Kevin Durant Rumors

[Phenom]

I see your unfortunately, and raise you fortunately.

I really don't want it to happen.

My prediction: No trade. KD has seen what happens on teams that trade for him. They're gutted and can't compete for a championship. His only rings are from joining a whole band. He doesn't want to break up what the Wolves have around Ant. If KD is coming here it will be next offseason as a FA.

FA PG / Conley / JC
Ant / TJ
Jaden / Resign NAW? / Rookie
KD / Naz / Lenny
Ru / Rookie

This team wouldn't exactly be gutted.

No, but it would have a payroll of 225-230 mil!

I don't believe so but I didn't take the time to crunch the numbers. Wolves should be able to stay under the second apron this coming season.

[Phenom]

I see your unfortunately, and raise you fortunately.

I really don't want it to happen.

My prediction: No trade. KD has seen what happens on teams that trade for him. They're gutted and can't compete for a championship. His only rings are from joining a whole band. He doesn't want to break up what the Wolves have around Ant. If KD is coming here it will be next offseason as a FA.

FA PG / Conley / JC
Ant / TJ
Jaden / Resign NAW? / Rookie
KD / Naz / Lenny
Ru / Rookie

This team wouldn't exactly be gutted.

Well, NAW is not a SF. Paying KD, Naz, and NAW is not likely to happen. You're banking on signing a decent FA, and that Naz signs here. You're also assuming that KD stays healthy, Naz does indeed sign back here (if he doesn't?), and a rookie center expected to step up, without a 1st round pick. So that center is a 2nd rounder or UFA? So the team would be one injury away from a disaster in the frontcourt, and still wondering how to fix the backcourt. With no money. Yeah, I'd call it gutted.

Does anyone want to look up how many minutes NAW played the 3 for the Wolves? Call him a 2 and make TJ a 3, if you prefer. Yes, I am banking on a free agent point guard. There is a starting spot on a back to back reigning WCF finalist team. That would be highly sought after. I do not assume KD health but I feel he could play as many games as Ju did this past season. I 100% expect Naz Reid to come back. But he will leave if he wants regardless of a KD trade. If he doesn't, its a dilemma that is no different than if a KD trade doesn't happen. The Wolves will have to fill that position or they won't.

I don't follow the part about no first round pick. I'm counting the 17th pick as either a center or a wing/guard and the 31st as the other. The team would be one front court injury away from being in the same place as last season, at worst, but possibly better with a good prospect.

I am doubling down, not gutted.

[TheFuture]

FA PG / Conley / JC
Ant / TJ
Jaden / Resign NAW? / Rookie
KD / Naz / Lenny
Ru / Rookie

This team wouldn't exactly be gutted.

Well, NAW is not a SF. Paying KD, Naz, and NAW is not likely to happen. You're banking on signing a decent FA, and that Naz signs here. You're also assuming that KD stays healthy, Naz does indeed sign back here (if he doesn't?), and a rookie center expected to step up, without a 1st round pick. So that center is a 2nd rounder or UFA? So the team would be one injury away from a disaster in the frontcourt, and still wondering how to fix the backcourt. With no money. Yeah, I'd call it gutted.

Does anyone want to look up how many minutes NAW played the 3 for the Wolves? Call him a 2 and make TJ a 3, if you prefer. Yes, I am banking on a free agent point guard. There is a starting spot on a back to back reigning WCF finalist team. That would be highly sought after. I do not assume KD health but I feel he could play as many games as Ju did this past season. I 100% expect Naz Reid to come back. But he will leave if he wants regardless of a KD trade. If he doesn't, its a dilemma that is no different than if a KD trade doesn't happen. The Wolves will have to fill that position or they won't.

I don't follow the part about no first round pick. I'm counting the 17th pick as either a center or a wing/guard and the 31st as the other. The team would be one front court injury away from being in the same place as last season, at worst, but possibly better with a good prospect.

I am doubling down, not gutted.

The 17th pick is gone in this scenario.

I am firmly cemented in my belief that KD does not make this team better around Ant moving forward than Julius, DDV, Dillingham, 17th pick, and future cap space.

[Phenom]

Well, NAW is not a SF. Paying KD, Naz, and NAW is not likely to happen. You're banking on signing a decent FA, and that Naz signs here. You're also assuming that KD stays healthy, Naz does indeed sign back here (if he doesn't?), and a rookie center expected to step up, without a 1st round pick. So that center is a 2nd rounder or UFA? So the team would be one injury away from a disaster in the frontcourt, and still wondering how to fix the backcourt. With no money. Yeah, I'd call it gutted.

Does anyone want to look up how many minutes NAW played the 3 for the Wolves? Call him a 2 and make TJ a 3, if you prefer. Yes, I am banking on a free agent point guard. There is a starting spot on a back to back reigning WCF finalist team. That would be highly sought after. I do not assume KD health but I feel he could play as many games as Ju did this past season. I 100% expect Naz Reid to come back. But he will leave if he wants regardless of a KD trade. If he doesn't, its a dilemma that is no different than if a KD trade doesn't happen. The Wolves will have to fill that position or they won't.

I don't follow the part about no first round pick. I'm counting the 17th pick as either a center or a wing/guard and the 31st as the other. The team would be one front court injury away from being in the same place as last season, at worst, but possibly better with a good prospect.

I am doubling down, not gutted.

The 17th pick is gone in this scenario.

I am firmly cemented in my belief that KD does not make this team better around Ant moving forward than Julius, DDV, Dillingham, 17th pick, and future cap space.

I dont think the 17th pick will be part of the trade. I hope you are wrong about that part. There is also a fairly high chance KD is off the books before Julius would be after any extensions, so the team might have cap space sooner in this scenario.

[Lipoli390]

I’m not complaining about two consecutive Conference Finals appearances. But let’s put TC’s contribution in perspective. He inherited Edwards, Jaden and Towns. That would make anyone look elite. .

I think TC has been a good executive so far. We’ve had success and I like the culture he’s built. But I wouldn’t call him elite.

I would and did. It’s fine if you disagree. That team he inherited had overachieved and topped out at being bounced out of the playoffs in the first round for the second straight year. Something had to be done to jar this team out of continued mediocrity, big trades ensued. Next thing you know, the first WCFs. Then, the new CBA kicked in and the team faced second apron jail for the foreseeable future. Again, something had to be done — again, big trade ensued and voila, the team managed through that to again reach the WCFs.

That’s elite in my humble opinion. Now, I’m fascinated to see what comes next!

Well, it’s not fine if you disagree with me. Hear the truth and accept it, Sundog!

[Coolbreeze44]

Randle going out would make a KD deal much more appealing to me. That would be a good outcome as far as I'm concerned.

[Lipoli390]

Randle going out would make a KD deal much more appealing to me. That would be a good outcome as far as I'm concerned.

I share your view that Randle’s not a particularly good fit with this team but he’s not so bad that we should be looking to offload him no matter what. If it were just Randle for Durant and nothing more (even throwing in our #31 pick), I’d be fine with the deal but Donte is a very valuable piece near term and potentially long term while Dilly is a piece with big long-term value and short-term potential at a position of need. Moreover, the Suns can’t be the only team in the League with interest in Randle, which means there are likely other opportunities to trade Randle for value without giving up important near and long-term assets. Finally, Randle opting in for one year at $31M wouldn’t be the worst thing. We made it to the Conference Finals with him and he was a key reason we advanced beyond the 2nd round. Keeping him for another year at $31M seems a lot better than paying $54M and then another $120M over the next two years to a guy who will be turning 40 shortly after the end of his contract.

[FNG]

I'm in the minority here (although I think there are some that share this opinion), but I question the common belief that Randle is not a good fit for this team...something that we throw out here regularly here as if it's a truism like the sun rises in the east. I see him as a good fit, and Durant as a riskier fit, especially if his attitude is what I observed last season. Durant is always going to look to score first, and will take a lot more shots than Ju...5 more shot attempts per game last season than Ju! We almost unanimously agree that the continued development of Ant is the key to this team continuing to improve. Do we want another player taking 5 shots per game away from him. I also think we have to acknowledge that 2 players we agree need to keep developing both took a huge leap last season...Ant and Jaden. A lot of their growth was to be expected in a young player, but we also can't ignore the fact that a change in the starting lineup (Ju for KAT) was a factor. We may not always enjoy watching Ju back into the lane trying to draw defenders, but he is good at it and provides a lot of open looks for both of our young players. Ant got so many open looks because of Ju drawing the double team and making the right pass at the right time, and so did Jaden. In fact, Jaden could have easily averaged 15-16 PPG this season with the open looks Ant and Ju gave him if his corner 3-point average hadn't plummeted to 33%. I expect we all still have PTSD from his first quarter open look misses from the corner in the final playoff game. I expect Jaden to take thousands of corner threes this summer, and I also expect him to get the same open looks if we run back the same starting five. If he can return to the 38-9% from the corner he has put up prior to last year, our offense will become that much more potent.

[Monster]

I'm in the minority here (although I think there are some that share this opinion), but I question the common belief that Randle is not a good fit for this team...something that we throw out here regularly here as if it's a truism like the sun rises in the east. I see him as a good fit, and Durant as a riskier fit, especially if his attitude is what I observed last season. Durant is always going to look to score first, and will take a lot more shots than Ju...5 more shot attempts per game last season than Ju! We almost unanimously agree that the continued development of Ant is the key to this team continuing to improve. Do we want another player taking 5 shots per game away from him. I also think we have to acknowledge that 2 players we agree need to keep developing both took a huge leap last season...Ant and Jaden. A lot of their growth was to be expected in a young player, but we also can't ignore the fact that a change in the starting lineup (Ju for KAT) was a factor. We may not always enjoy watching Ju back into the lane trying to draw defenders, but he is good at it and provides a lot of open looks for both of our young players. Ant got so many open looks because of Ju drawing the double team and making the right pass at the right time, and so did Jaden. In fact, Jaden could have easily averaged 15-16 PPG this season with the open looks Ant and Ju gave him if his corner 3-point average hadn't plummeted to 33%. I expect we all still have PTSD from his first quarter open look misses from the corner in the final playoff game. I expect Jaden to take thousands of corner threes this summer, and I also expect him to get the same open looks if we run back the same starting five. If he can return to the 38-9% from the corner he has put up prior to last year, our offense will become that much more potent.

I'm with you to some extent FNG. I know stats don't tell the whole story and I didn't watch the last game in the OKC series but I look at what Randle did in that series and then see that NAW was the 4th leading scorer for the Wolves at 12ppg and...um...that's not gonna get it done. Gobert and Conley combined to score a whopping 10ppg in that series but yes let's move Randle because he was the problem.

Now if What Randle did overall in the playoffs this year increased his value to a place where you can capitalize on his value similar to what they did with Russell...I'm cool with that. Quite frankly Randle's playoff run should have increased his value to teams. How much? Maybe not a lot but that was the biggest question for me about him was his ability to play well in the playoffs. I'm definitely not a person that's like let's keep Randle!!! But he is a good although flawed player and can have value to the Wolves going forward. I personally think the Wolves need to either add to their roster and or hope their young players come through. Of course the problem is that regardless of what does or doesn't happen with a trade there is a chance the Wolves lose NAW and Naz. That could be tough although it would open up opportunities for younger players and FAs.

[BloopOracle]

Durant is expected to be traded today or tomorrow, I'm ready for the saga to be over