OT: Kevin Durant traded to Phoenix Suns
ESPN is reporting that Kevin Durant is being traded to the Suns for Myles Bridges, Jae Crowder, and some other tomato can. The Brooklyn Nets continue to implode before our eyes, proving that you don't need brains to own a professional sports franchise
February 9th, 2023 at 10:30 AM ^
Mikal Bridges. And the tomato can is Cam Johnson, a good young player. They also got four firsts and pick swaps. They didn't exactly give him away.
February 9th, 2023 at 10:34 AM ^
Yeah mostly agree. It was embarrassing the Kyrie, Harden, KD team didn't work, but they now have a ton of draft picks to try another rebuild. As far as failed experiments go, this didn't work out so bad. They don't even need to tank because their picks are from other teams.
February 9th, 2023 at 10:46 AM ^
You have to build the right super-team, not just any super-team will do. I never thought that was going to work. Didn't seem like a fit.
February 9th, 2023 at 11:06 AM ^
The problem with how they constructed this particular team is it relied on 3 head cases who were all largely one-sided players. Durant can be a solid help defender and Harden/Irving can man a guy up sometimes but all of them were offense-first players and seemed mercurial to boot. Plus, outside of Irving they weren't necessarily "young" - Durant's 34 and Harden's 33 and both of them had struggled with injuries recently when they joined the Nets. So when they're healthy and the ball's going in they were unstoppable, but Harden got hurt in the playoffs against the Bucks and that was probably their window.
February 9th, 2023 at 12:17 PM ^
Let’s not completely rewrite history here though. They nearly beat Milwaukee 2 years ago with both Kyrie and Harden out with injuries , and would have been the Finals favorite had they done so. Perhaps that simply speaks to the greatness of KD.
Kyrie is a special talent but a shit teammate and wherever he goes ultimately ends up a dumpster fire.
KD is a special all-time talent, but not a Lebron type leader of a team. With Chris Paul in that role at Phoenix and another elite scorer there with Devin Booker, they should be incredible. Can they D up now after losing 2 solid wings?.. we shall see.
February 9th, 2023 at 3:09 PM ^
Although the GOAt debates are endlessly boring to me, one low-key hallmark Lebron achievement is that he somehow made Kyrie seem semi-normal for 3.5 seasons. Eff the scoring title, I'm amazed he pulled that off.
February 9th, 2023 at 3:13 PM ^
LeBron is not a leader anymore. Unless you mean someone that leads a team to 13th place in the West. LeBron’s best teams were in Miami when Dwyane was Batman to LeBron’s Robin. If LeBron is a good leader, how was it that he couldn’t maximize Westbrook’s talents or AD’s? Did you see AD take a seat after LBJ broke the scoring record? When I watch the Lakers play, I see LBJ load-manage during games. He takes plays off and doesn’t get up and down the court. The Lakers are often playing offense 1-on-1 when LBJ decides it’s his turn to shoot, or 4-on-4 when he decides to hang back by half court. The Lakers haven’t been able to attract top free agent talent because those players don’t want to be led by LBJ.
This is LeBron whining after losing recently:
“I don’t get it. I’m attacking the paint just as much as any of the other guys in this league that’s shooting double-digit free throws a night.”
I wonder if the rest of the league agrees that LeBron is not being treated fairly by the refs. LOL
February 9th, 2023 at 10:31 AM ^
They can implode all they want but they win this trade going away. Those 3 players plus 4 first round picks? Who wouldn't sign up for that trade?
February 9th, 2023 at 10:34 AM ^
Is Durant nearing end of NBA life? Does he have 4 years left? I thought he was playing in the 00s.
February 9th, 2023 at 10:36 AM ^
He's 34. LeBron is still near the top of his game at 38 but he's obviously a unicorn and Durant has more injury history than LeBron. He should still have 3ish elite seasons left.
I don't think you do this deal thinking about year 4 -- you do it because a healthy Durant, Booker, Chris Paul, and Ayton are likely the favorites to win now in the owner's first year.
February 9th, 2023 at 12:21 PM ^
Lebron is an anomaly, but KD is 6’11 and shoots 40% from 3. He can score 25 ppg with his eyes closed in the right system into his 40’s. Should have never left Golden State, lol.
That said, he’ll become more and more of a defensive liability with each passing year.
February 10th, 2023 at 9:02 AM ^
Pretty sure Durant was playing when the Seattle Supersonics were still actually a team. He's been around a while.
February 9th, 2023 at 10:36 AM ^
Except all of those firsts except MAYBE the 2029 pick are going to be among the last few of the first round, which in the NBA means role players at best.
February 9th, 2023 at 10:42 AM ^
Or, you use them for additional trades. They're essentially equity at this point. But I do agree that the later round picks aren't as valuable.
February 9th, 2023 at 10:55 AM ^
That's right. The Suns won't be giving up lottery picks.
Phoenix is trying to win now, just not sure how many healthy years KD has left.
February 9th, 2023 at 11:53 AM ^
The Suns won't be giving up lottery picks.
In 2028 (the year of the pick swap), Chris Paul will be retired, and Durant will be 39 (and 40 the next season when their pick belongs to the Nets), if he's still playing. He has a long history of injury even if he is still playing. If Devin Booker twists his knee and misses 40 games, those could absolutely be top-10 draft pick seasons.
There's a scenario where 2027 is, honestly. There's a lot of scenarios where those later two Suns picks and the swap are valuable lottery pieces.
February 9th, 2023 at 12:25 PM ^
if I'm Matt Ishbia - it doesn't matter to me. I have a chance to win a title immediately after taking over from a notorious asshole and incompetent owner, I've got to take it. A title will earn so much good will that even giving up 3 lottery picks plus will be easy to swallow.
February 9th, 2023 at 2:16 PM ^
Oh, I agree completely. The value of a (first) championship or two to your franchise far outweighs what it might cost you on the back end. Like literally the value of the franchise if/when he wants to sell it.
February 9th, 2023 at 2:35 PM ^
Like making sure you tip the bartender/waitress the first time you get a drink rather than at the end.
February 9th, 2023 at 6:07 PM ^
You're probably right, you're looking at role players with those picks but the more picks you get, the more chances to hit on a really good player. Jimmy Butler ,Rudy Gobert, and Jordan Poole all went late 1st round.
February 9th, 2023 at 10:42 AM ^
I'm a Suns fan and loved Mikail and liked Cam...but I do this deal over and over. And I would have been OK with the Suns making nothing but a Crowder deal this go round. Those 4 picks are not going to be top 10...or top 15. None of the seven players (crowder, Bridges, Johnson, 4 picks) are close to KD even considering the player he is today. People forget Booker is only 26...and they can easily get out of CP3s contract this summer...and they have Durant for 3 more years. Yes he is aging and will have times out with injury...but when CP3 doesn't need pressure to score he will be even more effective. And Ayton is gonna have so much room in the paint now he is going to get 10 points off easy dunks every night. The Suns, as much as I loved "the twins" were not going further with the current lineup. This one? This one is favorite in the west today...and a much better playoff roster than last two years. And getting TJ Warren for forward depth is sneaky smart part of this deal as well
February 9th, 2023 at 2:14 PM ^
Yeah, this is a good move, and gives them a good chance to win a title, or at least get out of what's a pretty wide open western conference, even if the chances of getting through four playoff rounds while keeping CP and KD healthy seems slim.
February 9th, 2023 at 10:36 AM ^
Man OP, tell me you don't know much about the NBA without telling me you don't know much about the NBA.
February 9th, 2023 at 10:47 AM ^
Are there people who still know a lot about the NBA?
February 9th, 2023 at 11:02 AM ^
We've found THAT GUY!
February 9th, 2023 at 10:57 AM ^
Well, he got the KD was traded part right.
February 9th, 2023 at 11:00 AM ^
Yeah, one of the funnier ongoing bits of this site is that a subset of people here seem to have stopped paying attention to the NBA around 2004 and so you see a lot of "the NBA isn't as good as I remember it because of flargle-blargle", an inordinate number of references to Chauncey Billups as a model PG, and posts like this where the OP sorta remembers a college player with the last name Bridges and isn't going to (a) check the name or (b) read to the end of the first paragraph of the article cited for additional information.
Anyway, there isn't a way you're going to break even trading Durant but this is a pretty decent haul. Now, the fact they largely blew up a solid young team to get 1 playoff series win out of Durant, Irving, and Harden is another matter.
February 9th, 2023 at 11:05 AM ^
I don't watch it for this particular reason, players move around too much and there does not seem to be any real relationship between players and where they are playing. Everything is so transient. My interest in the NBA stemmed from watching teams evolve into something better. There isn't really building anymore, there is just buying.
Even die hard NBA fans have to admit, it doesn't have the pull that it used to. The NBA finals used to be the country's entire consciousness for two weeks. There are times now where it is hard to remember that it is even going on.
February 9th, 2023 at 12:32 PM ^
This just isn't true.
There's a handful of players who make huge splashes and frequent moves but there's plenty of teams with solid cores that they've built and developed.
The talent level and speed of the game is so much better than its maybe ever been...its the drama (that you could argue is by design and geared toward younger folks) that's different and the olds can't separate the two.
February 9th, 2023 at 12:48 PM ^
Disagree. Because they’re only in college for one or two years, most players come to the NBA less well rounded and more lacking in fundamentals than previously. And while shooting from deep has no doubt improved, simply because of its current emphasis, I don’t think players today are better in traffic shooters, rebounders or defenders than they used to be be. Also, more scoring doesn’t mean the game is necessarily faster than it was (take a look at the 80s Lakers). It’s just what happens when less emphasis is placed on defense and every other shot attempt is a 3. The game is now so 3 pointer heavy that it’s become much less entertaining. That superstars like Durant have the power to compel trades at their whim, and the accompanying lack of continuity, makes it even less so.
February 9th, 2023 at 11:30 AM ^
My issues with NBA:
1) Traveling and carrying aren't called anymore. It doesn't even feel like the same sport anymore watching Harden and Giannis take 4 or 5 steps to get open or to the basket.
2) Every team seems to be tanking or building a super team. Very few are trying to get better by improvement and coaching.
3) Teams are too reliant on the 3 ball and iso ball. There are more blowouts than I remember in the past because teams go hot or cold hitting threes. It's generally less entertaining as much as I like the warriors.
February 9th, 2023 at 1:47 PM ^
While I think your first point is true, the word "anymore" is reaching back pretty far in the past. People have been saying this for at least 30 years.
February 9th, 2023 at 2:28 PM ^
i know that this isn't what people mean but the demented part of my brain always translates this to "basketball was better when it had more whistles"
February 9th, 2023 at 2:36 PM ^
I do remember guys like Ben Gordon taking two steps and a jump step without getting all the time.
At the same time, it was only a couple players that were doing stuff like that and less often. I see Ja Morant do this 3 or 4 times a game. I'll play pickup and see a guy pickup his pivot foot and claim it's legal because Giannis does it every game. Never heard anyone justify this crap 15 years ago based on Ben Gordon.
February 9th, 2023 at 2:59 PM ^
1. I agree the definition of traveling has gotten less defined but it's also sort of the maturation of the game and the length/athleticism of everyone involved.
2. That's a bit unfair. The Bucks built themselves largely out of the draft + sensible trades. The Warriors are an organic "superteam". The Grizzlies are organically drafted guys, and even teams like the Heat and Celtics are having success from drafting. there are a couple of teams that are trying to buy/trade their way to titles - most notably the Nets and Lakers - but that's not atypical.
3. I mean, that's just how basketball has evolved. When teams relied more on 2-point shots I guess you couldn't run away and hide with hot shooting but they weren't particularly entertaining; those Heat-Knicks playoff games from the 90s were atrocious basketball to watch even if they scores were tight.
February 9th, 2023 at 10:38 AM ^
Brooklyn may have lost Durant, but they got a hell of a return on that trade.
February 9th, 2023 at 10:39 AM ^
Oh, they got a CROP. Take a look at that CROP.
February 9th, 2023 at 10:44 AM ^
I'm old, and right now Im trying to figure out what photos or tops have to do with that trade.
February 9th, 2023 at 10:48 AM ^
Who's your favorite cut of beef? Who's your favorite carved ham? You gotta choose. You're killing these kids. Who's it going to be? Mikal Bridges? Jae Crowder?
February 9th, 2023 at 10:55 AM ^
LOL, thanks
February 9th, 2023 at 10:48 AM ^
You've never heard of the Little Buff Boys competition?
(I'm entirely sure the person you're responding to is referencing a sketch from the show I Think You Should Leave)
Edit: I am now entirely sure.
February 9th, 2023 at 10:52 AM ^
You've never heard of the Little Buff Boys competition?
Heads of boys, bodies of men!
February 9th, 2023 at 10:45 AM ^
Good for Brooklyn. KD is very thin-skinned and petty.
February 9th, 2023 at 10:49 AM ^
Not on the court...on the court he is a top 10 (15 at least) all timer...who plays hard at both ends and can score in more ways than all but a couple NBA players in history. Off court yeah...but never a bad teammate in the locker room (unless I am missing something that slipped my mind...which well, I am sure the internet will let me know in 4...3...2...1)
February 9th, 2023 at 10:47 AM ^
There isn't a single player in the basketball HOF named Future #1 Draft Pick. Pro drafts, particularly in basketball, are a massive crapshoot.
February 9th, 2023 at 10:56 AM ^
Suns doing their best to build the most fragile team in nba history.
February 9th, 2023 at 11:19 AM ^
They just need Izzo to complete the fragility.
February 9th, 2023 at 10:56 AM ^
Not to ding the OP too much but:
- It's Mikal Bridges, not "Myles Bridges" or Miles Bridges. Miles Bridges isn't currently signed to a team because he pled guilty to domestic violence charges while he was a FA. Mikal Bridges is maybe the platonic ideal of a 3-and-D guy in the NBA right now, having finished second to Smart last year for DPOY and a guy who hits about 38% of his 3s and big volume. He's a really good player.
- Cam Johnson is another solid forward who's hitting nearly 46% of his 3s a game and is another solid defender. He's also a good scorer who may well flourish with more responsibility on that front as compared to his time in Phoenix where he was clearly the #3/#4 offensive option.
- Nets also got 4(!) first-round picks, a number of them far enough into the future that the Suns may well be bad and they could be lottery selections.
Durant was hankering to leave this past offseason and had to be talked back from his trade demand. You're never going to get a commensurate return on trading a HOF but this was honestly a better deal than I thought they'd have gotten for him.
February 9th, 2023 at 11:02 AM ^
This is probably an unpopular idea, but would the Suns have been better off keeping one of those guys and giving them Ayton? This is a trade you do every time for the Suns but they did lose all of their 3&D guys in this. They can probably boatrace their way to a ton of wins in the playoffs but it would be nice to have one of these guys to stick on Steph or Luca defensively.
February 9th, 2023 at 11:16 AM ^
Yeah, I don't love this trade for what they gave up. Ayton is great defensively and as a rebounder but offensively he seems stagnant; I don't watch a ton of Suns games but when I've seen him he just sort of floats along and isn't efficient enough offensively to run stuff through him beyond cuts to the basket/dunker spot stuff. They're different players defensively but I get some Andrew Drummond vibes with him, where the rebounding and blocks are there but a lot of his offense comes off offensive rebounding and putbacks and not necessarily organic offense.
It's tough because you don't want to lose that size and youth but yeah, the Suns basically replaced a bunch of high-quality, young 3-and-D players with Kevin Durant, a fantastic offensive player but not so much a defender who's 34 and injured. Maybe they'll just try to outscore everyone they run into but guys like Curry, Murray and Porter Jr in Denver, Fox in Sacramento, etc. are still going to be matchup issues for them.