Windhorst: Raptors making noise around the league looking for a “big fish” // Giannis & Toronto "Mutual Interest"/KD too

[rapsincr]

ye, clearly not a popular opionion, but id personally prefer durant and not gut our depth(and our future)
i also think elite shooting tends to age way better than elite athleticism.

[WuTang_CMB]

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[Asif16]

Durant makes no sense for us, but just for fun, what realistic trade package would even be possible?

For salary purposes, any trade would have to be either an IQ + Poetl or RJ + Poetl package...which to me seems like way too much for Durant at this stage of his career. Or am I trippin?

[Thaddy]

I would forget about Giannis, he only has 2 years left on his current contract before he can opt out and join Luka in LA as a free agent. We'll wind up mortgaging our future for a two year rental once he realizes there isn't enough left here to build a winner and the ownership cheaps out to avoid the repeater tax.

If it's centered around Barnes and RJ we would likely be fine. We would be insured for the next years and the following picks with Giannis' current contract. Barnes, RJ, and 2 unprotected firsts in 2026 and 2027.

[pingpongrac]

A borderline All-NBA player doesn't take his team to the Finals by beating Giannis, the #1 seed Cavs, and a solid Knicks team. Hali is a top-10 player.

Haliburton
18/6/12 on 53 TS% against the Bucks
17/5/7 on 67 TS% against the Cavs
21/6/11 on 57 TS% against the Knicks
19/6/10 on 58 TS% overall

Siakam
20/6/2 on 63 TS% against the Bucks
18/6/4 on 60 TS% against the Cavs
25/5/4 on 60 TS% against the Knicks
21/6/3 on 61 TS% overall

Turner
17/5/2 on 65 TS% against the Bucks
16/7/1 on 64 TS% against the Cavs
13/3/2 on 66 TS% against the Knicks
15/5/1 on 65 TS% overall

Nembhard
15/3/5 on 61 TS% against the Bucks
14/3/7 on 65 TS% against the Cavs
10/3/4 on 50 TS% against the Knicks
13/3/5 on 58 TS% overall

Nesmith
15/6/2 on 69 TS% against the Bucks
14/7/2 on 66 TS% against the Cavs
13/4/1 on 67 TS% against the Knicks
14/6/1 on 67 TS% overall

Indiana has had one of the most balanced offences we've seen from a playoff team since the Spurs in the early 2010s while everyone has stepped up on the defensive end (even Haliburton himself) and the bench has been very productive (35 PPG, 14 REB, 7 AST on 61 TS% in ~80 MPG). Haliburton had a great ECF where both he and Siakam did the heavy lifting, but he has hardly "took his team to the Finals". It has been an entire team effort and everyone has had their moments in getting the Pacers to where they are now. Even just in the ECF, the Pacers took G1 in large part because of Nesmith's massive Q4 (20 PTS on 6/7 shooting which came entirely in the final 5 minutes) then Siakam dropped 39 PTS in G2 (with Turner chipping in 13 PTS in Q4 to seal the deal), 30 in G4 (but people just admittedly remember Haliburton's historic 32/12/15 night with 0 TOV) and 31 in G6 (with Nembhard chipping in 14/3/8 with 6 STL + Toppin and Bryant combining for 29 PTS on 10/16 shooting off the bench).

Haliburton assisted 43% of the Pacers' points in the Knicks series. You can't just evaluate a pass-first PG on scoring. Haliburton is the system in Indiana. He is the modern day version of Steve Nash.

I'm not just evaluating Haliburton on his PPG. I have said it multiple times over the past little bit that he is overwhelmingly important to Indiana's offence (similar to Jokic, Trae, Luka when he was on the Mavs, etc.), but that on its own doesn't mean he is a superstar. I've watched most Pacers games this season (and every game but one in the playoffs) and I'm well aware how valuable he is to their offence, but he hasn't single-handedly brought the Pacers all the way to the Finals. Siakam has been nearly as valuable all throughout the playoffs (consistently scoring against the toughest man-to-man defenders while being tasked with defending opposing stars like Giannis and KAT) while Nesmith, Nembhard and Turner have been incredible on both sides of the ball as well (a bit less so in the ECF, especially Turner and Nembhard). This isn't some 2019 Kawhi "carry job" – which wasn't near as much of a carry job as some people made it seem because everyone was contributing on both sides of the ball and everyone had their big moments – and it's clear from watching the games. He's a very, very good player...but he just isn't on the same level of guys like Jokic, SGA, Giannis, Luka, Steph, Kawhi, Tatum, etc. while I'd also pretty confidently put guys like Edwards, Embiid, AD, Durant and Wemby firmly above him too. He's in that next tier with guys like Ja, Brunson, Booker, Mitchell, Cade, Butler, Banchero, Franz, Brown, Bam, etc.; the guys that can play like a superstar at times, but ones that are far less consistent and generally aren't game-planned for as much as the first ~10 guys I listed.

[canz55]

Keep Scottie and let the Bucks rot. Milwaukee is no longer a threat even with a healthy Giannis.

East is wide open and we can compete with what we have.

[LoveMyRaps]

I’d be elated if we got KD.

[mihaic]

I’d be elated if we got KD.

How do you match his salary? Barnes + Dick? IQ+RJ? And phx wants picks too. I don't like either trade base.

[Son Goku 25]

Tbh Durant will be good for another 4-5 years if he chooses to continue playing and something tells me he'll be playing for at least 4 more.

Even off the bench in a few years he'll be great. But not sure if he'd stay long enough to be a bench piece lol

[Raptorfan2012]

What do you envision a KD trade to look like? 9th pick and RJ?

[Westside Gunn]

This is just me but I think Giannis probably has a solid 2-3 years left. I don't see him having the same impact on the game as KD at his age who is one of the best scorers in NBA history. How long will Giannis be able to sustain that athleticism that he relies on?

If you do make the deal for Giannis, winning a ship in one of those 2-3 years will be it, after that his potential decline begins

[Psubs]

Durant makes no sense for us, but just for fun, what realistic trade package would even be possible?

For salary purposes, any trade would have to be either an IQ + Poetl or RJ + Poetl package...which to me seems like way too much for Durant at this stage of his career. Or am I trippin?

Send Poeltl and get Richards back is the only way that makes sense.

KD and Richards for RJ, Poeltl and Dick

[UnderdogRaptors]

Supposedly giannis and kd

[Scase]

I’d be elated if we got KD.

How do you match his salary? Barnes + Dick? IQ+RJ? And phx wants picks too. I don't like either trade base.

Sweet christ, if Masai traded Scottie for KD, they would need to petition the NBA league office to overturn it and have Masai committed.

[UnderdogRaptors]

Guys the loser Knicks made the ecfs it's so bad right now. Those 2 were finals bound

[Jim Todd Jr.]

my only fear is they make us take lopez with him

f lopez

[WuTang_CMB]

my only fear is they make us take lopez with him

f lopez

hes a free agent

[Clutch0z24]

Don't think we have the assets without making the team another Bucks.

Bucks 2nd and 3rd options on that team right now are Portis(Might walk in free agency)/GTJR....Lopez is gone next year, Lillard is out the year, Kevin Porter Jr is your starting PG...And Kuzma is also one of your go to guys...

I swear some of these guys don't even know who is actually playing on that Bucks team its an absolute dumpster fire with no way to upgrade or improve....

We would potentially have IQ/Ingram/RJ/Yak + Young guys on the bench who have the possibility to take a leap like Walter/Shaed/Mogbo...

We likely make another move following the Giannis trade so who knows what players are on the team Post trade...

If Giannis wants the Raptors and demands to stay in the east Barnes/Dick/Ochai #9 + Alot of picks + swaps would be one of the better starting offers a team in the East can make....If you have to add RJ instead of Dick do that as well...

Alot of posters are also trying to talk about who fits with Giannis post trade like RJ etc....Who gives a damn about fit just get him in the door first and worry about that later... I swear guys are forgetting how good Giannis is....This is a legit top 3 player and one of the all time greats...

Giannis/Ingram are a legit duo and you have IQ/RJ or Dick/Yak to make a follow up move if you wan't to add a different player to that duo....Vets & Buy out options to fill the team out more as well as some of the young guys taking leaps with development....

And when you trade Barnes,IQ, Dick, picks.. is it really a massive upgrade over Giannis and a healthy Dame?

Legitimately.. it's starts being a question. If the trade package is RB/IQ/Dick and a massive load of picks? Sure. But when you add a few more rotation players and prospects to that...it starts getting a little dicier.

When you have Giannis/Ingram duo with some good players like IQ/RJ/Yak potentially in the mix you are a contender especially in this weak east.....Bucks like i said had Portis/GTJr/Kuzma for depth....Dame was also not healthy during his Bucks run....If you have a chance to get Giannis you do it...

[Scase]

my only fear is they make us take lopez with him

f lopez

You sure you didnt mean Kuzma?

[ImaBeatDatAzz]

If Masai gets Giannis for Scottie + Gradey + 9th pick… then build the statue !!