toppin, Collins (not a lot of available options as always), and somehow finds a way to keep LaRavia, I won't hate the direction.

Sabonis/JV
Starting PF/LaRavia
Keegan
LaVine/Carter
Keon/Monk

I don't think its a very dangerous team, but we could have another few high 40 win seasons in the tank.

[LightTheBeam]

If Sac is trading Sabonis and Monk with the Magic the target is Wagner, not this collection of blah to average bits.

OP really wants the Kings to lose 60 games next year.

Actually I do. As opposed to us losing 45-50 next year like we are headed with an aging core in no mans land. Ultimately trading Sabonis for pennies on the dollar like we just did for Fox. Remember the Fox return? Collins, Tre Jones, 2 low end 1st round picks + a protected unlikely to convey 1st + a fake 1st that was really 2 2nds.

Wagner for Sabonis isn't something Orlando considers.

Lively, Black and PJ is a good trio to add to the team. Following this trade the Kings bottom out for 2 years adding two top 5ish picks.

Black - 21
Lively - 21
Carter - 23
Murray - 24
Keon - 25
PJ - 26

This core has size, athleticism, defense. It's positioned perfectly to add a star forward through a draft and become a real team.

There is no fixing the current core. We can shuffle all the LaRavias in the world and it won't fix a flawed roster concept. Sabonis is already past the age of rebuilding around again. Why shoot for the 11th seed next year?

This is the path to winning around 30 games a year and a treadmill for another decade.

Oh the next pick will be it…picking 6th. Oh the next pick will be it…picking 9th. Oh the…

We’ve done this. For almost 20 years.

If you want them to tank then go full tank in trade proposals, this is a terrible tank trade. Sabonis and Monk and DDV for picks and total trash. That’s the trade framework you are looking for (which, FYI I wouldn’t be totally against).

We've never tanked. I don't see lively/black stopping the tank. If you think PJ wins you a few games you shouldn't i won't disagree with you, we can flip him elsewhere at the deadline. The other 5 are kids/role players and you have to field a team of some sort, rest days, holding guys out, different ways to lose more games.

Read on Twitter

?s=19

Reality is it's time to get in front of this before making the same mistake we did with fox.

[SNPA]

Actually I do. As opposed to us losing 45-50 next year like we are headed with an aging core in no mans land. Ultimately trading Sabonis for pennies on the dollar like we just did for Fox. Remember the Fox return? Collins, Tre Jones, 2 low end 1st round picks + a protected unlikely to convey 1st + a fake 1st that was really 2 2nds.

Wagner for Sabonis isn't something Orlando considers.

Lively, Black and PJ is a good trio to add to the team. Following this trade the Kings bottom out for 2 years adding two top 5ish picks.

Black - 21
Lively - 21
Carter - 23
Murray - 24
Keon - 25
PJ - 26

This core has size, athleticism, defense. It's positioned perfectly to add a star forward through a draft and become a real team.

There is no fixing the current core. We can shuffle all the LaRavias in the world and it won't fix a flawed roster concept. Sabonis is already past the age of rebuilding around again. Why shoot for the 11th seed next year?

This is the path to winning around 30 games a year and a treadmill for another decade.

Oh the next pick will be it…picking 6th. Oh the next pick will be it…picking 9th. Oh the…

We’ve done this. For almost 20 years.

If you want them to tank then go full tank in trade proposals, this is a terrible tank trade. Sabonis and Monk and DDV for picks and total trash. That’s the trade framework you are looking for (which, FYI I wouldn’t be totally against).

We've never tanked. I don't see lively/black stopping the tank. If you think PJ wins you a few games you shouldn't i won't disagree with you, we can flip him elsewhere at the deadline. The other 5 are kids/role players and you have to field a team of some sort, rest days, holding guys out, different ways to lose more games.

Read on Twitter

?s=19

Reality is it's time to get in front of this before making the same mistake we did with fox.

Agreed. The reality is setting in.

The Wes Wilcox’s departure is a huge issue in Kings land that’s getting no national play.

His leaving signals he doesn’t think he’d be next up and Monte is getting fired.

So we don’t know who will be the GM. We have to assume the new guy will push out Doug Christie (a mistake) and this whole thing will be flipped upside down during the offseason. It’s totally unpredictable except for Vivek…who will want to win and not rebuild. It’s basically back to being a total s***show. Sabonis should want out. I don’t blame him.

[LightTheBeam]

This is the path to winning around 30 games a year and a treadmill for another decade.

Oh the next pick will be it…picking 6th. Oh the next pick will be it…picking 9th. Oh the…

We’ve done this. For almost 20 years.

If you want them to tank then go full tank in trade proposals, this is a terrible tank trade. Sabonis and Monk and DDV for picks and total trash. That’s the trade framework you are looking for (which, FYI I wouldn’t be totally against).

We've never tanked. I don't see lively/black stopping the tank. If you think PJ wins you a few games you shouldn't i won't disagree with you, we can flip him elsewhere at the deadline. The other 5 are kids/role players and you have to field a team of some sort, rest days, holding guys out, different ways to lose more games.

Read on Twitter

?s=19

Reality is it's time to get in front of this before making the same mistake we did with fox.

Agreed. The reality is setting in.

The Wes Wilcox’s departure is a huge issue in Kings land that’s getting no national play.

His leaving signals he doesn’t think he’d be next up and Monte is getting fired.

So we don’t know who will be the GM. We have to assume the new guy will push out Doug Christie (a mistake) and this whole thing will be flipped upside down during the offseason. It’s totally unpredictable except for Vivek…who will want to win and not rebuild. It’s basically back to being a total s***show. Sabonis should want out. I don’t blame him.

Wilcox is a snake. Him leaving was the best thing that's happened to us all year.

Monte supposedly is just the cap/draft guy, and his obsession with guards has hindered the team for many years. Could have added Jalen Johnson or ware to this core and been in a great spot.

Doug's been good, happy he finally decided to bench monk and keep Keon starting, but the fact it took him this long to realize is kinda strange. Also teams tends to get in a hole since he took over, but have done a good job with 2nd half adjustments. I like him, hope he gets a fair shake if we change GMs, not as confident as you that Monte is fired.

[longfellow44]

Actually I do. As opposed to us losing 45-50 next year like we are headed with an aging core in no mans land. Ultimately trading Sabonis for pennies on the dollar like we just did for Fox. Remember the Fox return? Collins, Tre Jones, 2 low end 1st round picks + a protected unlikely to convey 1st + a fake 1st that was really 2 2nds.

Wagner for Sabonis isn't something Orlando considers.

Lively, Black and PJ is a good trio to add to the team. Following this trade the Kings bottom out for 2 years adding two top 5ish picks.

Black - 21
Lively - 21
Carter - 23
Murray - 24
Keon - 25
PJ - 26

This core has size, athleticism, defense. It's positioned perfectly to add a star forward through a draft and become a real team.

There is no fixing the current core. We can shuffle all the LaRavias in the world and it won't fix a flawed roster concept. Sabonis is already past the age of rebuilding around again. Why shoot for the 11th seed next year?

This is a terrible option. Instead of completely tearing it down we should be sending out Derozan and Lavine and looking for better fitting talent around Sabonis, Murray, Monk and Ellis. We have good talent, but we also have a really bad fitting lineup. If we have to keep one of Lavine or Derozan we keep Lavine. Honestly our best bet would be to trade Derozan for a staring caliber Power forward (Rui Hachimura? John Collins?) move Keegan to SF, Start Keon Ellis at SG and Monk at PG. We follow up the Derozan trade by sending out lavine for quality bench players. Our biggest problem is that we have derozan and lavine and neither guy is fine with coming off the bench.

Sabonis/Valanciunas
Hachimura
Keegan
Ellis
Monk/Carter

My thoughts.

1. LaVine isn't tradable without paying. We took him, but the package we gave was negative/neutral at best. So that means LaVine is here the next 2 years.

2. We have needed a starting PF next to Sabonis for 3 years. The team has refused to do it so far. Do we really think this is the year they finally do that?

I'm with you, the team has some solid pieces, but we are lacking a #1 or #2 (with the way Keegan has been playing lately maybe a year 4 leap is in order!). Maybe we can hope we can replicate what the Grizzlies have done this year with solid depth and team first mentality.

If the team commits to trading DeMar for a legit 4, like PJ, Naji, Rui, Toppin, Collins (not a lot of available options as always), and somehow finds a way to keep LaRavia, I won't hate the direction.

Sabonis/JV
Starting PF/LaRavia
Keegan
LaVine/Carter
Keon/Monk

I don't think its a very dangerous team, but we could have another few high 40 win seasons in the tank.

We have been terrible for so long I will gladly take a few 40-50 win seasons over returning to the gutter in hopes of maybe, someday, if only it might just be possible, to compete for a championship.

Watchable is better than the 17 years prior to our current roster

[Mr Puddles]

Lively/Washington > Sabonis if Mavs are willing pay that for KD (I'm not), Suns should just take them.

Ya I mean there's an argument to cut out Sac here and just take the Dallas package direct.

Depends on your opinion of Sabonis. So far he's been a 19-14-7 guy who has finished all nba two years in a row. He also fits a Booker timeline/playstyle really well.

Phx also has guys like Dunn, Allen, O'Neale to take that a smaller but similar PJ role. Not sure they'd prioritize adding more role players over a guy who can be a secondary star to Booker. And with Beal a year away from being an expiring, he's a candidate to use with those picks they got to break down into more necessary role players.

I really like Phoenix getting Sabonis, I think they have some nice perimeter defense after this and Booker/Sabonis are - hypothetically - a nice duo. I think Orlando could/would be cut out of this, though. They can get a scoring combo guard without moving a recent lottery pick.

Sabonis would allow the Suns to play a Booker / Beal backcourt as well, using Sabonis as their facilitator - basically what the Suns tried to do with Nurkic, only Sabonis would be 100 times better in that role.

I'd like to see the Suns get some defensive minded stretch 4s after this trade though, they have decent perimeter defenders but would still lack size and toughness after this trade.

[LightTheBeam]

This is a terrible option. Instead of completely tearing it down we should be sending out Derozan and Lavine and looking for better fitting talent around Sabonis, Murray, Monk and Ellis. We have good talent, but we also have a really bad fitting lineup. If we have to keep one of Lavine or Derozan we keep Lavine. Honestly our best bet would be to trade Derozan for a staring caliber Power forward (Rui Hachimura? John Collins?) move Keegan to SF, Start Keon Ellis at SG and Monk at PG. We follow up the Derozan trade by sending out lavine for quality bench players. Our biggest problem is that we have derozan and lavine and neither guy is fine with coming off the bench.

Sabonis/Valanciunas
Hachimura
Keegan
Ellis
Monk/Carter

My thoughts.

1. LaVine isn't tradable without paying. We took him, but the package we gave was negative/neutral at best. So that means LaVine is here the next 2 years.

2. We have needed a starting PF next to Sabonis for 3 years. The team has refused to do it so far. Do we really think this is the year they finally do that?

I'm with you, the team has some solid pieces, but we are lacking a #1 or #2 (with the way Keegan has been playing lately maybe a year 4 leap is in order!). Maybe we can hope we can replicate what the Grizzlies have done this year with solid depth and team first mentality.

If the team commits to trading DeMar for a legit 4, like PJ, Naji, Rui, Toppin, Collins (not a lot of available options as always), and somehow finds a way to keep LaRavia, I won't hate the direction.

Sabonis/JV
Starting PF/LaRavia
Keegan
LaVine/Carter
Keon/Monk

I don't think its a very dangerous team, but we could have another few high 40 win seasons in the tank.

We have been terrible for so long I will gladly take a few 40-50 win seasons over returning to the gutter in hopes of maybe, someday, if only it might just be possible, to compete for a championship.

Watchable is better than the 17 years prior to our current roster

You are fooling yourself if you think this team is a 40-50 win team. They've been blown out a ton lately, including 30 to a shorthanded Magic today. We suck against any decent team. Beating up Portland, Charlotte, Utah doesn't impress me. This team is 30-40 win team. That is exactly where we were during the Cousins saga. 8-12th pick every year. Pray we draft Haliburton again only to trade him.

[LightTheBeam]

Ya I mean there's an argument to cut out Sac here and just take the Dallas package direct.

Depends on your opinion of Sabonis. So far he's been a 19-14-7 guy who has finished all nba two years in a row. He also fits a Booker timeline/playstyle really well.

Phx also has guys like Dunn, Allen, O'Neale to take that a smaller but similar PJ role. Not sure they'd prioritize adding more role players over a guy who can be a secondary star to Booker. And with Beal a year away from being an expiring, he's a candidate to use with those picks they got to break down into more necessary role players.

I really like Phoenix getting Sabonis, I think they have some nice perimeter defense after this and Booker/Sabonis are - hypothetically - a nice duo. I think Orlando could/would be cut out of this, though. They can get a scoring combo guard without moving a recent lottery pick.

Sabonis would allow the Suns to play a Booker / Beal backcourt as well, using Sabonis as their facilitator - basically what the Suns tried to do with Nurkic, only Sabonis would be 100 times better in that role.

I'd like to see the Suns get some defensive minded stretch 4s after this trade though, they have decent perimeter defenders but would still lack size and toughness after this trade.

Agree. That would be a priority. I'd say Allen probably is expendable after this deal for that type of player.

Sabonis/Oso
Allen Trade/Royce
Dunn/Caleb martin
Booker/Cody Martin
Beal/Tyus

Could be a fun team next year