Kevin Durant Rumors

[Phenom]

Sounds like the KD to wolves rumor is really heating up, in a 3 team trade involving the nets that sends out, Randle, Rudy and Donte and the wolves would be getting KD and Claxton

Randle and Cam Johnson to PHX
Rudy and Donte to BKN
KD and Claxton to MN

Works salary wise on spotrac

Why does BKN do something like this? I don't think they'd be very interested in the Wolves picks this year considering they have so many already unless they get 17 and the Nets send a lower pick back. Are they just looking for vets to help their incoming rooks? Maybe.

First of all, that trade cannot happen until after July 1st. It requires Randle to pick up his option. But even if he picked up early (i.e. before the draft), the trade still cannot happen before July 1st because the Wolves would still be a 2nd apron team.

Phoenix has said they want a starting caliber Center, so you should send Rudy to Phoenix. I also think Phoenix would love to get out of the 2nd apron, so why should they take anything more back other than Rudy? I could see BKN getting #17 as incentive to take on some expiring contracts, especially ones that actually have value. And they get our from Claxton's contract that is not expiring.

Yeah I ran that trade for next league year. I still don't see what BKN incentive is, as again, they have so many picks in the upcoming draft. 17 doesn't seem to hold much value for them unless it's a trade up where MN or perhaps PHX gets 26 or 27.

The previous iteration fits in just right salary wise but sending Rudy to Phoenix changes the math too much.

Maybe
Nets get Julius and 17
Suns get Rudy, Donte and 26 (from BKN)
Wolves get KD, Claxton and maybe 29 (from Phx)

Perhaps Phoenix would prefer 31 since its not guaranteed money and the Wolves get 26 or 27 from Nets.

[Lipoli390]

The betting odds are now favoring Miami for KD in a deal centered around Jacquez - one of my favorite young players.

Well, no surprised that’s a relief to me! . But I believe the Wolves are making a strong effort to get KD and might end up with him. I’d rather have Randle and Donte than KD. If we’re going to trade Randle and Donte, then I’d want someone other than KD in return. We’ll see. I’d say there’s a 55% chance we end up with KD.

[FNG]

I have several thoughts about all the Durant news popping up:

1) While I'm still mostly opposed to the idea of going after Durant, the deal that brings back him and Claxton for Ju, Rudy and Donte isn't bad...as long as we get a motivated KD. We get to keep all our young assets, and Naz (if we keep him) continues as a potent 6th man rather than a starter.

2) I have some concerns when I read that his preferred locations though are Houston and San Antonio. If true, it throws cold water on the narrative that he wants to play with Ant. Trading for KD if we aren't his preferred destination might be a disaster.

3) Both Claxton and KD have the same nickname, the Slim Reaper. Are we certain the new CBA allows a team to have 2 Slim Reapers?

4) Shams is saying the deal will happen soon and the Wolves are in the mix, but Tim is saying we can't make a deal involving Ju until July. Might Tim know more than an NBA insider?

5) But the more I think about it, how does this deal even work money wise...KD's and Nic's contracts add up to way more then Ju, Donte and Rudy, don't they?

[Lipoli390]

Continuing my case against trading for Durant. The numbers already show that Durant has gone from being an excellent defender in his prime to what is now a very poor defender in his late 30s after Achilles surgery. The numbers also show that he routinely misses at least 20 games as season. And we know his style does not lend itself to the winning style we’re seeing in the NBA finals.

The numbers show Durant can still score at a very high level. I have two thoughts on that. First, because of his poor defense and propensity to miss games, I think he’d be a bad acquisition even if he were to maintain his scoring levels we’ve seen the past few seasons. Second, at age 37, we can’t count on him maintaining that level next season or thereafter. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the scoring of older players tends to decline pretty suddenly from one year to the next, not gradually, once they reach age 34 or 35 and especially age 37. In other words, the decline isn’t typically linear. Here are some examples but the list is longer:

1. Kareem went from 23.4 points per game at age 38 to 17.5 at age 39 and then to 14.6 at age 40 before retiring.

2. KG went from 14.8 points at age 36 to 6.5 points the next season at age 37 and then 6.9 points his last season at age 38

3. Paul Pierce went from 18.6 points at age 35 to 13.5 points at age 36, following by 11.9 points at age 37 and 6.1 points at age 38.

4. Reggie Miller experienced his big drop at age 36 going from 19 points at age 35 to 16.5 at age 36. He experienced another big drop at age 37 going down to 12.6 points.

5. Dirk Nowitski went from averaging 18.3 points at age 37 to 14.2 at age 38 and continued his decline from there to 7.3 two year later.

6. Tim Duncan went from 17.8 points at age 36 to 15 at age 37 and then 13.9 at age 38.

All of these players experienced a significant scoring decline even earlier in their early 30s. The point is that Father Time eventually takes a lot of your scoring prowess away and when he does he takes it in significant chunks, not little nibbles. And you can’t know exactly when or how much he’ll take. But he takes it and it not just possible but LIKELY he’ll take a big chunk away when you turn 36, 37 or 38. And again, that’s just scoring and doesn’t account for the generally more substantial loss of the player’s speed, quickness, agility on both sides of the ball. And it doesn’t account for the propensity to miss games as you get into your late 30s, especially if you’ve already shown such a propensity.

[Lipoli390]

I have several thoughts about all the Durant news popping up:

1) While I'm still mostly opposed to the idea of going after Durant, the deal that brings back him and Claxton for Ju, Rudy and Donte isn't bad...as long as we get a motivated KD. We get to keep all our young assets, and Naz (if we keep him) continues as a potent 6th man rather than a starter.

2) I have some concerns when I read that his preferred locations though are Houston and San Antonio. If true, it throws cold water on the narrative that he wants to play with Ant. Trading for KD if we aren't his preferred destination might be a disaster.

3) Both Claxton and KD have the same nickname, the Slim Reaper. Are we certain the new CBA allows a team to have 2 Slim Reapers?

4) Shams is saying the deal will happen soon and the Wolves are in the mix, but Tim is saying we can't make a deal involving Ju until July. Might Tim know more than an NBA insider?

5) But the more I think about it, how does this deal even work money wise...KD's and Nic's contracts add up to way more then Ju, Donte and Rudy, don't they?

I’m pretty well aligned with you on this, FNG. I’ve always been a big Claxton fan and I consider him the type of big we need to win a championship. I haven’t bothered to look at the salary matching because I just don’t want to think about how we’d construct a trade for a player, Durant, who I think we should avoid. Putting money aside, I don’t see the Nets doing the deal unless they get Naz and that would turn a marginally bad deal for the Wolves from my perspective into what I’d consider a terrible deal.

[Lipoli390]

A Kevin Durant trade now could occur by the end of this weekend, per @ShamsCharania on @PatMcAfeeShow.
The Heat, Rockets and Timberwolves are submitting their final offers to the Suns.
Negotiations with Phoenix are going very quickly as they want a firm solution by the draft.


This is the only report I’d take to the bank. It’s a reliable source. So at this point all we can be sure of is that the Wolves have submitted or are about to submit an offer for Durant. I have no idea what that offer might involve or what if any other teams might be involved. It will certainly be really hard to pull off under the CBA given the size of Durant’s salary and the fact that that both the Suns and Wolves are currently over the 2nd apron.

I’ll offer some limited spectulation:

1. I don’t think the Wolves can get KD without at least a 3rd team involved

2. If the third team is the Nets and they’d be giving us Claxton, then my sense is that the Nets would be getting Naz Reid and at least one of our picks.

[60WinTim]

A Kevin Durant trade now could occur by the end of this weekend, per @ShamsCharania on @PatMcAfeeShow.
The Heat, Rockets and Timberwolves are submitting their final offers to the Suns.
Negotiations with Phoenix are going very quickly as they want a firm solution by the draft.


This is the only report I’d take to the bank. It’s a reliable source. So at this point all we can be sure of is that the Wolves have submitted or are about to submit an offer for Durant. I have no idea what that offer might involve or what if any other teams might be involved. It will certainly be really hard to pull off under the CBA given the size of Durant’s salary and the fact that that both the Suns and Wolves are currently over the 2nd apron.

I’ll speculates on a few things:

1. I don’t think the Wolves can get KD without at least a 3rd team involved

2. If the third team is the Nets and they’d be giving us Claxton, then my sense is that the Nets would be getting Naz Reid and at least one of our picks.

As previously noted, there is no path to constructing a KD trade before July 1st, no matter how many teams you add to the mix. But they could come to an agreement to a trade that is not executed until after July 1st. A 3rd team is not required, but may be needed to satisfy everyone.

[BloopOracle]

I'm told that a KD to Minnesota trade has been agreed to

[60WinTim]

I'm told that a KD to Minnesota trade has been agreed to

Which one of us told you that?!?

[Monster]

Continuing my case against trading for Durant. The numbers already show that Durant has gone from being an excellent defender in his prime to what is now a very poor defender in his late 30s after Achilles surgery. The numbers also show that he routinely misses at least 20 games as season. And we know his style does not lend itself to the winning style we’re seeing in the NBA finals.

The numbers show Durant can still score at a very high level. I have two thoughts on that. First, because of his poor defense and propensity to miss games, I think he’d be a bad acquisition even if he were to maintain his scoring levels we’ve seen the past few seasons. Second, at age 37, we can’t count on him maintaining that level next season or thereafter. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the scoring of older players tends to decline pretty suddenly from one year to the next, not gradually, once they reach age 34 or 35 and especially age 37. In other words, the decline isn’t typically linear. Here are some examples but the list is longer:

1. Kareem went from 23.4 points per game at age 38 to 17.5 at age 39 and then to 14.6 at age 40 before retiring.

2. KG went from 14.8 points at age 36 to 6.5 points the next season at age 37 and then 6.9 points his last season at age 38

3. Paul Pierce went from 18.6 points at age 35 to 13.5 points at age 36, following by 11.9 points at age 37 and 6.1 points at age 38.

4. Reggie Miller experienced his big drop at age 36 going from 19 points at age 35 to 16.5 at age 36. He experienced another big drop at age 37 going down to 12.6 points.

5. Dirk Nowitski went from averaging 18.3 points at age 37 to 14.2 at age 38 and continued his decline from there to 7.3 two year later.

6. Tim Duncan went from 17.8 points at age 36 to 15 at age 37 and then 13.9 at age 38.

All of these players experienced a significant scoring decline even earlier in their early 30s. The point is that Father Time eventually takes a lot of your scoring prowess away and when he does he takes it in significant chunks, not little nibbles. And you can’t know exactly when or how much he’ll take. But he takes it and it not just possible but LIKELY he’ll take a big chunk away when you turn 36, 37 or 38. And again, that’s just scoring and doesn’t account for the generally more substantial loss of the player’s speed, quickness, agility on both sides of the ball. And it doesn’t account for the propensity to miss games as you get into your late 30s, especially if you’ve already shown such a propensity.

This is a good breakdown but I will mention that Kareem won 2 NBA titles at 39 and 40 playing a significant role on teams that won over 60 regular season games both years. Yes those teams were VERY talented but that's also likely part of the reason why his scoring was down. It's also just another chance to remind people how really good Kareem was.