Even if he drops to 25/game some contender is going to say “that could push us over the top” and trade a couple of assets. In my mind taking the swing on Durant and being able to maybe mitigate the trade after next season if it doesn’t work would be worth it.
Well I certainly had no clue it was coming and if I'd heard the details I would have wagered against the players ratifying it as it's eventually going to have to drive down the high end salaries. But do you really think it wasn't discussed amongst the owners before submitting it to the players association? And don't they, as a group, have to give final approval to it?
Hmm Barkley was traded when he was 33, clearly wasn’t playing at durants level (wasn’t considered an MVP candidate at the time as Durant was pre-injury this season) and netted us four players, including two young up and comers in horry and cassell.
I believe Barkley was 33 and heading into his 34th years of age season. But Barkley’s game also depended a lot more on strength and athleticism being shorter for his position and he’s strength was already declining due to his back issues which are chronic.
Sure, but our owner literally just became an owner. I’ll give him a pass for that one.
Huh? Where did I say that? We wouldn't have let him walk, we likely would have traded him anyway. And guess what? That's what we did. If we really wanted him as you are implying, we would have signed him to an extension last summer.
You're right, I did the math wrong, he was 33. But as for being "young up and comers", Horry turned 26 less than 3 weeks into his first season with us and Cassell was 27 when the season started. Horry was a nightmare for the Houston coach, he had star potential but rarely played to that level. I thought Cassell was a solid asset but CB and a 2nd round pick should have been worth more than that IMO.
If this was leveled at you simply because you strongly disagreed with a move the team made, wouldn't you find it more than a little insulting? I know I do, and have, each time the pro-KDtrade posters have described us that way.
You’re wrong and it’s because your opinion is nonsense.
I think he was being slightly facetious with the 50 and fade thing. This is not directed specifically at you Steve but I am with @Ouchie-Z-Clown with the sentiment that has been around for years. I have seen people post repeatedly things like "at least we will be competitive" or "fun to watch" again. People on board with the status quo of slow builds that end up not working over and over again. It's been 55 years of trying to build through the draft, fielding fun teams, tweaking rosters and nothing has worked. Ayton who should be a cornerstone feels anything but. Again..more of the same. We missed AGAIN. To add insult to injury he was the only #1 overall pick we are likely to see for a very long time.
People are complaining we got rid of two ascending players in bridges and cam who are the same ages and likely had similar value. If kd is close in his numbers next offseason he can net us one of those types of players and a late first from a contender. No doubt in my mind.
If you’re one of posters that doesn’t believe in swinging for the fences for a championship when it’s close then yes you fall into that category. And there have been a LOT of posters that have said they’d be happy to just have an entertaining competitive team rather than shoot for the stats with the potential to fall back into being bad again.
Well said. This is where I reside. Imo this team is all book and kd. Literally everyone else is replaceable and I hope our front office believes that. Whether it’s possible or not, who knows? But we have the most important ingredients . . . two stars. Those are the most difficult pieces of the puzzle.
Yeah, I saw your post about it earlier, that's why I pointed it out. Personally, I think some 26 and 27 year olds are just approaching their peak and others have already reached it. I think CamJ is pretty close to his peak. Bridges still has room to grow IMO although I believe the great numbers he put up in Brooklyn are more of a mirage than indicative of his future. He's a great team player but if he's your big star I think your team success is pretty limited.
It’s not meant to be insulting and there 100% fans that are happy just making the playoffs and never really challenging for a title if it means never going back to the lost decade. That’s the very definition of being okay with 50 and fade.
Who? And who among the ones arguing against this trade from the onset fall in that group? I don't know any despite the fact I've now seen us labeled like you did probably a half dozen times. It's insulting and has no basis in reality. We want to win it all, we just believe that this specific move greatly reduced our chances of that happening in the next decade. Maybe we're wrong but we're no more delusional than you guys are (delusional is in response to your unicorn comment).
Most of us, probably all of us, that were against that trade, hold that opinion because we don't want to return to that lost decade and this move almost insures it will happen (in our opinion). That isn't the same thing as being content with just having an exciting regular season and not caring about anything else. So you're way off base and yes, it is insulting. Nobody that wants to say something pleasant or even neutral about another poster reduces someone's argument to simply being a 50 and fade fan.
I thought about calling him a name but he's an attorney and has probably heard them all and I didn't want to look like an amateur. So I'm saving up my Gummi Bears in case I see him on the tough streets of Moreno Valley.
