Where we stand after the Trade Deadline

[kekgeek]

This didn't seem worthy of its own thread, at least not yet. So, I am putting it here because it is a "change in status" following the trade deadline.

It is being reported that KD is upset about being included in trade talks, and will force a trade this summer. The Wolves were one of the teams making an inquiry. And, or course, the KD-ANT connection has been well documented.

Could the Wolves, and would the Wolves, be a bidder for KD this summer?

Assuming Randle opts in, a Randle and Jaden trade could make the salaries work. The trade could not happen until the new year beings in July, but if arranged before the draft, the Wolves would have some draft capital to include, not to mention a young player.

It's an interesting thought. Would ANT's desire to play with KD be stronger than his bond with Jaden? Probably not. But it is an interesting idea to entertain!

Jon K. does NOT believe the story is over yet. He won't be surprised at all if this heats up again in the summer. And we know he doesn't just throw shit out there.

Durant only has one year left on his contract, so it's basically a one year rental. The question is what would we need to give up to make the salaries work without compromising too many Ant 2.0 assets? This is a case where Randle opting in could actually help us!

This scares me. I could see TC trading Dilly and TSJ as part of a deal for Durant. I think that would be a terrible mistake. Come on, TC! Build the fricking team and stop trying to take short cuts for short-term benefits!! Thankfully, we won’t be able to aggregate outgoing players to match Durant’s salary and the Suns have the same restriction. So there would have to be at least one other team involved. Hopefully the complexity will stop TC from doing something stupid.

Yes they will Lip. The wolves are not a second apron team once the league year starts. Now if Randle opts in, Naz opts out and re-signs and naw signs they will be a 2nd apron team but they will not be a second apron team when the league year starts so for a period of time they will be able to aggregate salaries

[Lipoli390]

Jon K. does NOT believe the story is over yet. He won't be surprised at all if this heats up again in the summer. And we know he doesn't just throw shit out there.

Durant only has one year left on his contract, so it's basically a one year rental. The question is what would we need to give up to make the salaries work without compromising too many Ant 2.0 assets? This is a case where Randle opting in could actually help us!

This scares me. I could see TC trading Dilly and TSJ as part of a deal for Durant. I think that would be a terrible mistake. Come on, TC! Build the fricking team and stop trying to take short cuts for short-term benefits!! Thankfully, we won’t be able to aggregate outgoing players to match Durant’s salary and the Suns have the same restriction. So there would have to be at least one other team involved. Hopefully the complexity will stop TC from doing something stupid.

Yes they will Lip. The wolves are not a second apron team once the league year starts. Now if Randle opts in, Naz opts out and re-signs and naw signs they will be a 2nd apron team but they will not be a second apron team when the league year starts so for a period of time they will be able to aggregate salaries

I was assuming that Randle opting in would be the key to the deal based on the comment: “this the the case where Randle opting in could actually help us.” I took that to mean we’d include Randle in a deal for Durant after Randle opts in. In any event, a one-year rental of the 37 year old Durant on a $55 million contract would be a terrible idea even if we could make it happen by aggregating players. Who are we going to aggregate to get up to $55 million? It’s a bad idea and thankfully it would be very very difficult to pull off.

[Wolvesfan21]

This didn't seem worthy of its own thread, at least not yet. So, I am putting it here because it is a "change in status" following the trade deadline.

It is being reported that KD is upset about being included in trade talks, and will force a trade this summer. The Wolves were one of the teams making an inquiry. And, or course, the KD-ANT connection has been well documented.

Could the Wolves, and would the Wolves, be a bidder for KD this summer?

Assuming Randle opts in, a Randle and Jaden trade could make the salaries work. The trade could not happen until the new year beings in July, but if arranged before the draft, the Wolves would have some draft capital to include, not to mention a young player.

It's an interesting thought. Would ANT's desire to play with KD be stronger than his bond with Jaden? Probably not. But it is an interesting idea to entertain!

I'd be fine with that (Ju + Jaden for KD). KD can probably still be a great player for a few years till he's 39 and if we're a winner and he's having fun he might take a discount for his last couple years too, it's not like he hasn't made a half billion probably (how much do you really need?).

I wouldn't however trade our young promising players (Dilly, Clark, TSJ,) who project to be around Ant when he's 26-30. You still got to build for the long term. As much as I love Jaden he's a bit too much of a rollercoaster on offense and KD always brings it. A few last years of KD to try and win a chip? Count me in as long as it's not our promising youth. They can have Minott, Miller and/or Garza if they want.

I will say with one caveat, if Jaden finishes the rest of the year strong I'm sticking with him for the long term. KD can go kick rocks in that case. I want to see more consistency from him and I do think he's on the right path. Love the rebounding.

[Monster]

This didn't seem worthy of its own thread, at least not yet. So, I am putting it here because it is a "change in status" following the trade deadline.

It is being reported that KD is upset about being included in trade talks, and will force a trade this summer. The Wolves were one of the teams making an inquiry. And, or course, the KD-ANT connection has been well documented.

Could the Wolves, and would the Wolves, be a bidder for KD this summer?

Assuming Randle opts in, a Randle and Jaden trade could make the salaries work. The trade could not happen until the new year beings in July, but if arranged before the draft, the Wolves would have some draft capital to include, not to mention a young player.

It's an interesting thought. Would ANT's desire to play with KD be stronger than his bond with Jaden? Probably not. But it is an interesting idea to entertain!

I'd be fine with that (Ju + Jaden for KD). KD can probably still be a great player for a few years till he's 39 and if we're a winner and he's having fun he might take a discount for his last couple years too, it's not like he hasn't made a half billion probably (how much do you really need?).

I wouldn't however trade our young promising players (Dilly, Clark, TSJ,) who project to be around Ant when he's 26-30. You still got to build for the long term. As much as I love Jaden he's a bit too much of a rollercoaster on offense and KD always brings it. A few last years of KD to try and win a chip? Count me in as long as it's not our promising youth. They can have Minott, Miller and/or Garza if they want.

I will say with one caveat, if Jaden finishes the rest of the year strong I'm sticking with him for the long term. KD can go kick rocks in that case. I want to see more consistency from him and I do think he's on the right path. Love the rebounding.

This is almost exactly where I am at. I'm not really dying to make a Durant deal but it has some real intrigue.

[Phenom]

I can't say I'm interested in including Jaden for KD. I would consider Julius and Rudy and not much else. Maybe a 3 team trade if someone else wants Rudy. I suspect with KD dictating his destinations will limit the return moreso than the last time. If it were just Miami and Minnesota, I don't think Miami would be putting anything close to Jaden in the trade.

[rapsuperstar31]

I'm not trading anything of value for KD. If Durant wants to sign here as a free agent in 26-27 by all means, we can create enough cap space to give him a decent amount of cash if he wants to play with Ant.

[kekgeek]

This scares me. I could see TC trading Dilly and TSJ as part of a deal for Durant. I think that would be a terrible mistake. Come on, TC! Build the fricking team and stop trying to take short cuts for short-term benefits!! Thankfully, we won’t be able to aggregate outgoing players to match Durant’s salary and the Suns have the same restriction. So there would have to be at least one other team involved. Hopefully the complexity will stop TC from doing something stupid.

Yes they will Lip. The wolves are not a second apron team once the league year starts. Now if Randle opts in, Naz opts out and re-signs and naw signs they will be a 2nd apron team but they will not be a second apron team when the league year starts so for a period of time they will be able to aggregate salaries

I was assuming that Randle opting in would be the key to the deal based on the comment: “this the the case where Randle opting in could actually help us.” I took that to mean we’d include Randle in a deal for Durant after Randle opts in. In any event, a one-year rental of the 37 year old Durant on a $55 million contract would be a terrible idea even if we could make it happen by aggregating players. Who are we going to aggregate to get up to $55 million? It’s a bad idea and thankfully it would be very very difficult to pull off.

Ya. I’m not saying I would do it but it’s a pretty easy trade in the offseason from a league rule standpoint.

[Q-is-here]

Phoenix isn't going to trade Durant to us for just for equivalent salary without extracting some future potential from our roster. If they want to clear salary they can just ride it out with Durant for one more year.

They would want to extract some value that goes beyond one year, which means some combination of Jaden/a re-signed Naz/Dillingham/Shannon/Miller/Detroit 1st.

What's interesting here and something I've been saying is that despite all those 1sts were traded in the Rudy deal, we actually have a pretty damn good core group of guys that are 25 or younger:

Naz (25)
Jaden (24)
TSJ (24)
Ant (23)
Clark (23)
Miller (21)
Dillingham (20)
Detroit 1st Rounder - Pending

That actually might be a pretty competitive 8-man rotation in '25-26!

[Lipoli390]

Phoenix isn't going to trade Durant to us for just for equivalent salary without extracting some future potential from our roster. If they want to clear salary they can just ride it out with Durant for one more year.

They would want to extract some value that goes beyond one year, which means some combination of Jaden/a re-signed Naz/Dillingham/Shannon/Miller/Detroit 1st.

What's interesting here and something I've been saying is that despite all those 1sts were traded in the Rudy deal, we actually have a pretty damn good core group of guys that are 25 or younger:

Naz (25)
Jaden (24)
TSJ (24)
Ant (23)
Clark (23)
Miller (21)
Dillingham (20)
Detroit 1st Rounder - Pending

That actually might be a pretty competitive 8-man rotation in '25-26!

Yes. That’s what I was trying to convey, Q. We have the makings of a really good, exciting young team that can win in the near term and be a sustainable contender over the long term. You don’t give any of that up for a 37-year old on a high-priced $55 million 1-year rental. At his age, there’s no telling when his production will drop or whether he can be counted on to stay healthy. Moreover, he’s a mercurial player who can’t be counted on to be happy here or extend beyond next season.

[FNG]

Phoenix isn't going to trade Durant to us for just for equivalent salary without extracting some future potential from our roster. If they want to clear salary they can just ride it out with Durant for one more year.

They would want to extract some value that goes beyond one year, which means some combination of Jaden/a re-signed Naz/Dillingham/Shannon/Miller/Detroit 1st.

What's interesting here and something I've been saying is that despite all those 1sts were traded in the Rudy deal, we actually have a pretty damn good core group of guys that are 25 or younger:

Naz (25)
Jaden (24)
TSJ (24)
Ant (23)
Clark (23)
Miller (21)
Dillingham (20)
Detroit 1st Rounder - Pending

That actually might be a pretty competitive 8-man rotation in '25-26!

Yeah, our young core is surprisingly intriguing despite the Rudy trade. And meanwhile Utah is still languishing at the bottom of the West and has a rather uninspiring group of young talent...their 4 highest scorers are all over the age of 26. I would say the Danny Ainge reputation has taken quite a hit.