The Durant Sweepstakes

Hoop Head

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Even though I think Ayton is soft as tissue ...I think he coulda already signed an offer sheet somewhere..I'm sure the Nets and Suns both know how this is gonna end and trying to maximize both teams returns. Ayton understands he's gonna be paid and more than likely it's gonna be Brooklyn paying him

Ayton can not sign an offer sheet before July 6th. The Suns have 48 hours to match if/when he does.
 

Covert Rain

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Evidently, the Nets are not just holding up the Suns. It’s having a cascade effect with many of the remaining free agents.

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Phrazbit

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Evidently, the Nets are not just holding up the Suns. It’s having a cascade effect with many of the remaining free agents.

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On top of that, I think Ayton's situation is probably stalling Durant's. If Ayton's camp is adamant that he won't sign (anywhere) for less than a max deal, the Suns might be struggling to find him a landing spot. Only Indiana can sign him outright and the indications out of there point to a long term rebuild.

I wish I had a better read on Ayton's mindset. Can his camp be reasonable when it comes to his market value? If they could get him back on a near max deal, something like 4 years 120 million, that would be fantastic.

If we could then ship Cam Johnson, 4 picks and some salary fodder that actually has value... Crowder, Saric, Cam Payne... I know the Nets are trying to play hardball, but can anyone beat that offer? Especially anyone that would feel confident that Durant actually would show up to play for them? I don't think so.

So, that is my new dream.

Let this drag out a bit. Let Ayton's destinations dry up, let the Nets options dry up and have the Suns come out of it with a starting lineup of Paul/Booker/Bridges/Durant/Ayton, one of the greatest starting fives in NBA history.

Make it happen basketball gods!
 

Sparky16

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On top of that, I think Ayton's situation is probably stalling Durant's. If Ayton's camp is adamant that he won't sign (anywhere) for less than a max deal, the Suns might be struggling to find him a landing spot. Only Indiana can sign him outright and the indications out of there point to a long term rebuild.

I wish I had a better read on Ayton's mindset. Can his camp be reasonable when it comes to his market value? If they could get him back on a near max deal, something like 4 years 120 million, that would be fantastic.

If we could then ship Cam Johnson, 4 picks and some salary fodder that actually has value... Crowder, Saric, Cam Payne... I know the Nets are trying to play hardball, but can anyone beat that offer? Especially anyone that would feel confident that Durant actually would show up to play for them? I don't think so.

So, that is my new dream.

Let this drag out a bit. Let Ayton's destinations dry up, let the Nets options dry up and have the Suns come out of it with a starting lineup of Paul/Booker/Bridges/Durant/Ayton, one of the greatest starting fives in NBA history.

Make it happen basketball gods!
4 years 120M? DA is not worth that, more like 4 years 80-90M. And that would include incentives like making an all star team and/or an all NBA team. Bridges signed for around 20M per and is obviously more valued than DA
 

AzStevenCal

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4 years 120M? DA is not worth that, more like 4 years 80-90M. And that would include incentives like making an all star team and/or an all NBA team. Bridges signed for around 20M per and is obviously more valued than DA
I think he's worth around 25M per season which would make him roughly the 50th highest paid player. So 30 per isn't much of an overpay for a player that should still get quite a bit better.
 

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I don’t think KD wants to go to Toronto, but I don’t see them as so much lesser than the Suns considering how Phoenix ended the season. They have a better coach, a better GM, and better ownership (though it’s not amazing). They won 48 games last year so it’s not like joining a rebuild.

But of course it’s a trade so they wouldn’t simply be adding Durant, and I suspect Barnes is untouchable for them, which is who Brooklyn would (or should) want.
 

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I don’t think KD wants to go to Toronto, but I don’t see them as so much lesser than the Suns considering how Phoenix ended the season. They have a better coach, a better GM, and better ownership (though it’s not amazing). They won 48 games last year so it’s not like joining a rebuild.

But of course it’s a trade so they wouldn’t simply be adding Durant, and I suspect Barnes is untouchable for them, which is who Brooklyn would (or should) want.

As @elindholm suggested, maybe the Suns can trade Ayton to the Raptors or they might make a good third or fourth team.

Precious Achiuwa is a solid 4/5 in his own right.
 

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As @elindholm suggested, maybe the Suns can trade Ayton to the Raptors or they might make a good third or fourth team.
Yeah, very interesting thoughts. I live close to Toronto but I’m so focused on Ayton from the Suns side that I haven’t heard much about any interest. They are looking for a center though.
 

Mainstreet

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Yeah, very interesting thoughts. I live close to Toronto but I’m so focused on Ayton from the Suns side that I haven’t heard much about any interest. They are looking for a center though.

Early on I heard the Raptors might be interested in Ayton but nothing lately. Often it's the trades we don't hear about that get done.
 

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Can the Warriors even absorb his contract? I mean I know they are fine with going well into luxury tax land, but even that has it's limits. Not to mention they need to be able to send some matching value for a trade to even work.
 

Mainstreet

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I'm not sure if this has been posted. Nets are trying to create an outline for a Kevin Durant trade package.

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Can the Warriors even absorb his contract? I mean I know they are fine with going well into luxury tax land, but even that has it's limits. Not to mention they need to be able to send some matching value for a trade to even work.

Yeah, they can. They'd need to send Wiggins out, which is the bulk of the financial side. Wiggins, Poole, and Wiseman for KD works.

The Warriors could add Moody or Kuminga to that as well without disrupting it from a financial POV.

 

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Nothing is forthcoming per a New York Post article.


By Brian Lewis New York Post:

So far, league sources have said nothing is imminent, or even at the advanced stage.

I think they are hoping to get enough in return from a Durant trade to soften the blow of getting very little for their other superstars (Harden/Simmons and Kyrie). I suspect they believe that there is a franchise out there just as stupid and just as desperate as the Nets were almost a decade ago. Hopefully, for our sake, they're wrong.

34 year old Durant still has value but any team willing to deliver assets worthy of a prime superstar deserves what they get. We should move on until they realize that the Raptors, Warriors, Heat and Suns aren't quite that stupid.
 

Mainstreet

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Hopefully James Jones knows when to let go of the rope. The Suns might be better served using some of those mentioned draft picks to strengthen the roster.

I'm so against trading Deandre Ayton like he wasn't an important part of the Suns Finals team.

I don't want the Suns to be a farm team for another NBA franchise.
 

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Can the Warriors even absorb his contract? I mean I know they are fine with going well into luxury tax land, but even that has it's limits. Not to mention they need to be able to send some matching value for a trade to even work.

There's supposedly some rule that says you can't have 2 former #1 overall picks on a rookie max deal on the same team. They've been talking about it in the Bay Area because it means any proposed deal involving Wiggins would require the Nets to then deal Simmons or Wiggins somewhere else.
 

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Logged in the DraftKings for the first time in a while. It’s $125 to win $1,000 that he stays in Brooklyn. Those odds are too good to pass up which makes they’re too good to bet on. He’s gone.
 

Hoop Head

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There's supposedly some rule that says you can't have 2 former #1 overall picks on a rookie max deal on the same team. They've been talking about it in the Bay Area because it means any proposed deal involving Wiggins would require the Nets to then deal Simmons or Wiggins somewhere else.

It's not being a #1 overall pick, it's players on Designated Rookie Max Extensions. A team can not acquire more than 1 player on one of those deals by trade.

This article explains it.


I forgot Wiggins was on one of those deals and has been listed as one of those players. That actually makes me feel a bit better about the Warriors odds of pulling it off because I doubt another team would take Wiggins on for that deal to work. He is in the last year of that deal, I believe.
 
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Phrazbit

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It's not being a #1 overall pick, it's players on Designated Rookie Max Extensions. A team can not acquire more than 1 player on one of those deals by trade.

This article explains it.


I forgot Wiggins was on one of those deals and has been listed as one of those players. That actually makes me feel a bit better about the Warriors odds of pulling it off because I doubt another team would take Wiggins on for that deal to work. He is in the last year of that deal, I believe.

I don't think it even matters. Green hates Durant, reportedly a major factor in Durant wanting out of Brooklyn is to have a real chance to win a title as "the guy", Golden State JUST won the title... again, I don't think getting Durant even increases their odds next year and it certainly lowers their sustainability afterwards. The Warriors are among the least likely teams to pull a trade. It doesn't help them, it only makes Durant look even more foolish.

I would peg this as a 50% chance Green has discovered a new level of trolling KD via false sources, a 25% chance the Warriors are trying to drive up the price for their competitors, a 24.9% chance the NBA press is desperate for anything to write about and a 0.1% chance that Durant is trying to fool the Warriors into trading a ransom for him, only to promptly walk away from basketball.
 

Covert Rain

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AzStevenCal

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Sounds like pure speculation because if not? The Suns might need to move on.

"This pending Durant trade could take through the summer or thereafter"

I think their rumored package requirement put an end to most trade talks. Just guessing but I think teams will soon go about their business of filling out their rosters and the Nets will start the season with Durant. If he shows that his postseason play was a fluke, they'll be able to get closer to their demands in a mid-season trade.

I think KD is still an elite scorer but he can no longer punish double teams like he used to and his defense is no longer elite. Add in his injuries, games missed over the past 8 seasons and the fact he'll start the season as a 34 year old and the Nets IMO will either have to keep him or lower their asking price by more than 50%.
 

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