One_and_Done wrote:Ghost of Kleine wrote:One_and_Done wrote:Guys like Caruso are never expendable. They aren't giving you Hart either.
This is the misconception though under the new CBA. The Thunder have some really tough choices to make by the 26-27 season as they'll face not only the Shai supermax increase (similar to Booker's increase),
But they'll also have multiple core extensions as soon as this summer ( I believe) and they'll have to create pretty significant cap reduction just to resign/ extend their core guys. So some big salaries will have to go, otherwise they'll be forced to break up their core.
Under the new CBA, it's just not sustainable anymore! Would you think it's more likely that they break up their core just to keep Hartenstein and Caruso? Or they move those two contracts in order to keep their young, exciting core together a bit longer??
Trading those two players for a rental of KD resets their books affording them over $54 million to pay their core players. It just makes sense logically from a business and financial standpoint.
Trading for 37 yr old KD, who expects a max extension and could get injured any time, is not a better use of money for the Thunder than cheap, productive role players who can easily be traded later.
You're missing the point here I think. Besides the fact that KD just happened to play in 75 games this past season and 62 games thr season before that. The argument for age and injury is currently irrelevant. And honestly it's a weak argument to make as really any player can get injured at any point too.
And again, looking at his past couple of seasons and the heavy minutes he's logged while playing in 62 games and more recently 75 games just this past season, KD has shown quite remarkable durability all things considered.
The argument about age is also pretty irrelevant too though considering the fact that KD is still putting up ALL NBA ( and near MVP) level production and on elite efficiency too. You'd be pretty hard pressed to honestly find any other player remotely close to his age even coming close to that kind of production and elite efficiency.
In fact. what KD is doing (even at 37) is so rare and incredible that the vast majority of NBA pundits. experts and analysts still consider him one of three best offensive talents in nba history.
Really, the only grouping of people that are promoting these weak and inaccurate narratives against KDs' value/ impact are ironically other teams fans that are trying to diminish or suppress the perception of his value so they can try and get him at a significant discount at the expense of the Suns.
Lastly, the relevant portion of the argument in that KD would likely want an extension. But honestly, this argument is irrelevant to the whole intention of OKC trading for him BECAUSE they'd be doing it intentionally as a rental so they could clear 54 million off of their books and use that cap reduction to absorb their key core scale increases and contract extensions.
In the meantime, KD could help to elevate them to their championship goals as they're already so close. But had trouble scoring in the clutch for periods of the game.
Ironically KDs' elite forte' and then at the end of the season, he expires, giving them the massive cap space needed to resign their core players like Holmgren, Wallace, J Williams, and then give Shai his supermax ( 8% bookeresque) scale increase.
KDs' value to them man is optimized by actually being an elite offensive clutch weapon and only a single season rental that'll free up massive cap space at the end of the season to help them keep their young expensive core together.
