The Official 2025 Offseason Thread Part 3

[KdoubleDees23]

GAMBO if you are reading these blogs!!!!!

Please step down, you are not good at what you do, and you just throw stuff at a wall and hope it sticks.

You said SUNS were trading KD this week, are you going to change it now to next week, then the following, etc.

You are almost as accurate as a weatherman!

Lol...do you know that it's Thursday?

Shams said last week that "a deal can be made in the next few days" so he said basically the same thing that Gambo said.

Yeah I trust Shams more than Gambo! Gambo is horrible

[BobbieL]

At some point you have to cut your losses

Can’t base the return for KD on what we gave for him. You keep focusing on the rear view mirror you will miss the upcoming curves. Can’t short change his value tho. And a slew of maybe’s and a handful of picks doesn’t guarantee anything.

Furthermore, If keeping KD (w an extension) means we have to stretch Beal just to facilitate the ability to make necessary trades then just do it.

It wasn’t Book and KDs fault we sucked… it was/is the faulty crew around them. Poor point guard play, coaching and mediocre C was our downfall.

Having one of the top 3 lethal scorers is not a bad thing. Pay the man and move on to plan B. F the league trying to scavenge off of us.

You have two of the supposed top players in the game and you win 36 games -- they are part of the problem
Yes, the Beal trade was horrible
The Ayton trade was not good either
But Durant and Beal are a big part of the problem. They don't elevate the games of the players around them. They get their points. No doubt.

Scoring doesn't mean crap if you aren't winning games. And consistently with Booker and Durant the team is getting worse. I get too many coaches, a terrible owner - but maybe they are part of the damn problem too.

Cut your losses with Durant if you want a future. Not just this season - but a future

[BobbieL]

If we don't get a very good package for KD we need to talk to him about an extension with the Suns.

Look, he never asked for a trade. He is fine having a fresh start on another franchise BUT he loves Book, Phoenix and he has a good relationship with our new HC, Ott.

We want to trade KD to get younger and have multiple assets to retool around Booker. If we can't accomplish that there is no need to trade him, he is an amazing player yet.

We will see how this goes in the next couple of days. I expect one of his favorite destinations putting one more asset on the table and getting him in the next few days...but if that doesn't happen we would need to talk to him about staying on the Suns.

Could not agree more.

I have suggested this since the end of the season. I know our record sucked last year along with the style of play, but the talent was there and is still there. I would rather bet that our new coach can work some magic with this group and make them fun to watch. Which of the suggested players in all of these trade scenarios would you rather watch than KD? It appears that virtually all of them keep us over the 2nd apron with lesser talent on longer contracts. The only one I am interested in is the one with the Heat which includes Ware, Jovic, Wiggans and number 20.

I know you are going to say you cannot stand KD and anyone will do or that is what many of you are saying. The only answer you come up with is for us to trade Booker and then everything will be just fine.

Just draft a quality big with 29. Try to get something for Beal, Allen and O'Neale. Yeah, sign some minimum guys and see if Ott can make it work. Hell, maybe he can even fit Beal in the mix. I just see us getting worse in the short term with no better future than when we can reload when KD's and Beal's contracts expire.

Beal has negative trade value -- -you have to spend too much to trade him....

The experiment is over - Durant has to go this offseason

[starbosa10]

Because they would have Barnes/Ingram/KD and push for the 7/8 seed.

Not to mention that the Bucks/Celtics are down a star player each.

IMO This!!!
But also apparently it worked out fairly well for them with Kwahi Leonard. The East is wide open with the Celtics being severely hampered by injuries and Ujiri seems to he a big risk taker.

If it goes well, he might reconsider extending there. And if it somehow doesn't, there not on the hook for any long term commitment and they could still assess moving him at/ around the deadline and recoup some assets.

If we got Quickley, Barrett, Poetl and #9 for KD. You take it. I would keep Barrett, not sure why not

IQ
Booker
Barrett
Dunn
Poetl

Sign me up

This literally cannot be the trade financially. It would have to be IQ or Barrett, not both.

[Rebound Mound]

Some people still do not undertand that the Organization does not allow to trade until the Finals are gone, so you do not mess with the interests of the Organization...

[GopherIt!]

Read on Twitter

So KD killed a trade that would have brought us Claxton, other pieces and picks! I honestly don't care what he wants. After all, he cost us the majority of our players and assets, then made it worse by promoting trading for Beal. And now he's willing to screw our entire future just to try and get what he wants at a minimum cost after we gave up so much to accommodate things for him??

MN fan here. Mr. Cupcake wants a fat extension. Pay a 37/38/39yo guy $170M+? Hell-to-the-no on doing that. As a Wolves fan I say no no to trading for Mr Ho Ho. Honestly, I think Uncle Ding Dong is something of a team cancer outside of his stint w GSW where he had Curry & Dre Green to keep his Twinkie ass in line.

[bwgood77]

At some point you have to cut your losses

Can’t base the return for KD on what we gave for him. You keep focusing on the rear view mirror you will miss the upcoming curves. Can’t short change his value tho. And a slew of maybe’s and a handful of picks doesn’t guarantee anything.

Furthermore, If keeping KD (w an extension) means we have to stretch Beal just to facilitate the ability to make necessary trades then just do it.

It wasn’t Book and KDs fault we sucked… it was/is the faulty crew around them. Poor point guard play, coaching and mediocre C was our downfall.

Having one of the top 3 lethal scorers is not a bad thing. Pay the man and move on to plan B. F the league trying to scavenge off of us.

Yeah, I wish we would have cut losses a bit sooner, so I'm ready now. But yeah of course Ishbia can't base his return on what we gave up because he's not worth that much anymore. I had a pretty good feeling he wasn't worth quite what a lot of people were expecting. Had we extended him, maybe.

But I don't think it matters much what we get for him, as long as we get a good prospect and a pick or two picks, because I want to look positively to the future and a complete rebuild instead of trying to hang on for some Booker glory days that we all know (even if just deep down) are long behind us. I don't think we can stretch Beal. He is not going to give up that much money. If you think you can get more for KD by keeping him and extending him and then trading him, then do it. It's probably negligible though...and there is injury risk. I woudn't give up any picks to get rid of Beal. Picks are like the only bright spot we have, even if we don't have our own.

But, given that we don't control our picks, it's not bad to get as competitive players as we can in trades, maybe some that will still have trade value and will be good players to have around our rookies and young players as we turn things over. In a way, that's why I like a guy like Gobert better than say, RJ Barrett.

The impact he could have long term on our players. Gobert has such defensive instincts and provides so much directing the defense, that he transforms defenses, and also his teams are always good..Utah was near the top of the standings. Then Minnesota. And yes, you can say that Minny or he get "exposed" in the playoffs, which has happened against smaller teams, but a lot of players get exposes in the playoffs in certain matchups.

The Timberwolves this year looked like the toughest team aside from OKC and maybe Denver in the playoffs until they met OKC, who was smaller and had Cs who could stretch the floor and take him away from the rim.

Players have gotten a lot better playing on teams that were competitive with Rudy and I think learned good instincts, whether it be in Utah or in Minny with Jaden McDaniels, Ant and Naz Reid, among others.

[phnart]

Been enjoying reading everyone getting all worked up over this KD nonsense. I'm worked up about it, too, but trying hard to let it go as quickly as I start to feel frustrated. So many good points, though, have been shared and so many posts written out of a frustration that any true Suns fan is feeling right now. Here's where I am at..

I've posted infrequently, but the gist of my posts for the last few years have been how my long-term fanhood is suffering and I'm surprised at how little I want to invest in a team that doesn't deserve it anymore. If I add up all the time I have invested in the team and multiplied it by what I get paid hourly (even as a teacher, mind you), I have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of time in this team over the years that I have mostly, and quite honestly, enjoyed the hell out of and consider it time well spent.

The Suns used to be such an entertaining team to watch and while I suffered like all of you in their lack of a championship, there was hope (true and rose-colored) that someday, they would actually climb to the top of the mountain. When Ishbia got announced as the new owner, like many of you, I was excited and thought that mountain looked eminently more climbable.

But...the last few years, the Suns have been joyless and have played with what I consider to be a total lack of heart, hustle, desire...call it what you will. This has seemed to coincide with the addition of one Kevin Durant who, arguably, is the best player the Suns have ever had. This is the source, I think, of much of the consternation/frustration/rage that many of us are feeling.

This is why part of me is right there with a lot of you: Get him the heck out of here.

Then I consider the other argument that many of you have so eloquently postulated on: At what price?

Right now, I just don't give a crap, to be honest. Stay or go, it doesn't matter. The product is bound to be subpar for the coming future. Personally, I like Devin Booker a lot, but he's not "the guy." He's a great second fiddle and he can win a few games here and there, but he can't put the team on his back and will them to victory in a 7 game series. He's just not that guy.

If I were GM, I would definitely be looking at what I could get for D-Book.

I would also just admit to myself and everyone that Beal is not going anywhere. He likes it in Phoenix, apparently, and his family likes it, so he's going to make over $100 million more dollars here and that's that.

If I can't get a great package for Durant from a desperate team (and sadly, it's not going to happen), then I consider just keeping him for the year, trying to move him at the deadline for something, or letting him walk. Maybe that makes me a bad gambler, but so far, like many of you, I haven't been blown away by any of the rumored offerings from other teams and, if I'm a GM of another team, especially a young one, I'm scared as hell of bringing him onboard. He's not a leader.

So...I've vented. As I posted a few weeks ago, prepare to be underwhelmed when a move is made with Durant or be equally underwhelmed when they announce that they never really wanted to trade him and Jordan Ott is going to make it work. I don't see how they will be much better next year no matter what they do. The west is a beast. Watching playoff basketball this year has been fun because it was nice to see teams that are invested in themselves and their effort to win a championship give it their all. The Suns just seem to want to go through the motions.

I don't care to watch that...and yes, Gambo sucks buttermilk.

[Calvin Klein]

Been enjoying reading everyone getting all worked up over this KD nonsense. I'm worked up about it, too, but trying hard to let it go as quickly as I start to feel frustrated. So many good points, though, have been shared and so many posts written out of a frustration that any true Suns fan is feeling right now. Here's where I am at..

I've posted infrequently, but the gist of my posts for the last few years have been how my long-term fanhood is suffering and I'm surprised at how little I want to invest in a team that doesn't deserve it anymore. If I add up all the time I have invested in the team and multiplied it by what I get paid hourly (even as a teacher, mind you), I have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of time in this team over the years that I have mostly, and quite honestly, enjoyed the hell out of and consider it time well spent.

The Suns used to be such an entertaining team to watch and while I suffered like all of you in their lack of a championship, there was hope (true and rose-colored) that someday, they would actually climb to the top of the mountain. When Ishbia got announced as the new owner, like many of you, I was excited and thought that mountain looked eminently more climbable.

But...the last few years, the Suns have been joyless and have played with what I consider to be a total lack of heart, hustle, desire...call it what you will. This has seemed to coincide with the addition of one Kevin Durant who, arguably, is the best player the Suns have ever had. This is the source, I think, of much of the consternation/frustration/rage that many of us are feeling.

This is why part of me is right there with a lot of you: Get him the heck out of here.

Then I consider the other argument that many of you have so eloquently postulated on: At what price?

Right now, I just don't give a crap, to be honest. Stay or go, it doesn't matter. The product is bound to be subpar for the coming future. Personally, I like Devin Booker a lot, but he's not "the guy." He's a great second fiddle and he can win a few games here and there, but he can't put the team on his back and will them to victory in a 7 game series. He's just not that guy.

If I were GM, I would definitely be looking at what I could get for D-Book.

I would also just admit to myself and everyone that Beal is not going anywhere. He likes it in Phoenix, apparently, and his family likes it, so he's going to make over $100 million more dollars here and that's that.

If I can't get a great package for Durant from a desperate team (and sadly, it's not going to happen), then I consider just keeping him for the year, trying to move him at the deadline for something, or letting him walk. Maybe that makes me a bad gambler, but so far, like many of you, I haven't been blown away by any of the rumored offerings from other teams and, if I'm a GM of another team, especially a young one, I'm scared as hell of bringing him onboard. He's not a leader.

So...I've vented. As I posted a few weeks ago, prepare to be underwhelmed when a move is made with Durant or be equally underwhelmed when they announce that they never really wanted to trade him and Jordan Ott is going to make it work. I don't see how they will be much better next year no matter what they do. The west is a beast. Watching playoff basketball this year has been fun because it was nice to see teams that are invested in themselves and their effort to win a championship give it their all. The Suns just seem to want to go through the motions.

I don't care to watch that...and yes, Gambo sucks buttermilk.

flawless.

[BobbieL]

Been enjoying reading everyone getting all worked up over this KD nonsense. I'm worked up about it, too, but trying hard to let it go as quickly as I start to feel frustrated. So many good points, though, have been shared and so many posts written out of a frustration that any true Suns fan is feeling right now. Here's where I am at..

I've posted infrequently, but the gist of my posts for the last few years have been how my long-term fanhood is suffering and I'm surprised at how little I want to invest in a team that doesn't deserve it anymore. If I add up all the time I have invested in the team and multiplied it by what I get paid hourly (even as a teacher, mind you), I have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of time in this team over the years that I have mostly, and quite honestly, enjoyed the hell out of and consider it time well spent.

The Suns used to be such an entertaining team to watch and while I suffered like all of you in their lack of a championship, there was hope (true and rose-colored) that someday, they would actually climb to the top of the mountain. When Ishbia got announced as the new owner, like many of you, I was excited and thought that mountain looked eminently more climbable.

But...the last few years, the Suns have been joyless and have played with what I consider to be a total lack of heart, hustle, desire...call it what you will. This has seemed to coincide with the addition of one Kevin Durant who, arguably, is the best player the Suns have ever had. This is the source, I think, of much of the consternation/frustration/rage that many of us are feeling.

This is why part of me is right there with a lot of you: Get him the heck out of here.

Then I consider the other argument that many of you have so eloquently postulated on: At what price?

Right now, I just don't give a crap, to be honest. Stay or go, it doesn't matter. The product is bound to be subpar for the coming future. Personally, I like Devin Booker a lot, but he's not "the guy." He's a great second fiddle and he can win a few games here and there, but he can't put the team on his back and will them to victory in a 7 game series. He's just not that guy.

If I were GM, I would definitely be looking at what I could get for D-Book.

I would also just admit to myself and everyone that Beal is not going anywhere. He likes it in Phoenix, apparently, and his family likes it, so he's going to make over $100 million more dollars here and that's that.

If I can't get a great package for Durant from a desperate team (and sadly, it's not going to happen), then I consider just keeping him for the year, trying to move him at the deadline for something, or letting him walk. Maybe that makes me a bad gambler, but so far, like many of you, I haven't been blown away by any of the rumored offerings from other teams and, if I'm a GM of another team, especially a young one, I'm scared as hell of bringing him onboard. He's not a leader.

So...I've vented. As I posted a few weeks ago, prepare to be underwhelmed when a move is made with Durant or be equally underwhelmed when they announce that they never really wanted to trade him and Jordan Ott is going to make it work. I don't see how they will be much better next year no matter what they do. The west is a beast. Watching playoff basketball this year has been fun because it was nice to see teams that are invested in themselves and their effort to win a championship give it their all. The Suns just seem to want to go through the motions.

I don't care to watch that...and yes, Gambo sucks buttermilk.

What did Rome use to say 20 years ago - "rack him"

good post

[WeekapaugGroove]

Deadlines drive deals, the soft deadline for a KD trade is the draft since most of these deals would include a pick. So I expect this to drag out until next week.


My guess is Houston. They've always seemed like the most logical destination.

[BobbieL]

Deadlines drive deals, the soft deadline for a KD trade is the draft since most of these deals would include a pick. So I expect this to drag out until next week.


My guess is Houston. They've always seemed like the most logical destination.

Get through the Finals - maybe OKC closes it out. Have the parade and mid next week leading up to the draft - -the talk will ramp up even more

And Houston - since last summer when they got the Suns picks back --- Green, Jabari and two FRPs

Have read a couple times that Udoka wants Durant and since Ime is not leaving Houston anytime soon..

Read on Twitter

[Revived]

A week from today, this KD trade should be all wrapped up if not sooner. I say that because the draft is a week from today and we know Ishbia wants to draft that kid from MSU so badly and wants a pick in this draft for that.

[BobbieL]

Rockets, Heat and Twolves - per Shams


I think it will be the Rockets -- Udoka is signed long term. They are ready to make a push. Anyway to add O'Neale and Allen

Read on Twitter

[Slim Charless]

Rockets, Heat and Twolves - per Shams


I think it will be the Rockets -- Udoka is signed long term. They are ready to make a push. Anyway to add O'Neale and Allen

Read on Twitter

I say Heat.

Riley is old and wants 1 more shot. Plus, for them its just Ware. Add him and the deal is done.

With the Rockets, if its true that we have no interest in Jalen Green then its harder as HOU has to find a home for him and that's more trouble. Plus, they could be like SAS and hoping they can get Giannis in the next year.

Miami OTOH has a wide open east and KD/Herro/Bam and whatever unknown diamond they manage to unlock this year due to Spo is maybe enough.

I say Miami for Rozier/Duncan/Ware/#20/future FRP.

[BobbieL]

Rockets, Heat and Twolves - per Shams


I think it will be the Rockets -- Udoka is signed long term. They are ready to make a push. Anyway to add O'Neale and Allen

Read on Twitter

I say Heat.

Riley is old and wants 1 more shot. Plus, for them its just Ware. Add him and the deal is done.

With the Rockets, if its true that we have no interest in Jalen Green then its harder as HOU has to find a home for him and that's more trouble. Plus, they could be like SAS and hoping they can get Giannis in the next year.

Miami OTOH has a wide open east and KD/Herro/Bam and whatever unknown diamond they manage to unlock this year due to Spo is maybe enough.

I say Miami for Rozier/Duncan/Ware/#20/future FRP.

Wonder if you could get the Heat to take O"Neale for Anderson to clear that cap space a year earlier in 2027?

[starbosa10]

Rockets, Heat and Twolves - per Shams


I think it will be the Rockets -- Udoka is signed long term. They are ready to make a push. Anyway to add O'Neale and Allen

Read on Twitter

I say Heat.

Riley is old and wants 1 more shot. Plus, for them its just Ware. Add him and the deal is done.

With the Rockets, if its true that we have no interest in Jalen Green then its harder as HOU has to find a home for him and that's more trouble. Plus, they could be like SAS and hoping they can get Giannis in the next year.

Miami OTOH has a wide open east and KD/Herro/Bam and whatever unknown diamond they manage to unlock this year due to Spo is maybe enough.

I say Miami for Rozier/Duncan/Ware/#20/future FRP.

Wonder if you could get the Heat to take O"Neale for Anderson to clear that cap space a year earlier in 2027?

Until we get under we can't aggregate salaries with kd

[tester551]

I say Heat.

Riley is old and wants 1 more shot. Plus, for them its just Ware. Add him and the deal is done.

With the Rockets, if its true that we have no interest in Jalen Green then its harder as HOU has to find a home for him and that's more trouble. Plus, they could be like SAS and hoping they can get Giannis in the next year.

Miami OTOH has a wide open east and KD/Herro/Bam and whatever unknown diamond they manage to unlock this year due to Spo is maybe enough.

I say Miami for Rozier/Duncan/Ware/#20/future FRP.

Wonder if you could get the Heat to take O"Neale for Anderson to clear that cap space a year earlier in 2027?

Until we get under we can't aggregate salaries with kd

Multiple players can go out in the same trade without them being aggregated - and the trade still be legal.

For example, a trade can be set up like this:
KD for Players A+B+C
and
ONeale for Player D

It's about how the Suns set up the trade coming back to them. They can assign any players they receive into slots A-D as it fits them best.

[BobbieL]

Wonder if you could get the Heat to take O"Neale for Anderson to clear that cap space a year earlier in 2027?

Until we get under we can't aggregate salaries with kd

Multiple players can go out in the same trade without them being aggregated - and the trade still be legal.

For example, a trade can be set up like this:
KD for Players A+B+C
and
ONeale for Player D

It's about how the Suns set up the trade coming back to them. They can assign any players they receive into slots A-D as it fits them best.

Yes, that is how I meant it - two trades together. Anderson also makes a bit less than O'Neale.

The Magic just traded for Bane so the trade for Allen is probably off the table

[Saberestar]

Shams:

"The Suns have a price threshold that they want met in a trade for Kevin Durant and I had one team tell me today it's a game of chicken right now..

The Rockets, Heat, and Timberwolves are literally one or two pieces away from getting a deal done"

In the video he says that it can be a three or four teams trade.

With all the info that we have heard already about the Nets being a facilitator I fully expect us to get Nic Claxton and the Nets would receive a FRP + player.

I am torn about wanting Nic Claxton OR Andrew Wiggins on our roster. I probably undervalue Wiggins and he is a good two-way player. IDK.