Update: It is time to trade Scottie Barnes before it's too late!

[ConSarnit]

If Masai was still here, maybe Giannis was a possibility. But with Masai gone, Giannis seems to have locked in on the Knicks. Just waiting for that deal to happen once the trade restrictions on Turner are lifted. I see Giannis, Turner & Kuzma for Towns, OG & Robinson + picks probably happening.

Just saw this article got posted: https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/282232/Knicks-Made-Jalen-Brunson-Untouchable-In-Giannis-Antetokounmpo-Talks-With-Bucks

In terms of Barnes, I say keep developing him, trying to build his value, and wait for the day SGA demands a trade out, which is coming. OKC's last chance at a title is this season. After this season, when the extensions for JDub & Chet kick in, they need to let the heart of their D go in Dort & IH. Once they start to fall off, I could see SGA demanding a trade home. By that time the US might have gone fully MAGA crazy.

Yeah, whatever will SGA do when he only has 2 other all-star level players left to play with (as well as the biggest draft cache in NBA history)?

Why would SGA ever leave OKC in the next few years? Here is their roster/asset base even if IH and Dort leave

SGA
JDub
Chet
Wallace
Caruso

Mitchell
Topic

Not only do they have a better core than us, they have twice as many draft assets. It’s ridiculous to think OKC’s last chance at a title is this year. They can dodge the 2nd apron in ‘26/27 by getting off of Joe and Wiggins which would allow them to keep both Dort and IH.

That's not that impressive especially considering we have no idea what kind of player Topic will be. Not sure the value of their FRPs either.

WIth that said, SGA is in a way better situation there in OKC than he would here. There is chemistry and familiarity. He also seems to like OKC.

Any way you want to try and cut it they will be in a an excellent spot, regardless of how Topic works out. They could enter the ‘26/27 season with all of the above guys + one of Dort/IH while paying a moderate tax bill. They have 8 1sts (possibly 9) over the next 4 years. Even if only one of the wildcard guys hit as a good role player (Topic, Mitchell, Sorber, ‘26 1sts) they can maintain excellent depth. Outside of getting squeezed by luxury tax penalties they are in maybe the best spot of any team in NBA history.

[Los_29]

Yeah, whatever will SGA do when he only has 2 other all-star level players left to play with (as well as the biggest draft cache in NBA history)?

Why would SGA ever leave OKC in the next few years? Here is their roster/asset base even if IH and Dort leave

SGA
JDub
Chet
Wallace
Caruso

Mitchell
Topic

Not only do they have a better core than us, they have twice as many draft assets. It’s ridiculous to think OKC’s last chance at a title is this year. They can dodge the 2nd apron in ‘26/27 by getting off of Joe and Wiggins which would allow them to keep both Dort and IH.

That's not that impressive especially considering we have no idea what kind of player Topic will be. Not sure the value of their FRPs either.

WIth that said, SGA is in a way better situation there in OKC than he would here. There is chemistry and familiarity. He also seems to like OKC.

Any way you want to try and cut it they will be in a an excellent spot, regardless of how Topic works out. They could enter the ‘26/27 season with all of the above guys + one of Dort/IH while paying a moderate tax bill. They have 8 1sts (possibly 9) over the next 4 years. Even if only one of the wildcard guys hit as a good role player (Topic, Mitchell, Sorber, ‘26 1sts) they can maintain excellent depth. Outside of getting squeezed by luxury tax penalties they are in maybe the best spot of any team in NBA history.

I’ll have to double check but I think the tax has changed. They are quite hefty now. I don’t think it would be a moderate tax bill.

They have some appealing picks this year. Sixers and Jazz. Jazz will likely stink again but the Sixers pick is top 4 protected. That team is a bit of a mess. So yes, they are in a good spot. We just need to hope that SGA gets tired of carrying the offensive load there.

[JB7]

Yeah, whatever will SGA do when he only has 2 other all-star level players left to play with (as well as the biggest draft cache in NBA history)?

Why would SGA ever leave OKC in the next few years? Here is their roster/asset base even if IH and Dort leave

SGA
JDub
Chet
Wallace
Caruso

Mitchell
Topic

Not only do they have a better core than us, they have twice as many draft assets. It’s ridiculous to think OKC’s last chance at a title is this year. They can dodge the 2nd apron in ‘26/27 by getting off of Joe and Wiggins which would allow them to keep both Dort and IH.

That's not that impressive especially considering we have no idea what kind of player Topic will be. Not sure the value of their FRPs either.

WIth that said, SGA is in a way better situation there in OKC than he would here. There is chemistry and familiarity. He also seems to like OKC.

Any way you want to try and cut it they will be in a an excellent spot, regardless of how Topic works out. They could enter the ‘26/27 season with all of the above guys + one of Dort/IH while paying a moderate tax bill. They have 8 1sts (possibly 9) over the next 4 years. Even if only one of the wildcard guys hit as a good role player (Topic, Mitchell, Sorber, ‘26 1sts) they can maintain excellent depth. Outside of getting squeezed by luxury tax penalties they are in maybe the best spot of any team in NBA history.

They are a small market team, in the West, in middle America. They are absolutely going to get squeezed by the tax, and in the West, that will eliminate their ability to compete, as their core (SGA, JDub & Chet) are not physical enough to withstand the grind of multiple playoff rounds.

The most obvious guy to keep would be IH, but Dort is probably the player closest to SGA. And keeping one is still going to cost them significant tax dollars.

Also, as much as Durant talked about how much he enjoyed OKC, that didn't stop him from jumping ship when he had the chance.

Their best chance to compete will be this season. After that, it will all start to fall apart.

The tax implications are serious. Even owners with deep pockets are avoiding it (Warriors, Celtics, etc.).

They would still be a good team, just not a true contender.

I could see a SGA for Barnes & Quickley swap, with more salary filler on the OKC side. Premise of the deal though is SGA demands a trade out 2 years from now, and pushes for a trade home.

Barnes and IQ would complement JDub and Chet.

[mademan]

That's not that impressive especially considering we have no idea what kind of player Topic will be. Not sure the value of their FRPs either.

WIth that said, SGA is in a way better situation there in OKC than he would here. There is chemistry and familiarity. He also seems to like OKC.

Any way you want to try and cut it they will be in a an excellent spot, regardless of how Topic works out. They could enter the ‘26/27 season with all of the above guys + one of Dort/IH while paying a moderate tax bill. They have 8 1sts (possibly 9) over the next 4 years. Even if only one of the wildcard guys hit as a good role player (Topic, Mitchell, Sorber, ‘26 1sts) they can maintain excellent depth. Outside of getting squeezed by luxury tax penalties they are in maybe the best spot of any team in NBA history.

They are a small market team, in the West, in middle America. They are absolutely going to get squeezed by the tax, and in the West, that will eliminate their ability to compete, as their core (SGA, JDub & Chet) are not physical enough to withstand the grind of multiple playoff rounds.

The most obvious guy to keep would be IH, but Dort is probably the player closest to SGA. And keeping one is still going to cost them significant tax dollars.

Also, as much as Durant talked about how much he enjoyed OKC, that didn't stop him from jumping ship when he had the chance.

Their best chance to compete will be this season. After that, it will all start to fall apart.

The tax implications are serious. Even owners with deep pockets are avoiding it (Warriors, Celtics, etc.).

They would still be a good team, just not a true contender.

I could see a SGA for Barnes & Quickley swap, with more salary filler on the OKC side. Premise of the deal though is SGA demands a trade out 2 years from now, and pushes for a trade home.

Barnes and IQ would complement JDub and Chet.

So worried about the tax implications, OKC would trade for 70mill in contracts? Raps dont have the cheap young talent or picks if, for some crazy reason, Shai left the best situation in basketball

[JB7]

Any way you want to try and cut it they will be in a an excellent spot, regardless of how Topic works out. They could enter the ‘26/27 season with all of the above guys + one of Dort/IH while paying a moderate tax bill. They have 8 1sts (possibly 9) over the next 4 years. Even if only one of the wildcard guys hit as a good role player (Topic, Mitchell, Sorber, ‘26 1sts) they can maintain excellent depth. Outside of getting squeezed by luxury tax penalties they are in maybe the best spot of any team in NBA history.

They are a small market team, in the West, in middle America. They are absolutely going to get squeezed by the tax, and in the West, that will eliminate their ability to compete, as their core (SGA, JDub & Chet) are not physical enough to withstand the grind of multiple playoff rounds.

The most obvious guy to keep would be IH, but Dort is probably the player closest to SGA. And keeping one is still going to cost them significant tax dollars.

Also, as much as Durant talked about how much he enjoyed OKC, that didn't stop him from jumping ship when he had the chance.

Their best chance to compete will be this season. After that, it will all start to fall apart.

The tax implications are serious. Even owners with deep pockets are avoiding it (Warriors, Celtics, etc.).

They would still be a good team, just not a true contender.

I could see a SGA for Barnes & Quickley swap, with more salary filler on the OKC side. Premise of the deal though is SGA demands a trade out 2 years from now, and pushes for a trade home.

Barnes and IQ would complement JDub and Chet.

So worried about the tax implications, OKC would trade for 70mill in contracts? Raps dont have the cheap young talent or picks if, for some crazy reason, Shai left the best situation in basketball

They would be breaking SGA’s supermax deal into two players (Barnes and IQ). They save the tax payments by cutting IH & Dort after next season, when both players are on team options.

Again, premise is OKC is not willing to pay $184M in tax, and starts to strip down the team eliminating them from being contenders. They compete this season, start the strip down the following season, and after that season SGA asks for a trade.

[mademan]

They are a small market team, in the West, in middle America. They are absolutely going to get squeezed by the tax, and in the West, that will eliminate their ability to compete, as their core (SGA, JDub & Chet) are not physical enough to withstand the grind of multiple playoff rounds.

The most obvious guy to keep would be IH, but Dort is probably the player closest to SGA. And keeping one is still going to cost them significant tax dollars.

Also, as much as Durant talked about how much he enjoyed OKC, that didn't stop him from jumping ship when he had the chance.

Their best chance to compete will be this season. After that, it will all start to fall apart.

The tax implications are serious. Even owners with deep pockets are avoiding it (Warriors, Celtics, etc.).

They would still be a good team, just not a true contender.

I could see a SGA for Barnes & Quickley swap, with more salary filler on the OKC side. Premise of the deal though is SGA demands a trade out 2 years from now, and pushes for a trade home.

Barnes and IQ would complement JDub and Chet.

So worried about the tax implications, OKC would trade for 70mill in contracts? Raps dont have the cheap young talent or picks if, for some crazy reason, Shai left the best situation in basketball

They would be breaking SGA’s supermax deal into two players (Barnes and IQ). They save the tax payments by cutting IH & Dort after next season, when both players are on team options.

Again, premise is OKC is not willing to pay $184M in tax, and starts to strip down the team eliminating them from being contenders. They compete this season, start the strip down the following season, and after that season SGA asks for a trade.

If you are worried about tax, the last thing you do is trade for 2 overpaid players. If and when OKC feels the tax crunch, you can be damn sure that Shai will not be the one hitting the market. They'll retool by trading one of Chet/Jdub for cheap rookie contracts and picks and decide against trading the MVP/FMVP who brought their first title and is still only 26. This is a fanciful idea

[Jeremy Lin 7]

Only for a true star

This is valid.

In the right context anyone can be traded.

Outside of getting a Superstar back, talking about trading Scottie is just redonkulous.

We finally have the primary scorer to pair with Scottie and now people want make changed. So f'ing dumb. How about we actually let our players play before we turn on them.

Nah this fanbase would rather be miserable and find the next player to be traded. After Barnes is gone, CMB is next to be traded.

[anotherhomer]

Only for a true star

This is valid.

In the right context anyone can be traded.

Outside of getting a Superstar back, talking about trading Scottie is just redonkulous.

We finally have the primary scorer to pair with Scottie and now people want make changed. So f'ing dumb. How about we actually let our players play before we turn on them.

Nah this fanbase would rather be miserable and find the next player to be traded. After Barnes is gone, CMB is next to be traded.

i wouldn't trade scottie, he helps the team win, he's the kyle lowry minus shooting and scoring

but for 50M, he's not untouchable and available for the right price

[mademan]

Only for a true star

This is valid.

In the right context anyone can be traded.

Outside of getting a Superstar back, talking about trading Scottie is just redonkulous.

We finally have the primary scorer to pair with Scottie and now people want make changed. So f'ing dumb. How about we actually let our players play before we turn on them.

Nah this fanbase would rather be miserable and find the next player to be traded. After Barnes is gone, CMB is next to be traded.

Scottie is going into his 5th year and is currently not worth his contract. All the criticism at this point is fair.

[LoveMyRaps]

This is valid.

In the right context anyone can be traded.

Outside of getting a Superstar back, talking about trading Scottie is just redonkulous.

We finally have the primary scorer to pair with Scottie and now people want make changed. So f'ing dumb. How about we actually let our players play before we turn on them.

Nah this fanbase would rather be miserable and find the next player to be traded. After Barnes is gone, CMB is next to be traded.

Scottie is going into his 5th year and is currently not worth his contract. All the criticism at this point is fair.

His extension kicks in this season, and the regular season hasn't even began. So no, you can't just conclude that he's not worth his contract at this point.

[S.W.A.N]

Nah this fanbase would rather be miserable and find the next player to be traded. After Barnes is gone, CMB is next to be traded.

Scottie is going into his 5th year and is currently not worth his contract. All the criticism at this point is fair.

His extension kicks in this season, and the regular season hasn't even began. So no, you can't just conclude that he's not worth his contract at this point.

Hey, don't bring logic into this conversation. That isn't what the people want!!

[mademan]

Scottie is going into his 5th year and is currently not worth his contract. All the criticism at this point is fair.

His extension kicks in this season, and the regular season hasn't even began. So no, you can't just conclude that he's not worth his contract at this point.

Hey, don't bring logic into this conversation. That isn't what the people want!!

What do you guys mean? He was paid before last year then had a disappointing season. Paid mostly on potential and didnt improve (and actually was worse). He's overpaid because he wouldnt get this contract on the open market for his current play. Scottie has not shown for more than a small stretch that he's capable of giving 40mill/year worth of value. If i cant critique that, what can i critique?

[tsherkin]

His extension kicks in this season, and the regular season hasn't even began. So no, you can't just conclude that he's not worth his contract at this point.

Hey, don't bring logic into this conversation. That isn't what the people want!!

What do you guys mean? He was paid before last year then had a disappointing season. Paid mostly on potential and didnt improve (and actually was worse). He's overpaid because he wouldnt get this contract on the open market for his current play. Scottie has not shown for more than a small stretch that he's capable of giving 40mill/year worth of value. If i cant critique that, what can i critique?

I think evaluating him based on a preseason game where he played 20 minutes probably isn't the right move. Especially since the whole team looked like a dumpster fire on offense in this one. He certainly didn't look great last year, but let's get him a few games in the actual season before we care too much, you know? Legit minutes, a normal rotation, etc, etc.

[mademan]

Hey, don't bring logic into this conversation. That isn't what the people want!!

What do you guys mean? He was paid before last year then had a disappointing season. Paid mostly on potential and didnt improve (and actually was worse). He's overpaid because he wouldnt get this contract on the open market for his current play. Scottie has not shown for more than a small stretch that he's capable of giving 40mill/year worth of value. If i cant critique that, what can i critique?

I think evaluating him based on a preseason game where he played 20 minutes probably isn't the right move. Especially since the whole team looked like a dumpster fire on offense in this one. He certainly didn't look great last year, but let's get him a few games in the actual season before we care too much, you know? Legit minutes, a normal rotation, etc, etc.

I have no problem waiting and I havent even said we should trade him. I just said he shouldnt be untouchable anymore and that he's currently overpaid. Players always have a chance to turn it around. Im pessimistic, but im pessimistic on the roster as a whole (Ingram, CMB and a few other bit players excluded), so waiting is fine.

[Son Goku 25]

Won't happen this early but we should be looking at all options at this point.

[tsherkin]

I have no problem waiting and I havent even said we should trade him. I just said he shouldnt be untouchable anymore and that he's currently overpaid. Players always have a chance to turn it around. Im pessimistic, but im pessimistic on the roster as a whole (Ingram, CMB and a few other bit players excluded), so waiting is fine.

Sure, the idea that he was untouchable was always fairly daft to begin with, of course. He's presently overpaid, I agree, but if nothing else, we need time to establish his actual value in regular season play with his regular rotation around him so he can put his best foot forward, etc.

We aren't a title contender, this is known. I think a particularly good season would be anything from 45 wins and up, you know? So we do need to keep that in mind. But yeah, my comment was less about you and more for the thread as a whole

[dballislife]

he struggled dribbling by defenders and hitting the 3 last season, and now, hes struggling to dribble by defenders and hit the 3

after last season i kissed a 25ppg player goodbye...was hoping he could still be a 20ppg player...but now just hoping for efficient 15 with great d

[PushDaRock]

he struggled dribbling by defenders and hitting the 3 last season, and now, hes struggling to dribble by defenders and hit the 3

after last season i kissed a 25ppg player goodbye...was hoping he could still be a 20ppg player...but now just hoping for efficient 15 with great d

If he could be 15 ppg at 60 TS%, sign me up.

[dballislife]

he struggled dribbling by defenders and hitting the 3 last season, and now, hes struggling to dribble by defenders and hit the 3

after last season i kissed a 25ppg player goodbye...was hoping he could still be a 20ppg player...but now just hoping for efficient 15 with great d

If he could be 15 ppg at 60 TS%, sign me up.

if cmb and barnes can give us around 15 ppg on high true shooting percentages, to go along with great defense, we should be super happy

[CPT]

If not for the extension, are people thinking he'd have gotten the Kuminga/Giddey treatment as an RFA?

I think Brooklyn would have thrown a max at him, and maybe some other teams would have tried to move things around to make an offer.

RFA is weird though, so who knows.