The Durant Sweepstakes

ASUCHRIS

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Right now, I'd say Bridges is a rich man's Tayshaun Prince, and that is a pretty damn good player. If his handles and/or his 3 point shooting improve he would be an All-Star.

And really, he doesn't even need to improve his shot, he just needs to get more willing to take it. He passes up too many good looks for a guy who shoots as well as he does.
This is the best comparison yet...Bowen doesn't work...he was more stout and dirty. Bridges and Tayshaun are definitely the best body comparison - freakishly long arms and thin.

Their arms were a much bigger part of their defensive prowess, whereas Matrix was blessed with ungodly hops. (and the 2nd jump)
 

Covert Rain

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4 1st and 3 swaps, same thing taking the lowest 1st rd between the 2 in NBA drafts that tend to only be about 5-10 deep in actual talent for years is a joke and something that can only be made up by ignorant media pundits
It completely depends on where those picks sit. Nets already traded some of those picks away they could use as swaps as I understand it. If so, the Suns are not trading 4 firsts and doing 3 swaps. The trade likely would include some pick/player combo.
 

ASUCHRIS

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I think you mean a poor man's Tayshaun Prince? Bridges isn't at Prince's level yet.
Bridges was just recognized as a top 40 player, and got 2nd place in defensive player of the year voting. (something Prince never accomplished)

He's at Prince's level already, and is likely to surpass it.
 

elindholm

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Bridges was just recognized as a top 40 player, and got 2nd place in defensive player of the year voting. (something Prince never accomplished)

He's at Prince's level already, and is likely to surpass it.
During the five years 2004-09, Prince averaged 14.1p/5.1r/2.9a, during an era where scoring was considerably less than it is now, and he didn't miss a single game. Bridges put up comparable numbers last year, but that's the first time he's done it, and he's behind on the calendar. If he puts up four more years that were at least as good as last year, we can talk.
 

Covert Rain

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During the five years 2004-09, Prince averaged 14.1p/5.1r/2.9a, during an era where scoring was considerably less than it is now, and he didn't miss a single game. Bridges put up comparable numbers last year, but that's the first time he's done it, and he's behind on the calendar. If he puts up four more years that were at least as good as last year, we can talk.
Prince was not the 4th or 5th option on that offense. He was a featured player in their offense. Stats don't tell the entire story. The fact that Bridges puts up the number he does without regularly getting offensive plays called for him says a ton.
 
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ASUCHRIS

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During the five years 2004-09, Prince averaged 14.1p/5.1r/2.9a, during an era where scoring was considerably less than it is now
Scoring may have been less, but Bridges is already shooting at a much more efficient rate than Prince during those years.
, and he didn't miss a single game.
Hey - Bridges is an ironman too!
Bridges put up comparable numbers last year, but that's the first time he's done it,
Nope, two years in a row.
If he puts up four more years that were at least as good as last year, we can talk.
I'm confident that Bridges will have the better career, and is already at near peak Prince level at worst.
 

Ouchie-Z-Clown

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Mainstreet

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Bridges has a long way to go before he can consistently create his own shot.

I would not compare him to Pippen who could.

Pippen was like having another point guard on the court.
 

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Bridges has a long way to go before he can consistently create his own shot.

I would not compare him to Pippen who could.

Pippen was like having another point guard on the court.
We do you know Mikal would never quit on his team during a playoff game so he’s got Pip in that regard…

He’ll be 26 at the start of next season so he needs to take that next step. He should be taking the third most shots on the team and hitting at a better clip from 3. I’d like to see him move off the ball like Klay used to and fire it with confidence. He’s a good shooter but needs to be stationary.
 

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We do you know Mikal would never quit on his team during a playoff game so he’s got Pip in that regard…

He’ll be 26 at the start of next season so he needs to take that next step. He should be taking the third most shots on the team and hitting at a better clip from 3. I’d like to see him move off the ball like Klay used to and fire it with confidence. He’s a good shooter but needs to be stationary.

If I were going to add one thing to Bridges game it would be confidence. He needs to lose his inhibitions. This is the one thing holding him back.
 

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"What I will say is nobody knows what Kevin Durant is thinking right now. His communication with teammates and others in the league has been sparse. I don't even think the Nets have a 100 percent understanding of why Kevin asked for a trade. He spoke to the owner in Joe Tsai and gave a reason, but I'm not sure the Nets are 100 percent on the understanding of it.

"I think the next step in this, barring a team's change of heart to meet the Nets' price, which I don't see at this point on the calendar, I think we're going to have to wait to hear from Kevin Durant about how open he is to running it back with the Nets. And here we go as everybody breaks for summer, sitting and waiting for that to happen."

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So KD met with the owner once to explain that he wants out then went excommunicado…
 

ASUCHRIS

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"What I will say is nobody knows what Kevin Durant is thinking right now. His communication with teammates and others in the league has been sparse. I don't even think the Nets have a 100 percent understanding of why Kevin asked for a trade. He spoke to the owner in Joe Tsai and gave a reason, but I'm not sure the Nets are 100 percent on the understanding of it.

"I think the next step in this, barring a team's change of heart to meet the Nets' price, which I don't see at this point on the calendar, I think we're going to have to wait to hear from Kevin Durant about how open he is to running it back with the Nets. And here we go as everybody breaks for summer, sitting and waiting for that to happen."

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So KD met with the owner once to explain that he wants out then went excommunicado…
We'll see if their patience pays off. I think if we're surprised one way or another on the return for KD, it'll be at how little we're giving up.
 

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"I think the next step in this, barring a team's change of heart to meet the Nets' price, which I don't see at this point on the calendar, I think we're going to have to wait to hear from Kevin Durant about how open he is to running it back with the Nets. And here we go as everybody breaks for summer, sitting and waiting for that to happen."
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I keep seeing this part repeated. If KD really wants out then he can make it happen in short order by going public. Once he does then there won't be any walking it back. His silence only helps the Nets right now.
 

JCSunsfan

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I keep seeing this part repeated. If KD really wants out then he can make it happen in short order by going public. Once he does then there won't be any walking it back. His silence only helps the Nets right now.
He is probably getting pressure from the Union to keep it private. The owners are going to push for major consequences for asking for trades in the next agreement.
 

Covert Rain

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I keep seeing this part repeated. If KD really wants out then he can make it happen in short order by going public. Once he does then there won't be any walking it back. His silence only helps the Nets right now.
Yep. His silence takes a huge amount off pressure of the Nets. The only way this happens in short order is if KD says "I am not playing for the Nets this year". If not? I expect KD to start the season with them. Even if he says it in private? The team will leak it out so they don't look like the bad guy to the fans. I don't think you can keep something like that private.
 

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“there’s belief (in his camp) that he wants a trade. We will see. I’m not saying he’s going or staying but what I am saying is that don’t be surprised if he DOES get traded. He could stay as well. Who knows. My sources really aren’t that good, and I’m thinking I’ll just throw out a random team to start some rumors or debate how well he’d fit on team A or B. Then we can talk more about the Lakers or Celtics for ratings and get into fake arguments on KD’s legacy” - NBA insider Boisesuns. Speaking on behalf of ESPN
 

elindholm

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“there’s belief (in his camp) that he wants a trade. We will see. I’m not saying he’s going or staying but what I am saying is that don’t be surprised if he DOES get traded. He could stay as well. Who knows. My sources really aren’t that good, and I’m thinking I’ll just throw out a random team to start some rumors or debate how well he’d fit on team A or B. Then we can talk more about the Lakers or Celtics for ratings and get into fake arguments on KD’s legacy” - NBA insider Boisesuns. Speaking on behalf of ESPN

#flexfromboise
 

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I keep seeing this part repeated. If KD really wants out then he can make it happen in short order by going public. Once he does then there won't be any walking it back. His silence only helps the Nets right now.
Just speculating but I think he wanted to do it in a way that didn’t embarrass the Nets. I believe they leaked it to Shams a few weeks back. We know KD is sensitive how he’s viewed but to get your way it has to be ugly. The last time I can remember a star player getting traded that wasn’t made a public situation beforehand was Deron Williams 10 years ago.
 

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KD is in the last 4-5 years of his career he's not gonna stay where he doesn't want to be ...he doesn't have the time. If he wants to be a Sun he's gonna be a Sun
 

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