Durant to Suns

[Chris_Sanders]

Him, or Cam…and I think only 2 of the picks should have been unprotected, not all of them.

Okay but what is the ceiling with him or Cam? 2nd round blow out because that's what we got last year.

Superstars win championships in this league. The Suns had the bricks blown off them last year with Bridges because the Suns had exactly one player who could get to the rack in Booker.

 

[Chaplin]

If we really win that's one thing, but I am not confident that is going to happen.

Why? We have a top 5 player when healthy, and Bridges and Cam are simply good players. What makes the Suns before this trade better than after?

 

[Covert Rain]

Hate to be the turd in the punchbowl but this is horrible. Bridges was playing at an all-star level, one of the best defenders in the league, and was improving BY THE GAME. Johnson had not gotten back from the injury, but a year ago was one of the best 6thmen anywhere.
There is no evidence Durant by himself can carry a team. Even with Westbrook and Hardin they lost in OK City; he won with the Warriors only because of an all-star studded team

And the draft picks? Mark me down as this is a horrible, horrible trade.

You are not getting a HOF player without giving up one of your big pieces. I know people would have wanted to give up a ton of bench players but that isn't realistic. Also, the picks are also not a big deal. The team is going to have a good record for at least the next few seasons which means those picks have no shot at being lottery picks. Was it a lot? Yep, it was a ton. They better win it all now.

 

[Chaplin]

Also want to note that scoring wise, this year is KD's best scoring year since 2013! Age be damned.

I think with all these complaints, we need to have recurring updates of Kevin Durant's stats, because that has gotten lost in this discussion.

 

[GatorAZ]

Also want to note that scoring wise, this year is KD's best scoring year since 2013! Age be damned.

I think with all these complaints, we need to have recurring updates of Kevin Durant's stats, because that has gotten lost in this discussion.

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[Chris_Sanders]

I am going to miss

20.1 PPG, 5.0 rebounds and 5.1 assist per game

Oh wait that was Jeff Hornacek's last year with the Suns.

 

[Proximo]

Why? We have a top 5 player when healthy, and Bridges and Cam are simply good players. What makes the Suns before this trade better than after?

For this season yeah, they got better - IF Durant stays healthy - big if.

Going forward next few years, they got worse.

 

[dscher]

So this was 100% Mat Ishbia

Not even close IMHO. These dudes (book, CP, KD) are all connected and I'm sure have stayed in touch about this potential deal before it was struck. Ishbia just had the pair to get it done. Kudos

 

[Chaplin]

Think about the inside out with Book and KD, the pick and roll that has been picking up steam with CP3 and DA. The defensive versatility because Durant can defend multiple positions.

Torrey Craig has a huge opportunity because he will always get the oppositions poorest defender.

 

[Chaplin]

For this season yeah, they got better - IF Durant stays healthy - big if.

Going forward next few years, they got worse.

In a vacuum, sure, but this isn't going to be the same roster in 3 or 4 years. Everything evolves.

 

[Proximo]

I am going to miss

20.1 PPG, 5.0 rebounds and 5.1 assist per game

Oh wait that was Jeff Hornacek's last year with the Suns.

Yeah, Don't try and compare this deal - they are not remotely the same.

Barkley was 5 or 6 years younger, Lang and Perry were absolute scrubs and we didn't give up picks or a Cam Johnson level player in addition. That deal was Highway robbery, this was a fair deal at absolute best if KD stays healthy.

 

[Chaplin]

Yeah, Don't try and compare this deal - they are not remotely the same.

Barkley was 5 or 6 years younger, Lang and Perry were absolute scrubs and we didn't give up picks or a Cam Johnson level player in addition. That deal was Highway robbery, this was a fair deal at absolute best if KD stays healthy.

Well it was a trade of a fan favorite and solid pieces for a superstar.

 

[Proximo]

In a vacuum, sure, but this isn't going to be the same roster in 3 or 4 years. Everything evolves.

With no cap room, and no picks? How exactly?

You really banking on us finding a star with a second rounder?

 

[dscher]

Hate to be the turd in the punchbowl but this is horrible. Bridges was playing at an all-star level, one of the best defenders in the league, and was improving BY THE GAME. Johnson had not gotten back from the injury, but a year ago was one of the best 6thmen anywhere.
There is no evidence Durant by himself can carry a team. Even with Westbrook and Hardin they lost in OK City; he won with the Warriors only because of an all-star studded team

And the draft picks? Mark me down as this is a horrible, horrible trade.

Cam Johnson and Mikal weren't putting this team over the edge in the playoffs. A simple reason to do this trade, with this current roster.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Yeah, Don't try and compare this deal - they are not remotely the same.

Barkley was 5 or 6 years younger, Lang and Perry were absolute scrubs and we didn't give up picks or a Cam Johnson level player in addition. That deal was Highway robbery, this was a fair deal at absolute best if KD stays healthy.

It's absolute theft. KD is WAY better than Barkley

 

[Covert Rain]

Yeah, Don't try and compare this deal - they are not remotely the same.

Barkley was 5 or 6 years younger, Lang and Perry were absolute scrubs and we didn't give up picks or a Cam Johnson level player in addition. That deal was Highway robbery, this was a fair deal at absolute best if KD stays healthy.

They are from a star perspective. Also, keep in mind that Barkley was similar to Kyrie in that he had worn out his welcome at the time. Jeff was a massive fan favorite similar to Bridges. In terms of Cam J, I have said this multiple times. The Suns were in a tough spot. They were going to have to give him a huge contract to keep him while being in the luxury tax. He would have further locked this team into salary hell.

I had always suspected they were going to have to move Cam J.

 

[Chaplin]

With no cap room, and no picks? How exactly?

You really banking on us finding a star with a second rounder?

No offense, but that is the most simplistic response you could have come up with.

 

[Covert Rain]

With no cap room, and no picks? How exactly?

You really banking on us finding a star with a second rounder?

You were not going to get a Star with those picks anyway. The team isn't going to have the worst record in the NBA for the next 3 to 4 seasons to make any of those picks lottery picks anyway.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

Also want to note that scoring wise, this year is KD's best scoring year since 2013! Age be damned.

I think with all these complaints, we need to have recurring updates of Kevin Durant's stats, because that has gotten lost in this discussion.

I'm not arguing what Kevin Durant brings to the team. But along with the talent comes the long list of injuries and games missed. Add that to the games always missed by Booker and Paul and it leaves me with a little to get excited about for a championship. It would be one thing if these guys all suffered freak injuries, but at this point in their careers that's not what we're getting.. the injuries they suffer are recurring.

 

[Chaplin]

I'm not arguing what Kevin Durant brings to the team. But along with the talent comes the long list of injuries and games missed. Add that to the games always missed by Booker and Paul and it leaves me with a little to get excited about for a championship. It would be one thing if these guys all suffered freak injuries, but at this point in their careers that's not what we're getting.. the injuries they suffer are recurring.

Cam Johnson is heading down that injury-prone road. Mikal isn't, but is his iron man status enough to compensate for the difference in skillset he has with KD? No way.

 

[elindholm]

I am going to miss

20.1 PPG, 5.0 rebounds and 5.1 assist per game

Oh wait that was Jeff Hornacek's last year with the Suns.

Yeah I think people forget how good Hornacek was. He was a big notch above Bridges or Johnson. Made an All-Star team and was one of the best shooters in the league.

 

[GatorAZ]

Saric - $10m
Shamet - $9m
Payne - $6m
Craig - $5m

I think the Suns kept puck swap rights for the 26’ pick for a reason…

 

[elindholm]

The trade is okay. As Bufalay suggested, it has the risk of being more like the O'Neal trade than like the Barkley trade. Durant is better now than O'Neal was then, but this is a highly desperate move that gambles everything on the next season and a half.

Bridges and Johnson were good citizens and valuable players, but neither is a consistent impact player. Neither will ever be more than the fourth or fifth guy on a good team. The Suns will feel their loss now more than they will in the future.

The Suns do not own their own first-round pick in the 2027, 2028, or 2029 drafts, and there's no protection. That's incredibly risky. How do the Suns expect to have a playoff team by then? Booker, Ayton, and G-leaguers? So probably the team gets completely blown up by that point, most likely including Booker, in an attempt to get some picks back. By then, though, no one will be giving up unprotected picks in those drafts, so the Suns will be trying to rebuild around lower picks at best. I can't see any way that this won't be a dismal period.

Of course it's all worth it if they win the title this year or next. But how likely is that? None of the four stars can stay healthy. Furthermore, none is an above-average defender, so even in the one game every six weeks when they're all able to take the floor, they're going to give up 140 points. This trade definitely raises the Suns' ceiling for the short term, but I don't think it makes them better. Basically it's like spending $1000 on lottery tickets because you might get lucky and scratch off $10,000.

I don't blame New Guy for wanting to make a big splash, but the draft situation at the end of the decade is terrifying, and the chances of everything working out as planned are very low.

Also, Durant is a jerk. I loved Barkley even before he came to the Suns. He was a jerk too, but I always felt that his heart was in the right place, and his fire on the court was infectious. Durant is just a pouting baby whose claim to fame is that he road the coattails of a Warriors team that was championship-caliber without him. If he gets the Suns to the promised land, okay, but I'm never going to be enthusiastic about him.

 

[Austin Zonie]

Jersey is ready.

 

[Dback Jon]

Okay but what is the ceiling with him or Cam? 2nd round blow out because that's what we got last year.

Superstars win championships in this league. The Suns had the bricks blown off them last year with Bridges because the Suns had exactly one player who could get to the rack in Booker.

Or two games away from a title, because that is what we got two years ago with the same group