2025 Offseason Season Thread Vol. 2

[MettaWorldPanda]

Spurs and Houston twitter sound like us. Just straight up clowning the Suns fans ask. Nobody wants to give up anything worthwhile for a 37 year old Durant.

[Wiltside]

Read on Twitter

Never has someone read so much into such little body language

[Vertical Limit]

Spurs and Houston twitter sound like us. Just straight up clowning the Suns fans ask. Nobody wants to give up anything worthwhile for a 37 year old Durant.

It is a death penalty to our franchise if we trade 2 firsts, a swap, Ware and Jovic for durant, then extend him, and then he misses significant playing time like he has consistently missed since 2019

The spurs and the rockets have a lot more talent on their rosters than we do, and an abundance of picks. They can make the trade, sideline Durant on minutes restriction all season long and turn him on during the end just in time for the playoffs. And if Durant happens to fall to injury, the spurs and rockets still have a core that is strong enough to make it to the playoffs.

Durant on the Heat faces different expectations. We were below .500 last season, a very below average team that caught fire and barely made it to the playoffs. And then showed they didnt belong against the cavaliers who didnt make it out of the second round.

We dont have the talent the spurs have. The spurs team is expected to reach levels up with or without Durant.

For us to be successful, Durant will have to play as close to 70 games as possible and be available for the playoffs, and he will need to be the Durant we have always seen when he is healthy. He cant be a regressed version, he has to be that guy and carry the franchise.

Thats a lot asking for a 37 year old. On the Spurs, Rockets and Timberwolves hes just a complimentary luxury piece that may put either of those franchises over the top.

In Miami, we may finally get into the postseason without havibg to claw our way in through the play in tournament. But even with him on board, we arent beating Cleveland, Indiana, Orlando, the Knicks or Detroit. And im not sure how we match up against celtics but something tells me the celtics would still be better than us

[VaDe255]

Spurs and Houston twitter sound like us. Just straight up clowning the Suns fans ask. Nobody wants to give up anything worthwhile for a 37 year old Durant.

It is a death penalty to our franchise if we trade 2 firsts, a swap, Ware and Jovic for durant, then extend him, and then he misses significant playing time like he has consistently missed since 2019

The spurs and the rockets have a lot more talent on their rosters than we do, and an abundance of picks. They can make the trade, sideline Durant on minutes restriction all season long and turn him on during the end just in time for the playoffs. And if Durant happens to fall to injury, the spurs and rockets still have a core that is strong enough to make it to the playoffs.

Durant on the Heat faces different expectations. We were below .500 last season, a very below average team that caught fire and barely made it to the playoffs. And then showed they didnt belong against the cavaliers who didnt make it out of the second round.

We dont have the talent the spurs have. The spurs team is expected to reach levels up with or without Durant.

For us to be successful, Durant will have to play as close to 70 games as possible and be available for the playoffs, and he will need to be the Durant we have always seen when he is healthy. He cant be a regressed version, he has to be that guy and carry the franchise.

Thats a lot asking for a 37 year old. On the Spurs, Rockets and Timberwolves hes just a complimentary luxury piece that may put either of those franchises over the top.

In Miami, we may finally get into the postseason without havibg to claw our way in through the play in tournament. But even with him on board, we arent beating Cleveland, Indiana, Orlando, the Knicks or Detroit. And im not sure how we match up against celtics but something tells me the celtics would still be better than us

That post is a masterclass in dramatic realism.

1) Two firsts and a swap is not a death sentence. People act like trading picks is franchise suicide, but they forget how much of a gamble those picks actually are especially for a team trying to win now.
You draft a guy, wait 4–5 years for development if everything breaks right and even then, there’s maybe a 35% chance he becomes a solid rotation player. The rest? Backups or busts. That’s just how the math works.
The Heat have been very fortunate, they hit on Bam, Herro, and now possibly Ware. But they've also had misses like Winslow and Achiuwa. Jaquez is entering Year 3, Jović Year 4 and at this point, their upside looks more like role players.
Achiuwa is honestly a perfect example of the kind of player you usually get in that mid-to-late first round range: serviceable, athletic, can fill minutes off the bench but not someone who’s changing your ceiling.

2) Let’s clear up the Durant durability myth with actual facts.
- Over 17 seasons, KD has averaged 66 games per year (75, 62 last two years) more than Jimmy Butler, who averages 62 (60, 55 last two years).
- KD has averaged 37 minutes per game for his career, including the last two seasons. Jimmy, by comparison, averages just 33 minutes

Yes, the Achilles injury in 2019 was major but pretending KD’s been some kind of unreliable ghost ever since is just lazy analysis. When he's healthy, he not only plays real minutes he plays at a high level. He’s not Kawhi level “questionable every night” or load managed into irrelevance.
If Durant misses games, it’s usually precautionary not because he’s made of glass. He’s been carrying a starter’s workload at a high level and the data backs that up. If you’re worried about KD’s health, you should be even more worried about everyone else, because he’s been much more available than you can expect from an NBA player.

3) KD isn’t coming in to play 70 games and carry the team every night. This roster was already good enough to win around 45 games, some things just went sideways this season. Jimmy asked out, Terry and Jaquez underperformed significantly, and early season chemistry was a mess.
Once they integrated Davion, the team looked far more stable and cohesive. Sure, the Cavs outclassed them, but the closing stretch of the season and the play-in were a solid run.
They also hit the low end of variance: their net rating projected a 42–40 record, but they ended up at 37–45. That underperformance wasn’t about talent, it was situational.
Looking ahead, the internal growth is real. Bam's second half of the season was strong, and he began hitting the three ball consistently after early struggles. Herro continues to evolve beyond just a scorer, Ware is only scratching the surface of his potential as a defensive anchor and inside presence and Davion showed he can set the tone defensively, along with flashes of running the offense when given a real role. All are likely to remain post trade, giving the team a strong foundation.

Add Durant to that version of the Heat, and you're not asking him to carry a disaster; you're giving him a capable, structured roster where he can elevate the ceiling without shouldering the full load.

[twix2500]

Read on Twitter

Never has someone read so much into such little body language

They are milking these KD trade rumors

[DayofMourning]

I remember Iman saying SAS would be the best place for an older player since they know how to manage your body at that age.

Miami has faced criticism about this in the past. Read an article where Ray Allen said something along those lines.

[contract]

Spurs and Houston twitter sound like us. Just straight up clowning the Suns fans ask. Nobody wants to give up anything worthwhile for a 37 year old Durant.

I'm happy to hear that we're not offering anything worthwhile. Hopefully we won't feel the need to extend him since he won't cost much.

[contract]

I remember Iman saying SAS would be the best place for an older player since they know how to manage your body at that age.

Miami has faced criticism about this in the past. Read an article where Ray Allen said something along those lines.

The Spurs better worry about managing Wemby's body at his age. That's the franchise.

[lastb1ckman]

Here is my offer for Durant

Herro
Duncan robinson
#20 pick

Heat gets Kevin Durant

Suns figure out what they do with Herro long term, commit long term or flip him. wont be our problem to pay him like hes an all nba guard when hes more of a sixth man with no defense. We move onto the next chapter with Durant and Bam.

Figure out what to do with Wiggins, rozier and Kyle Andersen

Larrson starts at the 2 to start the season.. sign davion to his qualifying offer

We still got Jovic, JJJ and Ware on the roster.

They already **** their season up by adding Beal, now you want them to add Herro? Thats 3 of the same player archetype!

And now on the Heat you have no shooters outside of KD. Thats the opposite of how you build around KD. This is a both sides lose trade.

[3ammy3uck3ts]

We’ll probably try to jump in and get Randle out of all of this if we don’t land KD

[eddieheatfan]

Watch on YouTube

[iamoti]

I'm probably in a minority but i dont see the point in spending a lot on Durant. We arent winning a chip with him. He is 37 with some injury concerns. The definition of Beta personality. He doesn't move the needle anymore. Wiggins Duncan Jovic + 20th pick is as high i would go and thats because Jovic needs to get payed and Wiggins has been terrible. Also the extension should be max 1 year. You dont want to pay 40yo Durant max money.

[MettaWorldPanda]

Read on Twitter

[Kobewade11]

the closer

Watch on YouTube

[greg4012]

Read on Twitter

hopes of contending is hilarious

[3ammy3uck3ts]

Read on Twitter

hopes of contending is hilarious

You don’t trade Kevin Durant and then compete for a championship the next year

I’m shocked at how delusional some of these front offices around the league are.

[Hoops3355]

Basically any team that wants KD has a line that's pretty similar. I just don't see those changing or a rental offer coming in that's above what these current offers are. The Magic were a team that I though would be a wild swing for KD as he'd fit in there would be immense buy they went for Bane.

Edit:
Also don't buy the Wolves making a massive trade unless its for some more depth on cheaper contracts. They really just need a better point guard. The rest of that squad is good and will be better with another year together. I could see them trading Naz for a haul (Houston: Jabari Smith + Reed Shepard + some picks) though if it comes down to him or Randle.

[3ammy3uck3ts]

Read on Twitter

Great, there’s your center. Now let’s wrap this up

[3ammy3uck3ts]

Read on Twitter

[greg4012]

A few thoughts on a prospective Suns-Minny deal:

- As the resident Gobert hater on this board, I have full respect for his defensive impact as one of the best defenders in the NBA year in and year out. He's one of the best defensive floor raisers in the NBA. A defensive system unto himself. However, he lacks versatility as to how he impacts the game defensively and loses a lot of efficacy in a playoff setting where teams play for advantage on every inch of the court and regularly exploit big men that can't keep up in the space game and with pass-dribble-shoot. All of that paired with him always being a subpar player offensively always caps his playoff ceiling unless he just gets the ideal matchups.

- I do believe that Minny trading Gobert to Phoenix would give them the best situation among the rumored trade offers to put forth a respectable product through the regular season (and fans can maybe even entertain delusions of contention). I believe if they make the playoffs, it would be a very quick flop as Gobert won't have the benefit of being surrounded by multiple positive and more versatile defenders like he was in Minny. It would basically be a poor man's squad, except Gobert would be the whole frontcourt. Something like Utah Gobert (with less overall talent).

- On the flip side, I believe Minnesota trading away Gobert for 37-year old Durant would basically result in a slightly better version of what Phoenix was with Durant. No good defensive presence--Naz Reid as a defensive anchor is a joke, especially with Julius Randle as his frontcourt partner. Minny's defense (losing NAW also) would drop to league average or worse. Minnesota might end up net worse than they have been the past 2 years as they become too tilted towards offense.

- If the idea is instead for Randle to opt-in and be the main trade piece going to Phoenix...lol. Randle without defensive cover by an elite center is obviously yikes. He's had 1 above average 3pt shooting season in his career, but that won't stop him from thinking he was traded to replace what KD did. Trading for that and considering it a good return and then facing either losing Randle in free agency next season or committing a bunch of money and years to Randle post-30. Yikes.