The Official 2025 Offseason Thread Part 2

[TeamTragic]

There will be multiple teams that are interested in KD.

Good time to start making those offers.

[thamadkant]

Don't want Randle. Absolutely horrible defensively and low IQ... tried to dribble around two wings... destroyed Wolves chances early.

[Saberestar]

14 + two future firsts + guys like Barnes, Vassel or Johnson as salary fillers would be a good haul.

Yeah, I think that we need to get Vassell + #14 + Keldon Johnson (or Barnes) AND 3 Unprotected FRPs.

I think they can give us those picks because they have multiple FRPs + their own picks (for example one via Atlanta, other via Dallas) so it's a luxury that they have and they need to consolidate those assets into players now.

If we accept not getting Castle or Harper they need to accept to give us those future picks. With KD signing his extension with them they will be contenders for years to come.

So you want 4 picks, Vassel, Keldon and salary for KD? You should consider yourself lucky to walk away with half of those picks. That offer is closer to what you'll expect for Book, not a 37yo KD

I want Vassell, Harrison Barnes, #14 and 3 unprotected future picks.

The Spurs with Wemby + Castle + Harper + Fox can be great for years to come because they are too young SO their future FRPs can be in the late twenties most of the time.

It's not crazy because they need someone as great as KD at SF/PF to put him at the top. If they want Anteto or even Jaylen Brown the asking price would be much higher (Harper or Castle in the package for sure) so this way they can have all their impactful players + KD.

[thamadkant]

Random thoughs

1. In addition to 3D wings, elite athletic midsize guards are going to be in demand. Basically 6'4 guards are now in the cards if they can turn up like Dort and Caruso and to a lesser extent Nesmith. All 3 along with other Indiana guards, have shown their value (Pacers and Thunder) and provide advantages over taller wings. Because these guards are better ball handlers than most 3D wings and these guards offer better agility.

2. Suns have Dunn who is still way behind in his 3pt shooting. He needs to become a reliable 3pt shooter while improving his defense some more, if he wants to be starter on a good team in this league. He wouldn't start on any of the 16 playoff teams as is.

3. KD is still very valuable, regardless of his age, because he can score on anyone even with elite defense on him because of his height, athleticism and skill set. Look at Wolves struggling when Edwards was doubled. McDaniels was a no show when you put a good defender on him and have help from other defenders who are quick footed.

4. Thunder has a real chance to be a Dynasty, even more so than Celtics. They have no weakness. Perhaps Holmgren is actually their weak point purely because he is playing a position that can take bumps from other thicker stronger forwards. His fragility is his weakness. I put SGA above Tatum and happy to say Tatum and Brown wouldn't match SGA impact wise. SGA is simply that good. He's found his niche. He's like Harden ball handling wise with MJesque like midrange jump shot, true leadership skills and top tier defense to boot. He's game style is absolutely a killer come playoff time when defense intensity goes up... because he just draws fouls if you play physical and if you give him room to breath he kills you in everything. Then you give him Jalen Williams as a robin... my goodness.

This guy is 3 tiers above Booker.

5. Suns have no business trying to compete. Watching Thunder execute so well, if Thunder is rated as a 9.5 as a team... then Suns are at the very best a 4.

[sunsbg]

Random thoughs
5. Suns have no business trying to compete. Watching Thunder execute so well, if Thunder is rated as a 9.5 as a team... then Suns are at the very best a 4.

Yup, watched U18 tournament and teams were playing more organized basketball than Suns. There were still people who thought let's make the playoffs and everything can happen like this team had a chance to beat any good team. Last two years proved a team build around Booker and KD will not work without a major improvement in PG position and I don't see where it comes from. These guys won't let a player of Jones caliber run the team as we have already seen.

[Saberestar]

Jason Timpf:

McDaniels has been shockingly ineffective against SGA in this series. He’s just way too slow for him. He was also too skinny for healthy Luka in the WCF last year.

I think I’m completely sold on shorter/stockier/quicker wings being more impactful playoff defenders.

This is the player that we need to get IF we try a KD trade with the Wolves.

No McDaniels, no deal. They have to be down on him after this series against the Thunder so probably they are open for business.

McDaniels + #17 + a couple of future picks or at least multiple swaps it's what I would want for KD.

We would need to make the numbers work with fillers and probably a 3rd team will be needed to match numbers.

[thamadkant]

Jason Timpf:

McDaniels has been shockingly ineffective against SGA in this series. He’s just way too slow for him. He was also too skinny for healthy Luka in the WCF last year.

I think I’m completely sold on shorter/stockier/quicker wings being more impactful playoff defenders.

This is the player that we need to get IF we try a KD trade with the Wolves.

No McDaniels, no deal. They have to be down on him after this series against the Thunder so probably they are open for business.

McDaniels + #17 + a couple of future picks or at least multiple swaps it's what I would want for KD.

We would need to make the numbers work with fillers and probably a 3rd team will be needed to match numbers.

At minimum McDaniels, their pick and maybe another first pick would be good enough and anything more Wolves will back out.

But McDaniels hopefully learned a lesson this year against Thunder. He needs to be able to drive to the rim under pressure and finish. Doesn't need to have an elite mid range, just an ability to attack the rim and finish while a defender is near by.

[Mulhollanddrive]

How can we get Giddey? Only wants $25m per

[Djedefre]

Minnesota was a pretender all along. I doubt they would've got past GSW if they were fully healthy. Not a single player from their roster i'd be particularly thrilled of getting, aside from the one they'll never trade ofc. I'd look at other partners, for sure.

[thamadkant]

Warriors would have won if Curry was healthy (against Wolves).

Funnily, Warriors would have been more competitive against Thunder since Jimmy and Draymond would have been more physical and better defenders.... and Curry... regardless if you have a hand on his face.... will hit his 3s. So Warriors would have been a better matchup for sure.

[Djedefre]

There will be multiple teams that are interested in KD.

Good time to start making those offers.

I do not doubt many would be interested. Will there be any really willing to part with very good players and/or multiple future picks, that is the question. Teams will call, that's for sure, but what offers will they make?

[sasquatchBob]

My national team (Latvia) just signed Ott as an assistant coach for Euro Cup 25. Intereseting. If we get a medal, Im sold on him

[ChuckS]

Getting #14 along with Vassell AND Keldon would be stellar. Attaching any more future picks would be madness from the Spurs. Utterly unrealistic. I mean even this package without the future FRP's looks borderline too good to be true.

I just don't think Durant still holds that much value, given his age and the fact that he never got any real success aside from that historically stacked Warriors team. Even if the team trading for him knows he'll re-sign, the risk of him just fading production-wise at any point is pretty high. At that age the decline is pretty steep and radical, as we witnessed ourseleves with Paul and so many other players. You never know when exactly they'll fall off a cliff.

Yup.

Aside from the MVP he won, the multiple 1st team all NBA slots he got and the time he took a young Thunder team to the Finals.

Complete garbage that KD guy......

He is not garbage, just way past his prime. And even in his prime he could not bring a chip as a main guy. Those are the facts.

Imo, no team in this world is giving a top8 pick, a young all-star or 3 future firsts for Durant in the year 2025. Time will tell. I sure as hell hope i'm wrong, but i fear that is not the case. We are not getting anything signifficantly better than a guy like Vassel, so we might just retain Durant and wait for his contract to end to free the cap space.

I believe this will be a minority opinion on this board, but I respectfully disagree because of my understanding that something has to be true to be a fact, and because I watched his two championships and believe he deserved the MVPs as the "main guy".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_NBA_Finals

"Golden State's Kevin Durant was named the Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP). Kevin Durant won the Finals MVP award unanimously, receiving all 11 Finals MVP votes"

"The Warriors routed the Cavaliers 113–91 to take a 1–0 series lead. The Warriors led by only 8 points at halftime, but they opened the third quarter on a 13–0 run and never looked back. Kevin Durant had 38 points to lead the Warriors, and Stephen Curry added 28 points."

"The Warriors won Game 2 over the Cavaliers, 132–113, to improve their best start in NBA playoff history to 14–0...For the Warriors, Durant scored 33 points with 13 rebounds, while Curry had 32 points to go along with 10 rebounds and 11 assists."

"The Warriors defeated the Cavaliers 118–113 to extend the longest winning streak in NBA playoff history to 15 games...Kevin Durant drilled the go-ahead three-pointer for Golden State with 45.3 seconds remaining and Iguodala blocked LeBron James' potential game-tying 3...Durant led the Warriors with 31 points, going 4-for-7 from behind the arc that included the winning basket."

"The Cleveland Cavaliers led wire-to-wire as they avoided a Finals sweep by Golden State to rout the Warriors 137–116...Kevin Durant scored 35 points to lead the Warriors, but their other three superstars were held to under 20 points each as Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green managed 14, 13, and 16 points respectively."

"The Warriors defeated the Cavaliers with a score of 129–120 to win the series 4–1...Kevin Durant, who was defeated in the 2012 NBA Finals when his Oklahoma City Thunder were finished off 4–1 by LeBron James' Miami Heat, returned the favor by scoring a team high 39 points in the 4–1 series defeat of James' Cavaliers while being honored as the 2017 Finals MVP."

Note: KD averaged a team high 35.2 at 55.6/47.4/92.7%, and with 8.4 boards. Steph 26.8 ppg at 44/38.8/89.7%, with 9.4 assists.

See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_NBA_Finals

"Durant was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the second straight year. Kevin Durant became the first and only player in the history of the Warriors franchise to win two consecutive NBA Finals MVP Awards and also the first and only player in the history of the NBA to have been named two NBA Finals MVP in the first two seasons with a team."

[BobbieL]

Random thoughs

1. In addition to 3D wings, elite athletic midsize guards are going to be in demand. Basically 6'4 guards are now in the cards if they can turn up like Dort and Caruso and to a lesser extent Nesmith. All 3 along with other Indiana guards, have shown their value (Pacers and Thunder) and provide advantages over taller wings. Because these guards are better ball handlers than most 3D wings and these guards offer better agility.

2. Suns have Dunn who is still way behind in his 3pt shooting. He needs to become a reliable 3pt shooter while improving his defense some more, if he wants to be starter on a good team in this league. He wouldn't start on any of the 16 playoff teams as is.

3. KD is still very valuable, regardless of his age, because he can score on anyone even with elite defense on him because of his height, athleticism and skill set. Look at Wolves struggling when Edwards was doubled. McDaniels was a no show when you put a good defender on him and have help from other defenders who are quick footed.

4. Thunder has a real chance to be a Dynasty, even more so than Celtics. They have no weakness. Perhaps Holmgren is actually their weak point purely because he is playing a position that can take bumps from other thicker stronger forwards. His fragility is his weakness. I put SGA above Tatum and happy to say Tatum and Brown wouldn't match SGA impact wise. SGA is simply that good. He's found his niche. He's like Harden ball handling wise with MJesque like midrange jump shot, true leadership skills and top tier defense to boot. He's game style is absolutely a killer come playoff time when defense intensity goes up... because he just draws fouls if you play physical and if you give him room to breath he kills you in everything. Then you give him Jalen Williams as a robin... my goodness.

This guy is 3 tiers above Booker.

5. Suns have no business trying to compete. Watching Thunder execute so well, if Thunder is rated as a 9.5 as a team... then Suns are at the very best a 4.

Which is why the not trading Booker, and I am a broken record - makes no sense. Look around the West: OKC is stacked, Houston is stacked , San Antonio is stacked; Dallas getting Flagg and bringing back Kyrie

The Suns have a LONG way to go. Sure, if you bring back Booker and want to fight for the 10th seed - party on!. But the Suns need a long term vision and trying to make short term moves (and to me, keeping Booker, stretching Beal are short term moves) for the 2025/2026 season is stupid

Look at Presti - and I realize he is an outlier. But he has been hording picks, making trades, using cap space to make trades, getting TPEs, using TPEs for draft picks. It hasn't been short term

[BobbieL]

There will be multiple teams that are interested in KD.

Good time to start making those offers.

I do not doubt many would be interested. Will there be any really willing to part with very good players and/or multiple future picks, that is the question. Teams will call, that's for sure, but what offers will they make?

I don't have specifics just frameworks but I have always thought Durant would net the Suns

Expirings
One young rotational player with upside potential
Maybe two FRPs at best

Granted, with MN out, NYKnicks out, maybe Houston wanting to match OKC, or the Spurs - there can be a bidding war that increases the above just a little. And if I am the Suns, I still do it. No time for pride. That doesn't mean a bad deal - that just doesn't mean a mega deal for Durant

[Slim Charless]

There will be multiple teams that are interested in KD.

Good time to start making those offers.

I do not doubt many would be interested. Will there be any really willing to part with very good players and/or multiple future picks, that is the question. Teams will call, that's for sure, but what offers will they make?

I don't have specifics just frameworks but I have always thought Durant would net the Suns

Expirings
One young rotational player with upside potential
Maybe two FRPs at best

Granted, with MN out, NYKnicks out, maybe Houston wanting to match OKC, or the Spurs - there can be a bidding war that increases the above just a little. And if I am the Suns, I still do it. No time for pride. That doesn't mean a bad deal - that just doesn't mean a mega deal for Durant

No offense bro, but you would trade our guys for mostly anything. Anything. Magic beans. A coupon to 7-11. Whatever. You're down to move Booker and Durant.

I've consistently seen wild packages that you've posted these past few months where you post these trades to help out other teams while making us bad. I've seen you post trades where we take on bad money and give either player. I've seen you post trades where we give up picks and either player.

You want to trade our players, not to make the team better but because you want them gone. That has been made abundantly clear.

You dont care what we get. You want them gone. That is an idea that needs to be tempered.

[BobbieL]

I do not doubt many would be interested. Will there be any really willing to part with very good players and/or multiple future picks, that is the question. Teams will call, that's for sure, but what offers will they make?

I don't have specifics just frameworks but I have always thought Durant would net the Suns

Expirings
One young rotational player with upside potential
Maybe two FRPs at best

Granted, with MN out, NYKnicks out, maybe Houston wanting to match OKC, or the Spurs - there can be a bidding war that increases the above just a little. And if I am the Suns, I still do it. No time for pride. That doesn't mean a bad deal - that just doesn't mean a mega deal for Durant

No offense bro, but you would trade our guys for mostly anything. Anything. Magic beans. A coupon to 7-11. Whatever. You're down to move Booker and Durant.

I've consistently seen wild packages that you've posted these past few months where you post these trades to help out other teams while making us bad. I've seen you post trades where we take on bad money and give either player. I've seen you post trades where we give up picks and either player.

You want to trade our players, not to make the team better but because you want them gone. That has been made abundantly clear.

You dont care what we get. You want them gone. That is an idea that needs to be tempered.

I think you actually have me mistaken . I am tired of seeing trade proposals where the Suns give up picks for average players.

but you say take on bad money. its called an EXPIRING contract.... to make the math work. there is not going to be a team that bends over for the Suns like Ishbia did for Durant. It just isn't happen in a Durant trade

If we could wager - I would wager more that the "framework" of a Durant trade is closesr to my reality than some of these others like getting Cassell, Sochon and 3 FRPs for Durant. Thats just not happening

As far as giving away Booker - I have never given away Booker. It has always been about maximizing his value. I have always wanted an A trade for Booker but for Durant, understand it would be a B type trade. The Suns aren't going anywhere - they are in purgatory -- so yes, to move forward, I think they need to move Devin Armani Booker. God forbid....

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Y'all, I'm getting hyped about this draft. There are just a whole lot of interesting prospects throughout. I really hope we find a way to invest heavily in this draft class.

[sunsbum]

I don't have specifics just frameworks but I have always thought Durant would net the Suns

Expirings
One young rotational player with upside potential
Maybe two FRPs at best

Granted, with MN out, NYKnicks out, maybe Houston wanting to match OKC, or the Spurs - there can be a bidding war that increases the above just a little. And if I am the Suns, I still do it. No time for pride. That doesn't mean a bad deal - that just doesn't mean a mega deal for Durant

No offense bro, but you would trade our guys for mostly anything. Anything. Magic beans. A coupon to 7-11. Whatever. You're down to move Booker and Durant.

I've consistently seen wild packages that you've posted these past few months where you post these trades to help out other teams while making us bad. I've seen you post trades where we take on bad money and give either player. I've seen you post trades where we give up picks and either player.

You want to trade our players, not to make the team better but because you want them gone. That has been made abundantly clear.

You dont care what we get. You want them gone. That is an idea that needs to be tempered.

I think you actually have me mistaken . I am tired of seeing trade proposals where the Suns give up picks for average players.

but you say take on bad money
its called an EXPIRING contract.... to make the math work

i have seen some of your proposals - and they suck -- "but no offense Bro"

I think we should trade Booker, NOT because he's a bad player or a stupid Zach Lavine / Gilbert Arenas comp or puts up "empty stats", but for the obvious path to start rebuilding.
This is ONLY because they have dumped our draft picks like a box of unwanted puppies. Yes, I would trade booker for these reasons, or at least listen to offers.
The facts are that he wants to stay, Ishibia wants him to stay and like 90% of the fanbase wants him to stay. Heck I want him to stay.

So here we are, not trading Booker and at this moment in time so its not really worth talking about or disrespecting his character and or game because your move doesn't align with the owners. I don't have a problem talking about and or seeing Booker trades if he was on the table but he's not. Shelf the Booker trades for a year or two and see where we're at.

[BobbieL]

No offense bro, but you would trade our guys for mostly anything. Anything. Magic beans. A coupon to 7-11. Whatever. You're down to move Booker and Durant.

I've consistently seen wild packages that you've posted these past few months where you post these trades to help out other teams while making us bad. I've seen you post trades where we take on bad money and give either player. I've seen you post trades where we give up picks and either player.

You want to trade our players, not to make the team better but because you want them gone. That has been made abundantly clear.

You dont care what we get. You want them gone. That is an idea that needs to be tempered.

I think you actually have me mistaken . I am tired of seeing trade proposals where the Suns give up picks for average players.

but you say take on bad money
its called an EXPIRING contract.... to make the math work

i have seen some of your proposals - and they suck -- "but no offense Bro"

I think we should trade Booker, NOT because he's a bad player or a stupid Zach Lavine / Gilbert Arenas comp or puts up "empty stats", but for the obvious path to start rebuilding.
This is ONLY because they have dumped our draft picks like a box of unwanted puppies. Yes, I would trade booker for these reasons, or at least listen to offers.
The facts are that he wants to stay, Ishibia wants him to stay and like 90% of the fanbase wants him to stay. Heck I want him to stay.

So here we are, not trading Booker and at this moment in time so its not really worth talking about or disrespecting his character and or game because your move doesn't align with the owners. I don't have a problem talking about and or seeing Booker trades if he was on the table but he's not. Shelf the Booker trades for a year or two and see where we're at.

I bolded the one part -- I still have no clue of him wanting to stay being relevant to the bigger goal of building a roster to compete for a title

I think I remember reading a D'Antoni quote "we are not looking to trade Nash but if Pop calls offering Duncan, I would listen.."

Ask other Chargers fans - I am one of the least emotionally attached fans out there. I wanted them to move on from Keenan Allen a year earlier than they did. If trading Devin Booker helps the team long term in building to win actual play-off games, trade him.