Why I don't want Durant

[Krangodnzr]

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

I'm in the swing for the fences camp.

Durant>>>>>Ayton and spare parts.

It's not like the Suns actually use Ayton enough anyway. He's a nice piece, and would have been a dominant player in the 90's.

But a core of Booker, Durant, and Paul should have the Suns expecting to compete for a championship.

 

[Mainstreet]

Now is not the time for the Suns to make a panic move.

They made it to the Finals in the 2020-21 season and game 7 in the Western Conference semifinals in the 2021-22 season, not to mention setting a franchise record for wins.

I don't hear about the Bucks making drastic changes and their season ended in the second round as well.

Let's improve at point guard and power forward. If Durant happens, it happens. There are other trades to be explored.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

There are other trades to be explored.

I'd love to hear some that make us more competitive for winning a championship now. The window is now. I'd love to think there are other trades out there, but until they manifest, it's just wishful thinking.

 

[Vacard]

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 thought about his age too but don’t the Suns medical staff increase the longevity of aging veteran players?? Touted the best in the league? CP3 said many times his diet and staff increased his longevity.

 

[AzStevenCal]

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

We do realize it, we just disagree on what it means. Or, at least I disagree on what it means.

Tweak our roster but otherwise run it back and we're in the mix. Add Durant to our roster and we're heavy favorites. Add Durant to our core roster and lose Ayton, and we're in the mix. Add Durant to our core roster and lose Bridges, and we're in the mix. Add Durant to our core roster and lose Ayton and Bridges and I don't give us much chance at all. So there's where we differ. You guys see superstar Durant, I see a pretty good offense heavy player named Durant that used to be arguably the best two player in the league.

 

[Mainstreet]

I'd love to hear some that make us more competitive for winning a championship now. The window is now. I'd love to think there are other trades out there, but until they manifest, it's just wishful thinking.

As fans, we do not know what is available.

I'd like for the Suns to explore trades with other teams perhaps like the Raptors, Hawks and Bulls.

The Bulls are loaded at point guard.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I thought about his age too but don’t the Suns medical staff increase the longevity of aging veteran players?? Touted the best in the league? CP3 said many times his diet and staff increased his longevity.

His change in diet pre-dated his arrival in Phoenix.

 

[95pro]

Now is not the time for the Suns to make a panic move.

They made it to the Finals in the 2020-21 season and game 7 in the Western Conference semifinals in the 2021-22 season, not to mention setting a franchise record for wins.

I don't hear about the Bucks making drastic changes and their season ended in the second round as well.

Let's improve at point guard and power forward. If Durant happens, it happens. There are other trades to be explored.

Coach Bud over coach Monty. Giannis over CP3. Thats why Bobby wants to be there, and i'm sure others love it there as well.

 

[Mainstreet]

Coach Bud over coach Monty. Giannis over CP3. Thats why Bobby wants to be there, and i'm sure others love it there as well.

The Suns might be an attractive destination as well if they expand their horizons.

 

[Sunburn]

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

It's because we're doubling down on the Chris Paul timeline, only this time we're mortgaging everything we have for the next 7 years. To me, this smacks as an emotional all-in after the playoff loss.

We dont have to do this. This team still has a very young, talented core, and we still have all of our assets.

Want to move Ayton? Want to go all-in? Fine. Re-sign him, then pull the trigger with the boatload of assets on a younger star that fits our core's timeline better. Not on a 1-2 year Paul/Durant hail mary.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I'm in the swing for the fences camp.

Durant>>>>>Ayton and spare parts.

It's not like the Suns actually use Ayton enough anyway. He's a nice piece, and would have been a dominant player in the 90's.

But a core of Booker, Durant, and Paul should have the Suns expecting to compete for a championship.

Is anyone talking about an Ayton for Durant trade? I think any disagreements here are about different things. The Nets supposedly do not want Ayton. So it would be Ayton for scraps in one deal AND THEN trading away whatever scraps plus our depth plus our future to get Durant.

If we could do an Durant for Ayton deal with a pick or two thrown in, plus a player, I cannot see the problem with that. The problem is giving up what people are talking about. 5 future picks plus 3 or more swaps, plus CamJ and Mikal, plus whatever we can get in an Ayton deal.

Frankly. If the Nets get Ayton, Cam Johnson, Mikal, five picks, and three swaps for Durant. They should take that and run away as fast as possible. That is an entire rebuild in one trade, and they would probably be competitive almost immediately, especially if they found a way to keep Kyrie.

 

[Cheesebeef]

We do realize it, we just disagree on what it means. Or, at least I disagree on what it means.

Tweak our roster but otherwise run it back and we're in the mix. Add Durant to our roster and we're heavy favorites. Add Durant to our core roster and lose Ayton, and we're in the mix. Add Durant to our core roster and lose Bridges, and we're in the mix. Add Durant to our core roster and lose Ayton and Bridges and I don't give us much chance at all. So there's where we differ. You guys see superstar Durant, I see a pretty good offense heavy player named Durant that used to be arguably the best two player in the league.

dude... the team is NOT tweaking the roster. I can't believe people think this is still an option. DA is not going to be a Sun next year.

 

[nashman]

As fans, we do not know what is available.

I'd like for the Suns to explore trades with other teams perhaps like the Raptors, Hawks and Bulls.

The Bulls are loaded at point guard.

Sounds good in theory but PG is not why we failed in the playoffs. We need another legit offensive threat Booker needs help so they can’t double triple him right out of the game as no one else hits shots!

 

[AzStevenCal]

dude... the team is NOT tweaking the roster. I can't believe people think this is still an option. DA is not going to be a Sun next year.

Those were hypothetical scenarios for comparison sake, the point being I see no value in giving away a lot of our future for a player I don't believe will take us where we want to go. If we can add him and still hang onto Bridges or Ayton, I'd still be against it but I could see justification for the overpay.

 

[Covert Rain]

dude... the team is NOT tweaking the roster. I can't believe people think this is still an option. DA is not going to be a Sun next year.

If we resign DA (especially what he is asking for)? You have already seen the type of "tweaks" the Sun's can make by signing Langdale and Lee. That isn't getting us anywhere.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Those were hypothetical scenarios for comparison sake, the point being I see no value in giving away a lot of our future for a player I don't believe will take us where we want to go. If we can add him and still hang onto Bridges or Ayton, I'd still be against it but I could see justification for the overpay.

gotcha.

 

[Mainstreet]

Sounds good in theory but PG is not why we failed in the playoffs. We need another legit offensive threat Booker needs help so they can’t double triple him right out of the game as no one else hits shots!

The Suns didn't have any good point guard play beyond Chris Paul and when he was off, that was it.

Aside from one game, Cam Payne had a miserable playoff series against the Mavericks. Monty didn't want to play Holiday much and Payton was a non-factor.

The Mavericks had stellar play from three point guards in Doncic, Brunson and Dinwiddie.

Suns need more length and athleticism at power forward than what Jae Crowder can provide.

 

[nashman]

The Suns didn't have any good point guard play beyond Chris Paul and when he was off, that was it.

Aside from one game, Cam Payne had a miserable playoff series against the Mavericks. Monty didn't want to play Holiday much and Payton was a non-factor.

The Mavericks had stellar play from three point guards in Doncic, Brunson and Dinwiddie.

Suns need more length and athleticism at power forward than what Jae Crowder can provide.

Oh agreed but another PG doesn’t solve this teams issues. We didn’t lose because Paul was off, we lost because everyone was off! That’s the point Booker simply cannot be our only shot creating scorer. Even if he had a McCollum type running mate it would be huge! Look at what he did for Ingram. Shoot I would love to have Ingram to run with Book!

 

[elindholm]

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

I just don't think it's true that Durant is the only player of value that Ayton could possibly fetch in a trade. There have to be multiple options out there, with different price tags. From what we are hearing, the price for Durant will be way too high. So the Suns need to look for a different deal that's more affordable. It might still be an overpayment, but it can be a less crippling one.

The notion that Durant is going to have a career year after forcing his way to Phoenix, in the wake of two major injuries and a horrible playoff showing, is pure fantasy. He's just like any other player starting his slow decline: He has stretches of brilliance, when it looks like he's managed to defeat Father Time, followed by stretches of looking like he already has one foot out the door. We saw the same with O'Neal, way back when, and we've been seeing the same with Paul the last two years.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I just don't think it's true that Durant is the only player of value that Ayton could possibly fetch in a trade. There have to be multiple options out there, with different price tags. From what we are hearing, the price for Durant will be way too high. So the Suns need to look for a different deal that's more affordable. It might still be an overpayment, but it can be a less crippling one.

The notion that Durant is going to have a career year after forcing his way to Phoenix, in the wake of two major injuries and a horrible playoff showing, is pure fantasy. He's just like any other player starting his slow decline: He has stretches of brilliance, when it looks like he's managed to defeat Father Time, followed by stretches of looking like he already has one foot out the door. We saw the same with O'Neal, way back when, and we've been seeing the same with Paul the last two years.

you continuing to compare him to Shaq when we got him is fantasy, Eric.

he averaged 30/6/7 last year and had one bad playoff series. Now he's got one foot out the door? Come on.

 

[Mainstreet]

Oh agreed but another PG doesn’t solve this teams issues. We didn’t lose because Paul was off, we lost because everyone was off! That’s the point Booker simply cannot be our only shot creating scorer. Even if he had a McCollum type running mate it would be huge! Look at what he did for Ingram. Shoot I would love to have Ingram to run with Book!

No doubt the Suns need more play makers, shooters and shot creators but look at what point guard play did for Dallas. However, the Suns have more than one need.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Coach Bud over coach Monty. Giannis over CP3. Thats why Bobby wants to be there, and i'm sure others love it there as well.

I think right now Bud is a better game coach but I'm not sure he could have turned this team around like Monty did.

We all tend to talk as if we think we're insiders even though we're all very much on the outside. Two years ago people were saying Giannis will never win a championship. And last year, just prior to them advancing to the finals, Bucks fans on the forum I looked at were absolutely roasting Bud for his weak coaching skills.

Winning a title makes a coach look a lot better, for awhile. If Monty wins it all next year, a lot of Bucks fans will be wanting to dump Bud in search of a strong coach like Monty.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I'd love to hear some that make us more competitive for winning a championship now. The window is now. I'd love to think there are other trades out there, but until they manifest, it's just wishful thinking.

I keep asking this and get no responses.

 

[elindholm]

you continuing to compare him to Shaq when we got him is fantasy, Eric.

he averaged 30/6/7 last year and had one bad playoff series. Now he's got one foot out the door? Come on.

You've forgotten (or are discounting) how high expectations were for O'Neal when he came to the Suns. And they gave up a guy who was still in his prime and had made four All-Star teams over the last five seasons, so it's not like the price was cheap.

Also, Durant put up those numbers while missing 1/3 of his team's games. Great "per-game" averages lose a bit of luster when you figure in all of those zeroes.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

You've forgotten (or are discounting) how high expectations were for O'Neal when he came to the Suns. And they gave up a guy who was still in his prime and had made four All-Star teams over the last five seasons, so it's not like the price was cheap.

Also, Durant put up those numbers while missing 1/3 of his team's games. Great "per-game" averages lose a bit of luster when you figure in all of those zeroes.

E you’re just not being realistic. In the year before he was traded shaq averaged 17/7. In the year in which we acquired him he was averaging 14/8 in 33 games. Who cares what peoples expectations were? Shaq wasn’t remotely close to producing what Durant is at present. Shaq was WAY off his career best numbers. Durant just put up his 3rd best scoring average of his career, almost spot on his career average rebounding numbers and his best assist numbers of his career while meeting or exceeding all of his career average shooting percentages. The only ways they are close are they were older and are HUGE names. That’s it.