Ford and Simmons talking Durant and the Suns

[dreamcastrocks]

Actually the odds of that happening are zero. Ratliff can attract someone far more desirable than Marion, and the #2 pick is worth much more than the #4 in this draft. Boston would never consider that, not even for an instant.



No they wouldn't.

Yep, because we all know that Boston would never even "think" about it.

 

[asudevil83]

Actually the odds of that happening are zero. Ratliff can attract someone far more desirable than Marion, and the #2 pick is worth much more than the #4 in this draft. Boston would never consider that, not even for an instant.

wait......i'm more than a little puzzled. so, many people think that Marion/KT/Atlanta's pick is a fair deal for KG......but Marion by himself cant get Ratliff? who do you have in mind for Boston that Ratliff could get by himself?

Boston needs a star right now to compliment Pierce. Pierce is TIRED of losing, and Marion + Horford have the potential to help that team win...and could compete for the Atlantic division crown.

 

[elindholm]

For instance who?

Every year at the trade deadline, there are stars who want to be moved and their teams are looking for expiring contracts. Could be Gasol, could be Garnett, could be Bibby.... It's hard to know in advance.

 

[asudevil83]

Every year at the trade deadline, there are stars who want to be moved and their teams are looking for expiring contracts. Could be Gasol, could be Garnett, could be Bibby.... It's hard to know in advance.

right but trades like that dont JUST involved expiring contracts.....they usually take picks and/or rookie contracts.

propose Gasol for Ratliff or Bibby for Ratliff to any of their teams fans. the first thing they'd say is "aaaannnnnnddddd?"

 

[elindholm]

wait......i'm more than a little puzzled. so, many people think that Marion/KT/Atlanta's pick is a fair deal for KG......but Marion by himself cant get Ratliff? who do you have in mind for Boston that Ratliff could get by himself?

Ratliff will be an expiring contract. That makes him very valuable. Come mid-season, his trade value will be much higher than Marion's. During the summer, their values are about comparable.

Boston needs a star right now to compliment Pierce. Pierce is TIRED of losing, and Marion + Horford have the potential to help that team win

Pierce is under contract until 2011 and, according to hoopshype, does not have an opt-out. Boston is under minimal pressure to accommodate him immediately. Pierce is probably smart enough to realize that it's worth waiting for someone like Oden or Durant to develop, rather than selling the farm for Marion as a quick patch-up. And if he isn't, too bad -- it's not his team.

 

[elindholm]

right but trades like that dont JUST involved expiring contracts.....they usually take picks and/or rookie contracts.

propose Gasol for Ratliff or Bibby for Ratliff to any of their teams fans. the first thing they'd say is "aaaannnnnnddddd?"

Sure, of course they would. So Boston includes picks or young talent, no problem. But they sure as hell don't give up Oden or Durant. That's ludicrous.

 

[hcsilla]

Every year at the trade deadline, there are stars who want to be moved and their teams are looking for expiring contracts. Could be Gasol, could be Garnett, could be Bibby.... It's hard to know in advance.

It's highly unlikely that Garnett or Gasol will get traded for expiring contracts in the next two years.

Bibby is definitely worth less than Marion.

 

[elindholm]

It's highly unlikely that Garnett or Gasol will get traded for expiring contracts in the next two years.

Well, I meant expiring contracts and cheap young talent, of course.

Bibby is definitely worth less than Marion.

I disagree.

 

[hcsilla]

Ratliff will be an expiring contract. That makes him very valuable. Come mid-season, his trade value will be much higher than Marion's.

Much higher?

I think that you are either drastically overestimating the importance of expiring contracts or underestimating Marion's value or probably both.

Since the Ray Allen's trade (and also years before) players of Marion's caliber didn't get traded for expiring contracts. They just didn't.

 

[azirish]

I can't remember the last time a team traded the rights to projected franchise player in the top couple of picks. The closest would be when Portland picked up LaMarcus Aldridge last year, but he was not nearly as highly rated as Oden and Durant.

"Portland acquires the Draft rights to LaMarcus Aldridge and a future second-round pick from Chicago for Viktor Khryapa and the Draft rights to Tyrus Thomas." IMHJO it was a bad deal for Chicago

 

[elindholm]

Since the Ray Allen's trade (and also years before) players of Marion's caliber didn't get traded for expiring contracts. They just didn't.

Not as the only player in the deal, true. But O'Neal was traded for a package including Grant, part of whose appeal was his shorter deal (two years remaining, as I recall, which was then bought out anyway). And the Iverson trade worked because of Smith.

All-Stars aren't traded very often, period, so I don't think it's legitimate to look at only the last few years and declare that the trends have changed.

In any case, if the Suns bomb out of the playoffs this year, and Boston offers Ratliff and youth/picks for Marion, the Suns would have to consider it very carefully. And I'm not talking about the pick being top-two.

 

[Gaddabout]

I doubt Wright goes as high as he's being projected. IMHO it will be Oden, Durant, and Horford in that order.

Wright looks like a future star, but he's not as NBA ready as the guys I've mentioned. I wouldn't be shocked if the Suns took him, but I can't see them trading up to do it unless the Atlanta pick falls to sixth or seventh.

Wright is out of the mix. He's already committed to returning to Kansas for another year.

 

[azirish]

Wright is out of the mix. He's already committed to returning to Kansas for another year.

Different Wright (Brandan of North Carolina is frequently listed as $3 or $4 pick). Julian of Kansas did not look that good in the tournament and is expected to stay in school.

 

[jbeecham]

Different Wright (Brandan of North Carolina is frequently listed as $3 or $4 pick).

I'd pay $3 or $4 for the pick for the Suns to be able to draft Brendan Wright.

 

[Gaddabout]

Different Wright (Brandan of North Carolina is frequently listed as $3 or $4 pick). Julian of Kansas did not look that good in the tournament and is expected to stay in school.

Ahhh. I actually thought Julian looked real good in the first two games.

I do think the absence of Julian Wright screws with the Top 10 draft order. If the Suns end up with a No. 6 through 10 pick, they'll wish he was there if only to push a big man their way. Same goes for Mike Conley Jr. The guys replacing them are good, but none of the would be considered a Top 5 by any team. So you have a bit more predictability, but it's almost a let down because the level of immediate impact probably won't be there.

 

[azirish]

I'd pay $3 or $4 for the pick for the Suns to be able to draft Brendan Wright.

I really do need to get my glasses checked.

Change in subject. one deep sleeper to watch for is Chris Richards of Florida. He plays behind Noah and Horford, but he's done a reasonble job. He averaged 5.7 ppg in 18.3 minutes on 65.5% and had 3.5 rpg.

He's 6'9" and 255 with very impressive athleticsm.

http://www.draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=416

NCAA Tournament: NBA Draft Stock Watch (Final Four)--Stock Up
April 1, 2007
While the Gators didn’t get great offensive production from their frontcourt duo of Joakim Noah or Al Horford, it was senior Chris Richard who came off the bench and provided a tremendous lift.

Richard didn’t do anything all that flashy, scoring on 7 baskets all right at the hoop. Some came on offensive rebounds, and some where the result of establishing position deep inside the paint and receiving a terrific pass from either Noah or Horford.

Richard is a strong, physical big man with decent athleticism and plenty of tenacity to get the job done inside. While his starting big men have gotten most of the accolades, Richard has played a huge role in his team’s success over the past two years, and legitimately could have started for nearly any team in America if he weren’t playing behind two likely top-5 draft picks.

He’ll get a chance to show his stuff in Portsmouth in just a few days, so we’ll have a better opportunity to evaluate him.

 

[TucsonDevil]

I can't remember the last time a team traded the rights to projected franchise player in the top couple of picks. The closest would be when Portland picked up LaMarcus Aldridge last year, but he was not nearly as highly rated as Oden and Durant.

How about when Orlando traded the rights to Chris Weber for a PG named 'Penny'?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I've only seen Oden play for the first time last night. I'm not sure if he will become an elite player.

these two sentences make the rest of your post meaningless.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Oden & Durant are going 1 & 2 somehow, and the team that drafts them will not trade them!

I am hoping the suns can get #4 and take Horford.

I am also a Corey Brewer fan, but he will not be there at #24 so if the suns want him they will have to move up, and that will be tough to do in this draft.

It seems to me the suns need a Horford and they also need a shooter. There are some 6' 6" shooters in this draft and maybe one will be there at # 24 for them.

alando tucker or the kid from usc would be nice with one of our later picks.

 

[Divide Et Impera]

these two sentences make the rest of your post meaningless.

 

[devilalum]

I'm talking specifically about trading Marion/#4 for #2 in order to target Durant....

Even if Durant is the second coming he won't be near as valuable as Marion next year. This would be a step backwards for the Suns especially when you consider what our front court would look like.

Durant is not going to give you a lot of rebounds, Kurt will probably be gone and Marion would be gone.

We'd be relying on Amare and Diaw for defense and rebounding?

 

[JCSunsfan]

Even if Durant is the second coming he won't be near as valuable as Marion next year. This would be a step backwards for the Suns especially when you consider what our front court would look like.

Durant is not going to give you a lot of rebounds, Kurt will probably be gone and Marion would be gone.

We'd be relying on Amare and Diaw for defense and rebounding?

Durant is a very good rebouder--better than Marion was in college. Its the defense you will miss.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Interesting to see what it would take to move into the top two in this draft. Its probably impossible but here are assets the Suns have to work with.

Players
1. Barbosa. Very high trade value right now. Low contract. Most teams would be asking for LB.
2. Diaw. Significantly less value than LB but would be intriguing. Teams will remember how he performed last year and he gives enough glimpses now that someone would bite.
3. Marion. Immense contract. We would have to take back a pretty large undesirable.
4. James Jones. Young, effective, cheap. Would be desirable to another team in a deal.
5. Raja Bell. I think alot of teams would like to have Raja, especially a team with alot of young players. A team like Atlanta would love to have him (of course that wouldn't work, but its an example).
6. Banks. Negative impact on a deal.

Picks
1. Three first rounders this year. #5-7, #21, #29
2. We could trade a first rounder for next year too (since the team would draft for us).
3. Second rounders.

That's a lot of value there.

 

[slinslin]

Kevin Durant will be a better player than Marion in any aspect, maybe not as rookie but very fast, offensively by miles and defensively also. The guy was a monster rebounder in college and shotblocker.

Kevin Durant is the prototype SF of this era. Great Shooter, Long, Athletic, Great Rebounder, Shotblocker.. the complete package.
26ppg 11rpg 1apg 2spg 2bpg 47%FG 40%3pt 81%FT as a freshman is simply amazing. The only thing he is lacking is passing but that's not much of an issue I guess once he has better teammates.

At least I would hope the Suns would be looking at Durant as a SF and not try to play small ball with Amare at the 5 and Durant at the 4.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f6ZCHE6WCY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvaPFvQAGW8

 

[Mainstreet]

these two sentences make the rest of your post meaningless.

At least I made clear my comments were predicated on initial observations (which I made clear). Obviously watching a player for a couple of games is not a story told. I was more impressed with Horford, Conley and Richard in the Championship game but am I not allowed to talk about my impressions about them?