Durant Should be Traded for a Top 12 PG

cardinals2025

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If you want a tried and true formula for the Phoenix Suns this is it. It is not hard to notice this without even doing much research.

Kevin Johnson, Nash, CP3. Try finding Suns teams in the last 30 years that have won 50 games without them.

You will find Goran overachieving or some weird mix of players that got it done one year but not the next.

If we don't complicate things, it might make free agency easier in terms of decision-making.

So the primary objective in the offseason should be to get a top 12 PG.

We Need 1 of these Players Below

Take out the players you don't think are Available (ie. Alexander) or were recently traded.

Who are our best options that would be on a Future Championship Team?

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Durant for Trae Young straight up




Trae Young is up for an extension. When you think about what could put fear into opposing defenses, it is Young and Booker on the floor together.

Guy has postseason experience where he has hit big shots and he has had a down year due to injuries with him and teammates.

It is perfect timing for this. Young has a $43M contract and Durant is at $51M. Which means it would work for both sides.

Young leads the league with 11.5 AST per game.



Hope that Cleveland totally collapses in the playoffs.



Remember what happened after the Suns won 60 games and collapsed in the playoffs?

Durant for Garland, + role player to fill salary difference. We get an elite young PG.

Cleveland gets a superstar in Durant to pair with Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley, forming a championship-caliber core.




There are other options available. I think easiest to move would be Grayson Allen and we should try to get a defensive player in return.

Someone like PJ Washington would be a good example. Get Bradley Beal to actually be the leader he wants to be by devoting himself to becoming a 6th man.

Be willing to use picks and trade tyus jones etc to go after a legit starting Center....Ivica Zubac just an example.


Garland/Young
Booker
O'Neal
Washington
Top 12 Center



PJ Washington is a 38% 3 PT shooter this year. That is the way the league is going it seems. 3 and D has never been more evident than right now.

This gives us 4 starters that can shoot the 3. It gives us a PG who can defend against all others and a Center who can protect the rim.

Booker has had a down year because he has been forcing extra 3's, instead of playing his game.

Garland and Young are elite 3 PT shooters. This allows Booker to get back to what makes him great.

Which is creating his own shot and getting to the basket!
 

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Hoop Head

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Getting a good PG who is younger than or the same age as Booker should be a priority. Who that is, I'm not sure. Count me out on Trae though. He's a loser. He hasn't won consistently despite having talent around him. He's also a coach killer. I was high on him entering the league but he's fallen hard and fast since he reached his heights.
 

1tinsoldier

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4 years too late. We did get a top pg and he took Booker as far as he'll ever get. Booker was close to being a top 10 player then, now he's closer to top 20 and he's not getting any better

and he still likes to play point half the time, so, unless we sign kendall jenner at any position, good luck trying to make him happy
 

1tinsoldier

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also, you need another 4 very good defenders on the floor with him to make up for opponents driving around him. Paul, Crowder, Bridges, and Ayton were better than average defenders that Finals year.

also, someone who's good in the crunch to make up for his poor percentage at the end of games,
and to make up for his below average 3pt shooting, overall

also, of course, you'll need a true leader

and his 7th coach, who will let him do his thing
 
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Hoop Head

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Recent point guards the Suns could have drafted or in trade:

DeAron Fox (drafted 5th, 2017 draft)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (rumored trade option, drafted 11th 2018 draft)
Tyrese Haliburton (drafted 12th, 2020 draft)


Halliburton is far above the others in regards to being unforgivable. Fox may not have developed here and we had a young big money PG in Bledsoe already. Shai, while a great prospect, would have meant no Mikal. There was zero reason to pass on Hali for Stix, who flamed out in record time.
 

GatorAZ

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Halliburton is far above the others in regards to being unforgivable. Fox may not have developed here and we had a young big money PG in Bledsoe already. Shai, while a great prospect, would have meant no Mikal. There was zero reason to pass on Hali for Stix, who flamed out in record time.
.
McDonough wanted SGA but was either overruled by Sarver and/or JJ. McD was fired a few months later so there was some confusion behind the scenes during that time period.
 

BirdGangThing

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you need a good center to justify a "top 12" pg - cp3 and ayton brought completely different scoring options than book - it's why the spacing worked - it's why cam and mikal were often open - simply put the pieces fit

if we had a good center right now i think we'd see a different tyus - he could come off the pick (and roll) with real options - but teams don't respect plum or richards as offensive threats

for this exercise to work imo we'd have to trade one of the big 3 for a center and not a pg but that's just me - it would allow the PG to become the floor general again instead of deferring all game long

no freakin way on trae btw
 
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95pro

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i would love love love to see dunn and gillespie defending the inbound pass (and ball carrier down court) as our defense gets set

Those two with on-ball duties could work in spurts, definitely better than the options right now. But we don't switch a lot or all, so they may just try to put CG on an island with our defensive schemes.
 

Hoop Head

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ESPN.com has story with 4 KD trades on the front page of their NBA subsite. It is an ESPN+ piece though. Each deal gives reasons why it makes sense for both sides and at the end there is a consensus that the Rockets deal is the best. Each deal is theorized by a different writer, which is a neat way to present things.


Here's the details of the deals....

Trade #1 is

Mavericks get:
Kevin Durant
Suns get: Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, Dereck Lively II, 2025 first-round pick (via Dallas)

Trade #2 is

Rockets get:
Kevin Durant
Suns get: Dillon Brooks, Reed Sheppard, Cam Whitmore, Jock Landale, 2025 and 2027 first-round picks (via Phoenix; the 2025 first is conveyed after the May draft lottery)

Trade #3 is

Heat get:
Kevin Durant
Suns get: Nikola Jovic, Andrew Wiggins, 2025 first-round pick (via Golden State), 2030 first-round pick (via Miami), 2026 second-round pick (via Los Angeles Lakers)
Nets get: Duncan Robinson, Keshad Johnson, 2029 first-round swap (top-4 protected), 2031 first-round swap (top-4 protected), 2031 second-round pick (via better of Indiana and Miami)

Trade #4 is

Knicks get:
Kevin Durant
Suns get: OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson
 

Hoop Head

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Trade #2 is

Rockets get:
Kevin Durant
Suns get: Dillon Brooks, Reed Sheppard, Cam Whitmore, Jock Landale, 2025 and 2027 first-round picks (via Phoenix; the 2025 first is conveyed after the May draft lottery)

I'm not high in Whitmore but this is the deal the Suns should look to complete. Brooks can be flipped elsewhere and Jock can be waived. We'd have financial flexibility and picks again. Sheppard is an intriguing combo guard who can shoot well. Whitmore himself is young and a good wing defender with 3 & D potential. Selfishly I want Jabari Smith Jr in a deal with Houston but I don't think they'll let him go. He's a good young PF who is 6'11" and can stretch the floor. Think John Collins without the motivation issues.
 

Proximo

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Recent point guards the Suns could have drafted or in trade:

DeAron Fox (drafted 5th, 2017 draft)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (rumored trade option, drafted 11th 2018 draft)
Tyrese Haliburton (drafted 12th, 2020 draft)

Shai is not a point guard. But yes, obviously all 3 of these in retrospect would have been the right move.

Halliburton was the most egregious as he was available at our pick and was CLEARLY the best player on the board by far.
 

Proximo

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ESPN.com has story with 4 KD trades on the front page of their NBA subsite. It is an ESPN+ piece though. Each deal gives reasons why it makes sense for both sides and at the end there is a consensus that the Rockets deal is the best. Each deal is theorized by a different writer, which is a neat way to present things.


Here's the details of the deals....

Trade #1 is

Mavericks get:
Kevin Durant
Suns get: Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, Dereck Lively II, 2025 first-round pick (via Dallas)

Trade #2 is

Rockets get:
Kevin Durant
Suns get: Dillon Brooks, Reed Sheppard, Cam Whitmore, Jock Landale, 2025 and 2027 first-round picks (via Phoenix; the 2025 first is conveyed after the May draft lottery)

Trade #3 is

Heat get:
Kevin Durant
Suns get: Nikola Jovic, Andrew Wiggins, 2025 first-round pick (via Golden State), 2030 first-round pick (via Miami), 2026 second-round pick (via Los Angeles Lakers)
Nets get: Duncan Robinson, Keshad Johnson, 2029 first-round swap (top-4 protected), 2031 first-round swap (top-4 protected), 2031 second-round pick (via better of Indiana and Miami)

Trade #4 is

Knicks get:
Kevin Durant
Suns get: OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson
Trade #2 is by far the best.

Dallas has got to throw in more picks, then they would be possibly in the running.

All of these suck compared to the Warriors deal.
 

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