Kevin Durant Rumors

[rapsuperstar31]

Saw this trade floated today... but I think I'd endorse it...

Randle
DiVincenzo
Dillingham
#17

I'm guessing Dillingham might be the hangup for many. That's the one that could come back to haunt the Wolves if he shakes out as a young, dynamic guard.

The other rub is that it leaves the backcourt is even more disarray, but I imagine that's also going to be addressed, whether it's a Jones brother or someone else.

I might do that if it was 31 instead of 17 and they can have either Miller or Josh if they like either of them. At 17 you can draft Traore, Demin, Saraf, or maybe even Kasparus if he drops a bit to replace Rob's expected role. I would have rather drafted Rudy's eventual replacement at 17, but if were trading Rob, we'll probably have to go with a guard.

[AussieWolf3]

I don't hate the trade but it would really depend on other contingencies.

Are Naz and Naw guaranteed to be on the roster for the foreseeable future or are you losing them too after this?

Is Durant a 1 year rental or are there some handshakes made that he'll stay longer term on a smaller deal?

Finally if you're giving up #17 and Dilly than there needs to be future picks coming back, otherwise you dooming this team to crater once Durant leaves and Ants deal is up (at least that's my instinct, the gritty details are likely more revealing)

Keeping a Rudy backstops this kind of deal from completely falling out, but you're also really betting on the short term. Which, the time is now when it comes to Ant, Jaden and Naz. Yeah at 24 and 25 years old aren't they going to be their peak primes but year 6 really feels like the time where you just can't keep making youth based excuses.

I really don't hate getting Durant with that trade but having no point guard beyond Conley is really concerning in that scenario, and I think Mike provides more than most do.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I don't hate the trade but it would really depend on other contingencies.

Are Naz and Naw guaranteed to be on the roster for the foreseeable future or are you losing them too after this?

Is Durant a 1 year rental or are there some handshakes made that he'll stay longer term on a smaller deal?

Finally if you're giving up #17 and Dilly than there needs to be future picks coming back, otherwise you dooming this team to crater once Durant leaves and Ants deal is up (at least that's my instinct, the gritty details are likely more revealing)

Keeping a Rudy backstops this kind of deal from completely falling out, but you're also really betting on the short term. Which, the time is now when it comes to Ant, Jaden and Naz. Yeah at 24 and 25 years old aren't they going to be their peak primes but year 6 really feels like the time where you just can't keep making youth based excuses.

I really don't hate getting Durant with that trade but having no point guard beyond Conley is really concerning in that scenario, and I think Mike provides more than most do.

Yeah... the big rub with any Durant trade is what happens AFTER next season. Is he willing to resign... and for how much? Because he will start to drop off... just a matter of when.

[WildWolf2813]

I don't hate the trade but it would really depend on other contingencies.

Are Naz and Naw guaranteed to be on the roster for the foreseeable future or are you losing them too after this?

Is Durant a 1 year rental or are there some handshakes made that he'll stay longer term on a smaller deal?

Finally if you're giving up #17 and Dilly than there needs to be future picks coming back, otherwise you dooming this team to crater once Durant leaves and Ants deal is up (at least that's my instinct, the gritty details are likely more revealing)

Keeping a Rudy backstops this kind of deal from completely falling out, but you're also really betting on the short term. Which, the time is now when it comes to Ant, Jaden and Naz. Yeah at 24 and 25 years old aren't they going to be their peak primes but year 6 really feels like the time where you just can't keep making youth based excuses.

I really don't hate getting Durant with that trade but having no point guard beyond Conley is really concerning in that scenario, and I think Mike provides more than most do.

Yeah... the big rub with any Durant trade is what happens AFTER next season. Is he willing to resign... and for how much? Because he will start to drop off... just a matter of when.

if you give him a 2 year $120 mil extension he's all yours.

[Q-is-here]

I don't hate the trade but it would really depend on other contingencies.

Are Naz and Naw guaranteed to be on the roster for the foreseeable future or are you losing them too after this?

Is Durant a 1 year rental or are there some handshakes made that he'll stay longer term on a smaller deal?

Finally if you're giving up #17 and Dilly than there needs to be future picks coming back, otherwise you dooming this team to crater once Durant leaves and Ants deal is up (at least that's my instinct, the gritty details are likely more revealing)

Keeping a Rudy backstops this kind of deal from completely falling out, but you're also really betting on the short term. Which, the time is now when it comes to Ant, Jaden and Naz. Yeah at 24 and 25 years old aren't they going to be their peak primes but year 6 really feels like the time where you just can't keep making youth based excuses.

I really don't hate getting Durant with that trade but having no point guard beyond Conley is really concerning in that scenario, and I think Mike provides more than most do.

Yeah... the big rub with any Durant trade is what happens AFTER next season. Is he willing to resign... and for how much? Because he will start to drop off... just a matter of when.

if you give him a 2 year $120 mil extension he's all yours.

Gulp. That's where I officially get cold feet.

[WildWolf2813]

Yeah... the big rub with any Durant trade is what happens AFTER next season. Is he willing to resign... and for how much? Because he will start to drop off... just a matter of when.

if you give him a 2 year $120 mil extension he's all yours.

Gulp. That's where I officially get cold feet.

yeah he wants what Jimmy got. I don't know why so many are just assuming he's gonna come here and then take a massive paycut to help Ant.

That's why I question this desire for flexibility when in totality it'll look like we traded KAT + Rudy for 37 year old Durant.

[FNG]

I'm 90-10 against any Durant deal. And while I admit I may be higher on the 8th pick in last year's draft than many here, I have to agree with Aussie that including Rob and 17 in any deal would be a bad move for a team without a lot of draft assets in coming years. As for the discussion about Durant's defense, I'm surprised at the statistics that show he is still a capable defender. But I admit my impression is colored by watching him close up in the Wolves game there in early March (the game where Randle returned and sparked a 17-4 finish to the season). On the drive back to Tucson, the four of us in the car shook our heads at how terrible his defense was...he made Julius Randle in Game 5 look like Lu Dort! He just didn't care. I'll always be grateful to him for almost singlehandedly kickstarting a season that looked pretty dismal in late February, but I don't want that lazy energy anywhere my team. Now, if the deal was just for veterans...say Ju, Donte and Mike...I might be on board. But I'm assuming the Suns are going to want young players and picks in return, and that's a non-starter for me.

[Lipoli390]

I don’t know, Lip. I had just assumed there was no way a KD trade would go down. But, damn, there is a hell of a lot of smoke out there! And where there is smoke…

I have completely flipped my opinion now. Go get KD! It fits everything TC is about: surround ANT with players that keeps him in the fast lane to becoming the best he can be. Last year the most glaring weakness was adding an additional playmaker: Julius Randle. This year a glaring weakness was a reliable scorer alongside ANT — a year or two of KD would address that weakness.

I trust TC to keep finding ways to address our immediate needs, while still keeping the cupboard filled with talent that can sustain the winning after KD’s time expires.

I'm not sure I was ever totally against it, but I've come around a bit too where I'm probably closer to 60/40 in favor vs. not in favor, ha ha. It really depends on what we give up and what a contract extension might look like.

Lip, this idea that Durant is a horrible defender.....not sure where that's coming from. Granted, I didn't watch him a lot this past season and I have no doubt he isn't a great defender, but he ranks in the 59th percentile in Defensive estimated plus minus versus Randle (49th percentile). And Randle played in between Rudy and Jaden while Durant didn't get any help at Center defensively.

I think Durant will be motivated to get with the program and defend if he is on a contending team and has more help overall.

The idea that Durant is a terrible defender comes right from his defensive rating the past five seasons, which got progressively worse: 112 in 2020-21, 113 in 2021-22, 114.4 in 2023-24 and 118.9 just last season. That’s an unmistakable decline with age from bad (112) to terrible at 119. Now if you look at Durant’s entire career, it’s clear he was once an elite defender. But we’re not talking about that Durant. We’re talking about the post-Achilles Durant in his 30s whose defensive rating has consistently declined from bad to terrible over the past five years. I don’t think there’s any legitimate debate about whether the current 37 year old version of Durant is a bad defender. He’s a bad defender, period. He’s still a terrific shooter who scores a lot of points very efficiently. But that’s all he is. He’s not a playmaker. He’s not very mobile. And he’s a poor defender. Moreover, you can count on him to miss at least 20 games and you can’t know how much his game will further decline as he gets closer to age 40.

[BloopOracle]

Rudy posted on social media today with a team photos and emojis that make it sound like he will stay with us

[Lipoli390]

I'm 90-10 against any Durant deal. And while I admit I may be higher on the 8th pick in last year's draft than many here, I have to agree with Aussie that including Rob and 17 in any deal would be a bad move for a team without a lot of draft assets in coming years. As for the discussion about Durant's defense, I'm surprised at the statistics that show he is still a capable defender. But I admit my impression is colored by watching him close up in the Wolves game there in early March (the game where Randle returned and sparked a 17-4 finish to the season). On the drive back to Tucson, the four of us in the car shook our heads at how terrible his defense was...he made Julius Randle in Game 5 look like Lu Dort! He just didn't care. I'll always be grateful to him for almost singlehandedly kickstarting a season that looked pretty dismal in late February, but I don't want that lazy energy anywhere my team. Now, if the deal was just for veterans...say Ju, Donte and Mike...I might be on board. But I'm assuming the Suns are going to want young players and picks in return, and that's a non-starter for me.

I agree completely, FNG! And we haven’t even talked about Durant as a teammate. He has a consistent pattern of moving from one team to another, each time pouting and wanting out. But no need to go there. It would be insane to trade any valuable assets and pay a $54 million salary for a relatively immobile 37-year old with a defensive rating of 119 who can’t be counted play more than 62 games. And does Durant look anything like the players we’re seeing on both NBA finals teams this year? No, not even close. He’s the antithesis of what we’re seeing from those two teams.

I’m not opposed to trading valuable assets to upgrade the team. But if we’re considering trading the vets you mentioned, then let’s get value for them that makes sense for both next season and 2-3 season down the road when Ant will be same age as SGA and Haliburton are now. Meanwhile, I wouldn’t consider trading TSJ, Dilly or Clark. We know what happened to the organizations that swapped SGA and Haliburton. Further, I wouldn’t part with either of our picks unless it’s part of a package that will likely move the needle for us.