Devin Booker not named an All-Star, no wait, HE IS!

[Saberestar]

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[itlnsunsfan]

CP3 was seen like that for some fans. At the end of the day he was traded for a great player as Russell Westbrook.

Again, if I recall correctly, the Thunder were open to rebuilding and moving away from Russ, who was also seen as a bloated contract for a player in decline. The Rockets gave up two first rounders and two additional first round pick swaps to acquire Russell. They may have actually preferred cap space and retaining those assets to acquiring Westbrook, who was seen as a bad fit in Houston. The Rockets were acting a bit out of desperation.

Harden would not allow that to happen.

Do you think that Harden would be OK with getting some picks and "cap space"?

Harden got another perennial All Star next to him and that guarantees them in the playoffs and probably in the Western Conference Finals for at least another couple of seasons.

Being that they're in win now mode, no, Harden wouldn't be ok with just that. But the idea would be to take those assets and cap space, and acquire a better fitting star player/players, which I do think he wouldve been fine with. As we're witnessing, Westbrook is not a particularly good fit with Harden, and I think James is smart enough to have recognized that. Acquiring Westbrook was a bit of a desperation hail Mary, and they've taken a step backwards because of it.

[bwgood77]

Again, if I recall correctly, the Thunder were open to rebuilding and moving away from Russ, who was also seen as a bloated contract for a player in decline. The Rockets gave up two first rounders and two additional first round pick swaps to acquire Russell. They may have actually preferred cap space and retaining those assets to acquiring Westbrook, who was seen as a bad fit in Houston. The Rockets were acting a bit out of desperation.

Harden would not allow that to happen.

Do you think that Harden would be OK with getting some picks and "cap space"?

Harden got another perennial All Star next to him and that guarantees them in the playoffs and probably in the Western Conference Finals for at least another couple of seasons.

Being that they're in win now mode, no, Harden wouldn't be ok with just that. But the idea would be to take those assets and cap space, and acquire a better fitting star player/players, which I do think he wouldve been fine with. As we're witnessing, Westbrook is not a particularly good fit with Harden, and I think James is smart enough to have recognized that. Acquiring Westbrook was a bit of a desperation hail Mary, and they've taken a step backwards because of it.

They wouldn't have been able to get much with any cap space. They are about $20 million over the cap, so even if they took just Tyler Johnson back, reducing their payroll by the difference in Tyler and Paul's salaries, it wouldn't have put them under the cap much at all..AND they would have had Tyler Johnson instead of Russell Westbrook. Sometimes these good teams, once they get over the cap and are contending (or think they are), they want to keep that salary slot so they are able to have more salary, because once you build it up, you can keep it...people say that's why the Warriors wanted Wiggins back. They were way over the cap with KD, but when he was going to go elsewhere in FA they would have lost his salary slot because they still would have been over or nearly over the cap (or not have enough to get much of a difference maker) so they arranged the S&T for D Lo, and had no problem maxing him. And while Wiggins wasn't a good contract, people say they wanted to have maximize what they could spend, and they were still able to get under the tax. Of course they got a couple picks from Minnesota too.

[itlnsunsfan]

Harden would not allow that to happen.

Do you think that Harden would be OK with getting some picks and "cap space"?

Harden got another perennial All Star next to him and that guarantees them in the playoffs and probably in the Western Conference Finals for at least another couple of seasons.

Being that they're in win now mode, no, Harden wouldn't be ok with just that. But the idea would be to take those assets and cap space, and acquire a better fitting star player/players, which I do think he wouldve been fine with. As we're witnessing, Westbrook is not a particularly good fit with Harden, and I think James is smart enough to have recognized that. Acquiring Westbrook was a bit of a desperation hail Mary, and they've taken a step backwards because of it.

They wouldn't have been able to get much with any cap space. They are about $20 million over the cap, so even if they took just Tyler Johnson back, reducing their payroll by the difference in Tyler and Paul's salaries, it wouldn't have put them under the cap much at all..AND they would have had Tyler Johnson instead of Russell Westbrook. Sometimes these good teams, once they get over the cap and are contending (or think they are), they want to keep that salary slot so they are able to have more salary, because once you build it up, you can keep it...people say that's why the Warriors wanted Wiggins back. They were way over the cap with KD, but when he was going to go elsewhere in FA they would have lost his salary slot because they still would have been over or nearly over the cap (or not have enough to get much of a difference maker) so they arranged the S&T for D Lo, and had no problem maxing him. And while Wiggins wasn't a good contract, people say they wanted to have maximize what they could spend, and they were still able to get under the tax. Of course they got a couple picks from Minnesota too.

Good point.

[cberry78]

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/257265/Karl-Anthony-Towns-Out-Indefinitely-With-Wrist-Injury

So is KAT going to sit out the rest of the year and then demand a trade to the Suns in the offseason?

Would you do it?

[Saberestar]

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/257265/Karl-Anthony-Towns-Out-Indefinitely-With-Wrist-Injury

So is KAT going to sit out the rest of the year and then demand a trade to the Suns in the offseason?

Would you do it?

I would not do it now.

Ayton has shown a lot of improvement since coming back from the bench. We would need to give up Ayton and a ton of picks for Towns, and that is too much for him.

I like Towns a lot, but I think Ayton can be as good as him next season. Not as good as a shooter but better defender and finisher around the rim.

[Revived]

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/257265/Karl-Anthony-Towns-Out-Indefinitely-With-Wrist-Injury

So is KAT going to sit out the rest of the year and then demand a trade to the Suns in the offseason?

Would you do it?

I would not do it now.

Ayton has shown a lot of improvement since coming back from the bench. We would need to give up Ayton and a ton of picks for Towns, and that is too much for him.

I like Towns a lot, but I think Ayton can be as good as him next season. Not as good as a shooter but better defender and finisher around the rim.

KAT was creating his own offense and his own shot in his rookie season itself.

I think Ayton has a chance of being as good an overall player or maybe even slightly better than Towns (due to defense) but I highly doubt he ever becomes as good an offensive player as KAT.

It’s not necessarily a knock on Ayton, KAT is just a super special player on offense.

[lilfishi22]

KAT is elite offensively. People don't understand how good KAT is offensively

[LesGrossman]

What i think about when considering a CP3 move to Phoenix - why didnt his partnership with Harden work out? And why would it work with Booker? Both are kinda ball dominant and unwilling to share at times. CP3 needs the ball in hands. I dont see how it would work.

[jcsunsfan]

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/257265/Karl-Anthony-Towns-Out-Indefinitely-With-Wrist-Injury

So is KAT going to sit out the rest of the year and then demand a trade to the Suns in the offseason?

Would you do it?

Not if it means trading Ayton or Book. If we can do it without trading one of those two, I would consider it. If we got a top 3 pick in this draft, throwing that pick into the deal might help.

[Damkac]

KAT is elite offensively. People don't understand how good KAT is offensively

I'd rather have center who is very good on offense and defense than one who is elite on offense but very bad at defense.

[jcsunsfan]

What i think about when considering a CP3 move to Phoenix - why didnt his partnership with Harden work out? And why would it work with Booker? Both are kinda ball dominant and unwilling to share at times. CP3 needs the ball in hands. I dont see how it would work.

Book is great at catch and shoot and thrives off the ball. He would work better with CP3 than Harden. Harden's bread and butter is his one-on-one game.

[itlnsunsfan]

KAT is not going to demand a trade now that Russell is on the team. That would be a giant F U to a friend. "See ya homie. They're your problem now." Not gonna happen.