Why I don't want Durant

[AzStevenCal]

I really don't think there are many teams that want him.

How do you doubt that when the only offer they have is for freaking Westbrook, the worst contract in the league?

I think the combination of his contract, the assets it would take to trade for him and his impact on a team's chemistry takes the suitor list down considerably but that isn't the same thing as saying he has little to no value. It just means he probably isn't worth the assets, salary and headaches combined that he'd bring to his next club.

 

[SunsFanFirst]

Based on his postseason a year ago and his regular season this year I’m writing it off a fluke. That team was just broken (partly on him for hiring his wagon to Kyrie in the first place).

I just think he knows he colossally F’d up and doesn’t want to waste the rest of his career. Not trying to argue that it’s noble or anything.

The problem was the clown world jerks running nyc preventing Kyrie from playing

 

[AzStevenCal]

The problem was the clown world jerks running nyc preventing Kyrie from playing

Leaving the politics aside, they didn't "prevent" Kyrie from playing.

 

[Hoop Head]

I know I'm in the minority but I'd rather have Russ than Kyrie. Russ has proven he can carry a team to the playoffs on his own while Kyrie hasn't. Russ won't take you past the first round and does well to avoid a sweep in the first but he can get you that far on his own. He just doesn't work as a second or third option. Kyrie needs a strong personality to keep him focused and while LeBron might be capable of doing that, I don't think it'll amount to any real success, especially in a loaded western conference.

 

[swagron]

I know I'm in the minority but I'd rather have Russ than Kyrie. Russ has proven he can carry a team to the playoffs on his own while Kyrie hasn't. Russ won't take you past the first round and does well to avoid a sweep in the first but he can get you that far on his own. He just doesn't work as a second or third option. Kyrie needs a strong personality to keep him focused and while LeBron might be capable of doing that, I don't think it'll amount to any real success, especially in a loaded western conference.

You didn’t watch any Laker basketball this year then. WB was terrible. Talk about a guy falling off a cliff…

 

[AzStevenCal]

I know I'm in the minority but I'd rather have Russ than Kyrie. Russ has proven he can carry a team to the playoffs on his own while Kyrie hasn't. Russ won't take you past the first round and does well to avoid a sweep in the first but he can get you that far on his own. He just doesn't work as a second or third option. Kyrie needs a strong personality to keep him focused and while LeBron might be capable of doing that, I don't think it'll amount to any real success, especially in a loaded western conference.

This might be true back when Westbrook could actually shoot but his new nickname of Westbrick is highly appropriate. Maybe his shot returns but it's not a gamble I would take. Kyrie on the bench watching the game is more likely to lead a team to the playoffs than 2022 Russell would be.

 

[Cheesebeef]

LOL… now the Lakers want Kyrie… AND Seth Curry for Westbrook.

Crack is a hell of a drug.

 

[Hoop Head]

This might be true back when Westbrook could actually shoot but his new nickname of Westbrick is highly appropriate. Maybe his shot returns but it's not a gamble I would take. Kyrie on the bench watching the game is more likely to lead a team to the playoffs than 2022 Russell would be.

Westbrook's shooting didn't really drop off though. He sucks as a spot up shooter but that's always been the case and with Lebron, the ball wasn't in his hands as much as it was before.

He shot 29.8% from 3 last year which is a hair below his career average of 30.5%. He shot 25.8% in Houston 2 years ago. He was 44.4% from the field last year, which isn't good but is higher than his career average of 43.8%.

His shooting woes were amplified since he played for NBA's marquee franchise in LA and he was their 2nd or 3rd option. Of course the media wouldn't blame LeBron for the Lakers shortcomings so Russ was the scapegoat.

 

[Phrazbit]

Westbrook's shooting didn't really drop off though. He sucks as a spot up shooter but that's always been the case and with Lebron, the ball wasn't in his hands as much as it was before.

He shot 29.8% from 3 last year which is a hair below his career average of 30.5%. He shot 25.8% in Houston 2 years ago. He was 44.4% from the field last year, which isn't good but is higher than his career average of 43.8%.

His shooting woes were amplified since he played for NBA's marquee franchise in LA and he was their 2nd or 3rd option. Of course the media wouldn't blame LeBron for the Lakers shortcomings so Russ was the scapegoat.

I gotta disagree. Russ was an absolute trainwreck last year. Lazy defense, stupid passes and maybe the worst shooting season by a volume shooter in league history. Opposing defenses beg him to shoot, almost every shot he takes is uncontested and he jacks up air balls and ugly bricks.

His game hasn't just declined but fallen off a cliff.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Westbrook's shooting didn't really drop off though. He sucks as a spot up shooter but that's always been the case and with Lebron, the ball wasn't in his hands as much as it was before.

He shot 29.8% from 3 last year which is a hair below his career average of 30.5%. He shot 25.8% in Houston 2 years ago. He was 44.4% from the field last year, which isn't good but is higher than his career average of 43.8%.

His shooting woes were amplified since he played for NBA's marquee franchise in LA and he was their 2nd or 3rd option. Of course the media wouldn't blame LeBron for the Lakers shortcomings so Russ was the scapegoat.

I watched them play a lot, I'll blame Lebron for many things but Westbrook had plenty of opportunities when Lebron was unavailable or on the bench and he just wasn't the same player he has been.

We saw a little of this Westbrook before he went to Washington and had a mild turnaround but this was even worse. I wouldn't bank on him rediscovering how to play the game nor would I bank on him staying healthy if placed in a situation where he had to carry a team.

 

[SunsFanFirst]

Leaving the politics aside, they didn't "prevent" Kyrie from playing.

Oh this is ripe.. explain

 

[AzStevenCal]

Oh this is ripe.. explain

Why? No explanation matters here. Like I said, forget the politics, look at the words. They did not, as you claimed, "prevent" him from playing. There are rules for just about everything. He had a choice, he took the choice that prevented him from playing. But it was still his choice.

 

[SunsFanFirst]

Why? No explanation matters here. Like I said, forget the politics, look at the words. They did not, as you claimed, "prevent" him from playing. There are rules for just about everything. He had a choice, he took the choice that prevented him from playing. But it was still his choice.

Thats clown world dude to put that on him

 

[Chaplin]

Thats clown world dude to put that on him

Huh? His decision to not get vaccinated when it was regulated that he had to be in order to be in the arena? Who is it on if it's not on him? I think I know the answer, but didn't want to politicize this.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Thats clown world dude to put that on him

I didn't "put that on him". Words matter, you used a word incorrectly. He wasn't prevented, he was given a choice to do something and play or not do something and not play. Things like that happen in all walks of life. It doesn't say anything about the reasonableness of the choice and this isn't the place to argue the legitimacy of that requirement.

 

[SunsFanFirst]

Politics are relevant to this topic. Nyc clown world politics prevented him from playing in his home arena where almost everywhere else allowed him to play. He was collateral damage of clown world

 

[Hoop Head]

It seemed a bit ridiculous since he was allowed to play a "road game" in Madison Square Garden but wasn't allowed to play in Barclays Center. When I learned that I felt the whole thing was a bit ridiculous, regardless of ones stance on whether vaccines should be mandated.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Politics are relevant to this topic. Nyc clown world politics prevented him from playing in his home arena where almost everywhere else allowed him to play. He was collateral damage of clown world

3 day break

 

[SunsFanFirst]

3 day break

You are still a ****** I see

 

[Cheesebeef]

You are still a ****** I see

Lol.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

You are still a ****** I see

Perma ban granted. Rereg again

 

[JCSunsfan]

It seemed a bit ridiculous since he was allowed to play a "road game" in Madison Square Garden but wasn't allowed to play in Barclays Center. When I learned that I felt the whole thing was a bit ridiculous, regardless of ones stance on whether vaccines should be mandated.

All of life is run by rules. All rules have flaws. This was a major one. More reasonable judgment would have helped, but we do not have the time as a society and culture to analyze every potential exception to every rule.

Kyrie got to play, and he got paid (I assume) and he wasn't forced to get a vaccine. He stuck to what he believed and it cost him something--it often does. It cost the Nets something too, and the league and the TV revenue (he does draw viewers). If there is anything Covid taught us, it is that life is messy.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Back to the Durant question. Here is what I fully expect if we trade for Durant.

At some point during the coming year, he will sustain a major injury. Just look at his body, how he plays, his age, and his injury history. To me, an ACL-level injury is almost inevitable. We will have traded away our future, be on the hook for $40 million a year, and be getting nothing for it.

He might not get injured, but it's a gamble, and the odds are just not in his favor.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Back to the Durant question. Here is what I fully expect if we trade for Durant.

At some point during the coming year, he will sustain a major injury. Just look at his body, how he plays, his age, and his injury history. To me, an ACL-level injury is almost inevitable. We will have traded away our future, be on the hook for $40 million a year, and be getting nothing for it.

He might not get injured, but it's a gamble, and the odds are just not in his favor.

I'd rather take a shot at greatness than door #2, which is likely move Ayton for scraps and fighting for a 6 seed!

Unfortunately, all evidence points to DA not being here next year, and without a like replacement, we're wasting our limited window.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I'd rather take a shot at greatness than door #2, which is likely move Ayton for scraps and fighting for a 6 seed!

Unfortunately, all evidence points to DA not being here next year, and without a like replacement, we're wasting our limited window.

It’s beyond me how people don’t realize this is what we’re staring at.