Suns Have Tried Shopping Kevin Durant To Rockets To Regain Control Of Draft Picks

[RealGM Wiretap]

The Phoenix Suns have been aggressive in their conversations with the Houston Rockets on a trade involving Kevin Durant. The Suns are attempting to regain control of their draft picks owned by the Rockets beginning with the No. 10 pick in the draft.

The Suns have gradually lowered their asking price for Durant. While there is a price that would make sense for the Rockets to add Durant to their otherwise young core, there is doubt about whether a deal will come to fruition.

Long-term interest in Devin Booker has cooled for the Rockets. Booker was long seen as a preferred target for the Rockets over Durant, but he is coming off a disappointing season and is on a long-term, expensive contract that he is expected to extend even further with the Suns this offseason. 

Durant would likely require an extension upon his acquisition, but it would be for fewer seasons than Booker. 

Via Kelly Iko/The Athletic

[SkyBill40]

I just don't see HOU giving up a bunch of young assets for a player in Durant who's approaching 40, even if he's still one of the preeminent scorers in the league.

[Effigy]

If the Rockets can get Booker AND KD for the Suns picks, they'd have to consider it. of course, there's probably no way to make that work in the salary cap.

[SkyBill40]

If the Rockets can get Booker AND KD for the Suns picks, they'd have to consider it. of course, there's probably no way to make that work in the salary cap.

There's absolutely NO chance of that happening. And not even for the cap implications.

[Effigy]

If the Rockets can get Booker AND KD for the Suns picks, they'd have to consider it. of course, there's probably no way to make that work in the salary cap.

There's absolutely NO chance of that happening. And not even for the cap implications.

On who's side? Phoenix probably wouldn't do it, but they should. They're going to be stuck unable to improve for years.

[SkyBill40]

If the Rockets can get Booker AND KD for the Suns picks, they'd have to consider it. of course, there's probably no way to make that work in the salary cap.

There's absolutely NO chance of that happening. And not even for the cap implications.

On who's side? Phoenix probably wouldn't do it, but they should. They're going to be stuck unable to improve for years.

Both. Ishbia has made it clear that Booker isn't going anywhere even though sending him out would be most beneficial to the team given what they could get back. The biggest problem is that any trade can only involve a single player going out until they're below the second apron limitations to aggregate contracts. And let's be honest, it's going to take a HELL of a lot more than just getting their picks back in a deal involving Booker.

HOU doesn't have the resources or the likely cap space to absorb both.

[Pickled Prunes]

There's absolutely NO chance of that happening. And not even for the cap implications.

On who's side? Phoenix probably wouldn't do it, but they should. They're going to be stuck unable to improve for years.

Both. Ishbia has made it clear that Booker isn't going anywhere even though sending him out would be most beneficial to the team given what they could get back. The biggest problem is that any trade can only involve a single player going out until they're below the second apron limitations to aggregate contracts. And let's be honest, it's going to take a HELL of a lot more than just getting their picks back in a deal involving Booker.

HOU doesn't have the resources or the likely cap space to absorb both.

From the HOU perspective: Why would any team want to pair KD and Booker after watching that pairing fail so dramatically in PHX?

From the PHX perspective: Beal isn't enough to sell tickets for the next few seasons. The fans there would revolt if they even temporarily anointed him their tank commander. Booker is still young enough to be the cornerstone of their next good team. They would be asking for all the picks and young talent before they even considered moving him.

[SkyBill40]

On who's side? Phoenix probably wouldn't do it, but they should. They're going to be stuck unable to improve for years.

Both. Ishbia has made it clear that Booker isn't going anywhere even though sending him out would be most beneficial to the team given what they could get back. The biggest problem is that any trade can only involve a single player going out until they're below the second apron limitations to aggregate contracts. And let's be honest, it's going to take a HELL of a lot more than just getting their picks back in a deal involving Booker.

HOU doesn't have the resources or the likely cap space to absorb both.

From the HOU perspective: Why would any team want to pair KD and Booker after watching that pairing fail so dramatically in PHX?

From the PHX perspective: Beal isn't enough to sell tickets for the next few seasons. The fans there would revolt if they even temporarily anointed him their tank commander. Booker is still young enough to be the cornerstone of their next good team. They would be asking for all the picks and young talent before they even considered moving him.

As far as HOU goes, Booker and KD might be able to work more effectively given the makeup of the HOU roster. Having a bona fide PG in Van Vleet would be an enormous difference maker over what they've been forced to work with over these past few in PHX. Add in solid post players on top and you've got the makings of a top 4-5 team.

As for PHX, yeah, no. Beal is NOT going to be the dude here under ANY circumstances. And moving the focus to him would absolutely crater the fanbase which is already out for blood.

[puja21]

I just don't see HOU giving up a bunch of young assets for a player in Durant who's approaching 40, even if he's still one of the preeminent scorers in the league.

Agree -- Lebron is the only guy who has stayed among the top-10 scorers in the league approaching 40

In fact, only 3 guys in NBA history have maintained a 20 ppg average for all minutes after turning age 35

1. Lebron, 26.8 ppg in 293 games
2. Mailman 21.8 ppg in 366 games
3. MJ 21.2 ppg in 142 games

And only 2 more in history averaged >15 ppg (Kareem 18.3 & Hondo 17)

Next closest is Dirk at 14.3

So KD is off to a good start with 26.9 ppg in 137 gp so far

[Pickled Prunes]

Both. Ishbia has made it clear that Booker isn't going anywhere even though sending him out would be most beneficial to the team given what they could get back. The biggest problem is that any trade can only involve a single player going out until they're below the second apron limitations to aggregate contracts. And let's be honest, it's going to take a HELL of a lot more than just getting their picks back in a deal involving Booker.

HOU doesn't have the resources or the likely cap space to absorb both.

From the HOU perspective: Why would any team want to pair KD and Booker after watching that pairing fail so dramatically in PHX?

From the PHX perspective: Beal isn't enough to sell tickets for the next few seasons. The fans there would revolt if they even temporarily anointed him their tank commander. Booker is still young enough to be the cornerstone of their next good team. They would be asking for all the picks and young talent before they even considered moving him.

As far as HOU goes, Booker and KD might be able to work more effectively given the makeup of the HOU roster. Having a bona fide PG in Van Vleet would be an enormous difference maker over what they've been forced to work with over these past few in PHX. Add in solid post players on top and you've got the makings of a top 4-5 team.

As for PHX, yeah, no. Beal is NOT going to be the dude here under ANY circumstances. And moving the focus to him would absolutely crater the fanbase which is already out for blood.

I don't know. I love FVV, but I think Tyus might be a better PG. (Crazy, right!?) I mean, here are their Per36 counting stats:

FVV: 14/4/6 on .378 FG% and .345 3P%
Tyus: 14/3/7 on .448 FG% and .414 3P%

Tyus had FVV beat on almost every stat not affected by being on a bad team: TS%, eFG%, Ast/TO, AST%, etc. Tyus was also the only starter in PHX with a positive eDiff! They just didn't use him. PHX was all your turn/my turn, but it was never Tyus' turn. He was supposed to be the missing piece, the coveted offseason acquisition, and he finished the season 15th in Usage%! Insanity!!!

Situation matters. FVV is in a perfect situation. Someday Tyus will find himself in a similarly perfect situation.

[niha17]

Suns have no hope for many years

[Wingy]

From the HOU perspective: Why would any team want to pair KD and Booker after watching that pairing fail so dramatically in PHX?

The Sacramento Kings have entered the chat.

[scrabbarista]

I just don't see HOU giving up a bunch of young assets for a player in Durant who's approaching 40, even if he's still one of the preeminent scorers in the league.

Agree -- Lebron is the only guy who has stayed among the top-10 scorers in the league approaching 40

In fact, only 3 guys in NBA history have maintained a 20 ppg average for all minutes after turning age 35

1. Lebron, 26.8 ppg in 293 games
2. Mailman 21.8 ppg in 366 games
3. MJ 21.2 ppg in 142 games

And only 2 more in history averaged >15 ppg (Kareem 18.3 & Hondo 17)

Next closest is Dirk at 14.3

So KD is off to a good start with 26.9 ppg in 137 gp so far

Weird.

The last season James was in the top ten in ppg was the year he turned 33. Jordan was tenth the year he turned 39. So, James isn't the only one among the top ten approaching 40, because he didn't do it.

[Pickled Prunes]

From the HOU perspective: Why would any team want to pair KD and Booker after watching that pairing fail so dramatically in PHX?

The Sacramento Kings have entered the chat.

The Kings didn't choose to pair LaVine and DeRozan. It was just coincidence that they already had DeRozan. The package for LaVine was the best one they could find for Fox.

I personally don't think Fox or LaVine are winning players. SAC got two 1sts, five 2nds and got out of Huerter's contract by trading one, about to be overpaid player for one, already overpaid player. Not a bad piece of work. And LaVine could still be moveable if he keeps putting up those numbers with efficiency.

[Pickled Prunes]

I just don't see HOU giving up a bunch of young assets for a player in Durant who's approaching 40, even if he's still one of the preeminent scorers in the league.

Agree -- Lebron is the only guy who has stayed among the top-10 scorers in the league approaching 40

In fact, only 3 guys in NBA history have maintained a 20 ppg average for all minutes after turning age 35

1. Lebron, 26.8 ppg in 293 games
2. Mailman 21.8 ppg in 366 games
3. MJ 21.2 ppg in 142 games

And only 2 more in history averaged >15 ppg (Kareem 18.3 & Hondo 17)

Next closest is Dirk at 14.3

So KD is off to a good start with 26.9 ppg in 137 gp so far

Weird.

The last season James was in the top ten in ppg was the year he turned 33. Jordan was tenth the year he turned 39. So, James isn't the only one among the top ten approaching 40, because he didn't do it.

Uh-oh... Puja's gonna "Daniel Dale" you!

[scrabbarista]

Agree -- Lebron is the only guy who has stayed among the top-10 scorers in the league approaching 40

In fact, only 3 guys in NBA history have maintained a 20 ppg average for all minutes after turning age 35

1. Lebron, 26.8 ppg in 293 games
2. Mailman 21.8 ppg in 366 games
3. MJ 21.2 ppg in 142 games

And only 2 more in history averaged >15 ppg (Kareem 18.3 & Hondo 17)

Next closest is Dirk at 14.3

So KD is off to a good start with 26.9 ppg in 137 gp so far

Weird.

The last season James was in the top ten in ppg was the year he turned 33. Jordan was tenth the year he turned 39. So, James isn't the only one among the top ten approaching 40, because he didn't do it.

Uh-oh... Puja's gonna "Daniel Dale" you!

Ok, Jordan was tenth the year he turned 39, but he only played 60 games, so he doesn't show up on some leaderboards. 60 games is a pretty good ppg sample.

James' last season in the top ten (third) was 2018, the year he turned 33; Jordan lead the league the year he turned 35.

[Vegeta10176]

There's absolutely NO chance of that happening. And not even for the cap implications.

On who's side? Phoenix probably wouldn't do it, but they should. They're going to be stuck unable to improve for years.

Both. Ishbia has made it clear that Booker isn't going anywhere even though sending him out would be most beneficial to the team given what they could get back. The biggest problem is that any trade can only involve a single player going out until they're below the second apron limitations to aggregate contracts. And let's be honest, it's going to take a HELL of a lot more than just getting their picks back in a deal involving Booker.

HOU doesn't have the resources or the likely cap space to absorb both.

Lol if trading booker got the suns picks back they should jump at it.. They are in a terrible spot. They don't have any of their picks including pick swaps.. and they arent good enough to even make the playin.. I mean they are toast.. They shouldn't let teams do pick swaps..

[Pickled Prunes]

Weird.

The last season James was in the top ten in ppg was the year he turned 33. Jordan was tenth the year he turned 39. So, James isn't the only one among the top ten approaching 40, because he didn't do it.

Uh-oh... Puja's gonna "Daniel Dale" you!

Ok, Jordan was tenth the year he turned 39, but he only played 60 games, so he doesn't show up on some leaderboards. 60 games is a pretty good ppg sample.

James' last season in the top ten (third) was 2018, the year he turned 33; Jordan lead the league the year he turned 35.

You really need to Daniel Dale (fact check) yourself. Lebron was 5th in 18/19, 2nd in 21/22 and 9th in 22/23. He was 38 at the end of his most recent season in the top 10. But I think Puja was looking at those years cumulatively. He should probably give us his "Players Approaching 40" algorithm.

[scrabbarista]

Uh-oh... Puja's gonna "Daniel Dale" you!

Ok, Jordan was tenth the year he turned 39, but he only played 60 games, so he doesn't show up on some leaderboards. 60 games is a pretty good ppg sample.

James' last season in the top ten (third) was 2018, the year he turned 33; Jordan lead the league the year he turned 35.

You really need to Daniel Dale (fact check) yourself. Lebron was 5th in 18/19, 2nd in 21/22 and 9th in 22/23. He was 38 at the end of his most recent season in the top 10. But I think Puja was looking at those years cumulatively. He should probably give us his "Players Approaching 40" algorithm.

Actually, like Jordan the year he played 60 games and turned 39, James did not qualify in 2019, 2022, or 2023 because he played 55, 56, and 55 games, respectively. I was not aware of his scoring, because he didn't show up on any of the leaderboards I checked. My fault. I take the blame for that.

Puja said James was the only one in the top ten approaching 40. Either Jordan and James both did it (Jordan older and in more games in that older season), or neither did it due to not playing enough games.

[Pickled Prunes]

Ok, Jordan was tenth the year he turned 39, but he only played 60 games, so he doesn't show up on some leaderboards. 60 games is a pretty good ppg sample.

James' last season in the top ten (third) was 2018, the year he turned 33; Jordan lead the league the year he turned 35.

You really need to Daniel Dale (fact check) yourself. Lebron was 5th in 18/19, 2nd in 21/22 and 9th in 22/23. He was 38 at the end of his most recent season in the top 10. But I think Puja was looking at those years cumulatively. He should probably give us his "Players Approaching 40" algorithm.

Actually, like Jordan the year he played 60 games and turned 39, James did not qualify in 2019, 2022, or 2023 because he played 55, 56, and 55 games, respectively. I was not aware of his scoring, because he didn't show up on any of the leaderboards I checked. My fault. I take the blame for that.

Puja said James was the only one in the top ten approaching 40. Either Jordan and James both did it (Jordan older and in more games in that older season), or neither did it due to not playing enough games.

You got to watch those filters!

Likewise, you'll need puja to clarify how he was filtering his stats.