Qwigglez wrote:I don't want to put too much into this, but when the initial reports of Kawhi being unhappy in SA I figured the Suns would possibly try and showcase JJ more. I thought maybe if JJ can start to show more consistent flashes of being a great player, the Spurs would consider trading Kawhi for a package centered around JJ. Now that JJ has put together a string of 4 20 point games I am reluctant to trade him.
Now I know a lot of you think the Spurs would never trade Kawhi, but remember he can get the designated player extension which would be more than what John Wall will be getting in the future. And people are already saying that that contract is a financial burden. It makes signing other players virtually impossible because it takes so much cap space.
Before the draft the Spurs were trying to move up to acquire Jackson, even dangling LMA to make it happen. Now, I know a 32 year old LMA isn't the same as a 26 year old Kawhi, especially when LMA was putting up something like 18 and 8. But now he is looking like a top 15 player in the league and that's after he signed a 4 year extension. The Spurs have also been mentioned to be interested in Stanley Johnson, though Johnson would likely be a lot cheaper price than JJ but they have the same mold of being athletic wingman. It makes me wonder why the Spurs are so interested in these players when they already have the best two way wing player in Kawhi. Maybe they don't see him sticking around unless it's only for the designated extension l, and perhaps they don't feel any player is actually worth that kind of salary. So obviously a cheaper alternative while still remaining competitive is to go after players on their rookie deals.
Now I'm not sure if the Spurs would even trade Kawhi, but what if they approached the Suns and said they would trade Kawhi for JJ, Warren, Len, both Heat picks, the Bucks pick, and our 2019 1st unprotected and our 2021 1st with top 7 protection. Is that a deal you would take, if Kawhi gave us verbal confirmation that he would stay with us?
I know I strung together a strange web, but it's close to the deadline and I just wanted to spice up the board a bit.
Spurs are sneaky good at trading for diamonds even though no one should be surprised haha.
But I would offer...
Jackson, Suns 2018 top 5 protected pick, Bucks 2018 pick, Heat 2018 pick.
Spurs then trade their first or one of the picks from suns to Pistons for Stanley Johnson.
That's a good haul for Kawhi. Because they remain a playoff team but adding huge pieces moving forward. Right now they are winning without Kawhi so I think they can use this to conbuild... Then maybe then sign a PG and they're back As top 3 team with heaps of picks and youth.
Too much stuff still up in the air we could be apart of.
