The Durant Sweepstakes

[GatorAZ]

Not believing anything until it’s reported by Adrian Muggznarowski.

 

[Folster]

If it comes to that we match any deal for Ayton and tell him “tough ish dude, you’re playing here.”

Yep. Tell him play his ass off and we'll try to move him in December.

 

[JerkFace]

Likely not…
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I quit follow Ross a while ago because he was consistently wrong about pretty much everything. Anyone know if his track record has gotten any better?

 

[Covert Rain]

I’ll say it again: If Mikal is the difference between getting Durant or not getting Durant, James Jones should be Fired

Unlike some I really really want to keep Bridges. I just don’t think if that is the only thing holding this trade back you can say no to a deal. It’s freaking KD.

 

[GatorAZ]

Unlike some I really really want to keep Bridges. I just don’t think if that is the only thing holding this trade back you can say no to a deal. It’s freaking KD.

If KD is dialed in defensively there’s nothing Bridges is better at. As great as he can be defensively he struggles vs bigger ball-handlers/shooters like Doncic and Middleton.

 

[Covert Rain]

If KD is dialed in defensively there’s nothing Bridges is better at. As great as he can be defensively he struggles vs bigger ball-handlers/shooters like Doncic and Middleton.

KD isn’t getting younger and Bridges will get even better and is a solid piece to hold onto. Again, I wouldn’t let Bridges hold up a deal. I am saying if you can hold onto him and still get KD that would be awesome.

 

[Proximo]

If KD is dialed in defensively there’s nothing Bridges is better at. As great as he can be defensively he struggles vs bigger ball-handlers/shooters like Doncic and Middleton.

It's a 5 on 5 game not 1 on 5, so quite frankly I don't care.

We need some quality players around him, and Mikal is perfect because he does not need to take shots to be a productive player.

 

[AzStevenCal]

If KD is dialed in defensively there’s nothing Bridges is better at. As great as he can be defensively he struggles vs bigger ball-handlers/shooters like Doncic and Middleton.

Who doesn't? Bridges is the best defender we've ever drafted, giving him up for a few years from an aging superstar could easily become the worst decision we've ever made, especially since it would not just be Bridges.

 

[TJ]

I hear about Mikal’s elite defense, then I remember when he was regularly getting lit up like a pinball machine towards the end of the year by wings.

I like Mikal, but he’s a role player for this team and his best value is as a trade chip.

 

[Finito]

If KD is dialed in defensively there’s nothing Bridges is better at. As great as he can be defensively he struggles vs bigger ball-handlers/shooters like Doncic and Middleton.

They took his lunch money the last two years in the playoffs.

Bridges has become wildly overrated on this board.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I hear about Mikal’s elite defense, then I remember when he was regularly getting lit up like a pinball machine towards the end of the year by wings.

I like Mikal, but he’s a role player for this team and his best value is as a trade chip.

Yeah and you heard about Ayton getting lit up like a pinball machine by undersized guards, did that make you want to just throw him into a deal? The difference is, Mikal didn't play at UA.

When you factor in his contract, he's the single best asset this franchise has. Trading him would be so incredibly Suns-like, giving up a great defender because he can't shut down every single player in the league. The guy played heavy minutes, never took a game off and almost always guarded the best player from the other team.

There's a reason we've never been a good defensive team until now, and that's in large part due to the two guys we're focused on trading (Ayton and Bridges). Moving one of them voluntarily is a mistake, moving both of them reeks of shortsightedness IMO.

 

[Finito]

Who doesn't? Bridges is the best defender we've ever drafted, giving him up for a few years from an aging superstar could easily become the worst decision we've ever made, especially since it would not just be Bridges.

See

 

[AzStevenCal]

They took his lunch money the last two years in the playoffs.

Bridges has become wildly overrated on this board.

We have two whipping dogs here, Ayton and Mikal. They've both become wildly unappreciated on this board, none more so than Bridges. League wide, Mikal is a first team all nba defender but on this board "he's wildly overrated" by players thinking we should include him in a trade with a bunch of other assets as if he's nothing special.

 

[Finito]

Yeah and you heard about Ayton getting lit up like a pinball machine by undersized guards, did that make you want to just throw him into a deal? The difference is, Mikal didn't play at UA.

When you factor in his contract, he's the single best asset this franchise has. Trading him would be so incredibly Suns-like, giving up a great defender because he can't shut down every single player in the league. The guy played heavy minutes, never took a game off and almost always guarded the best player from the other team.

There's a reason we've never been a good defensive team until now, and that's in large part due to the two guys we're focused on trading (Ayton and Bridges). Moving one of them voluntarily is a mistake, moving both of them reeks of shortsightedness IMO.

Ayton was our best defender on Luka this year and our best defender on Giannis last year.

And guess what if I can get KD for him I do and don’t think twice.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Ayton was our best defender on Luka this year and our best defender on Giannis last year.

And guess what if I can get KD for him I do and don’t think twice.

We're not talking about getting KD for Ayton or for Bridges. We're talking about getting a couple years of Durant for two valuable young players plus all our picks and pick swaps. How can you not see the difference? Maybe I give up Bridges for KD but when Mikal is simply just one of many pieces, that's insane as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Proximo]

We're not talking about getting KD for Ayton or for Bridges. We're talking about getting a couple years of Durant for two valuable young players plus all our picks and pick swaps. How can you not see the difference? Maybe I give up Bridges for KD but when Mikal is simply just one of many pieces, that's insane as far as I'm concerned.

Well I think it will be 4 years of Durant, not 2. He doesn't seem like the type that is going to retire early to me.

Of course if things dont go well, he may demand another trade I suppose.

 

[Germz249]

I swear these people.. they sure know how to mess with our 3 day weekend.. Should have just kept things quiet until Tuesday. I keep finding my self check here throughout the day to see if something happened.

 

[Mainstreet]

I swear these people.. they sure know how to mess with our 3 day weekend.. Should have just kept things quiet until Tuesday. I keep finding my self check here throughout the day to see if something happened.

It's happening. Don't blink.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Well I think it will be 4 years of Durant, not 2. He doesn't seem like the type that is going to retire early to me.

Of course if things dont go well, he may demand another trade I suppose.

Maybe but I'd be surprised if he's an elite player for 4 more years. Between his age and his achilles repair, it's a real gamble. He's such a special player I can understand taking a gamble but I can't understand paying full price for him as if we were getting a player in his prime.

I've mentioned it before but look at his last 8 seasons and how many games he's missed. Adding him doesn't make us a lock, I'm not even sure it makes us the favorite. Mortgaging our future for him should be scary for any fan.

He won two championships but look at all the talent he's played alongside on teams that didn't win it all. Are we really any better than all of those teams he played on that came up short? I'm okay with gambling on him, but I'm not willing to bet the house on a long shot and that's what we're all talking about here if it costs us Ayton, Bridges, 4 picks and 3 pick swaps plus filler.

 

[Germz249]

We're not talking about getting KD for Ayton or for Bridges. We're talking about getting a couple years of Durant for two valuable young players plus all our picks and pick swaps. How can you not see the difference? Maybe I give up Bridges for KD but when Mikal is simply just one of many pieces, that's insane as far as I'm concerned.

If DA had follow through with his Shaq and Kobe 2.0 comment or if we would have drafted Haliburton I would agree with you but how long have we been trying to build this young team. The formula we have now doesn't seem like it will get us there. Other teams are loading up and on paper to me it seems like we are falling behind. I think its time to go all in and try to make something happen within the next couple of years.

We all have our reasons and opinions. I respect yours. I haven’t really seen too many games but I am going off what I read here. It seems if Book or CP is having a bad night no one steps up. When we need our bench no one other than Cam Johnson shows up. I like Bridges and hope he is not included in these trade talks. I just feel we need another player who can put up 30+ a game.

 

[Covert Rain]

Who doesn't? Bridges is the best defender we've ever drafted, giving him up for a few years from an aging superstar could easily become the worst decision we've ever made, especially since it would not just be Bridges.

I agree with this for the most part but if we win even one title? Nobody will be saying that. I mean nobody. I hope we find a way to keep him because it is in the best interest of the Suns long term. However, nothing and I mean NOTHING is more important than our first title. The Diamondbacks were in hell for years after winning the World Series. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world even in hindsight.

 

[AzStevenCal]

If DA had follow through with his Shaq and Kobe 2.0 comment or if we would have drafted Haliburton I would agree with you but how long have we been trying to build this young team. I think its time to go all in and try to make something happen within the next couple of years.

We all have our reasons and opinions. I respect yours. I haven’t really seen too many games but I am going off what I read here. It seems if Book or CP is having a bad night no one steps up. When we need our bench no one other than Cam Johnson shows up. I like Bridges and hope he is not included in these trade talks. I just feel we need another player who can put up 30+ a game.

Not very long AFAIC. To me, it started with the bubble year, JJ's first season in charge. We jettisoned all the bad draft picks and started anew.

I'm not against trying to improve this team and if we were just talking 4 picks, 3 pick swaps and filler for Durant I'd be all in even though that alone is fraught with risk. But we're basically talking about immediately turning over the roster, giving up all our future assets, which would leave us with a trio of stars two of whom have expiration dates on the immediate horizon. So we're betting the house that we will roll 7, I just don't like those odds.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I agree with this for the most part but if we win even one title? Nobody will be saying that. I mean nobody. I hope we find a way to keep him because it is in the best interest of the Suns long term. However, nothing and I mean NOTHING is more important than our first title. The Diamondbacks were in hell for years after winning the World Series. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world even in hindsight.

Maybe for a sure thing yeah but that's not what we're talking about. Durant has been surrounded by more talent than what we'll have on several occasions without winning it all. So basically we're taking the equivalent of an even money bet on a long shot.

I love the fact that the DBacks won a World Series. I watched every game from their inaugural season through that championship win. I'll bet I haven't watched a hundred Arizona games since then. I still follow them, check the box scores and such but that title put them in salary hell and they've been unviewable more often than not since then. I hate the idea of that happening to the Suns, especially after we finally got past that horrible Ryan McD run.

When is too much not too much? 4 picks, 3 pick swaps, Ayton, Bridges, Shamet, Payne and Crowder is way, way, way too much. Ayton (or Mikal) plus 4 picks and 3 picks swaps is too much but it's a "too much" I can understand. Anything beyond that, no way.

 

[Joe Mama]

If your DA why would you help the Suns? Out of the kindness of your heart?

I don’t think DA needs to be involved in a deal directly for KD but it will be two different deals and we will need those assets from the Ayton deal

doesn't he likely get a 5th year and bigger raises out of a sign and trade deal?

 

[Phrazbit]

doesn't he likely get a 5th year and bigger raises out of a sign and trade deal?

5 year deals are only available to guys resigning with a team that has their rights, can't be in a sign and trade.