KEVIN DURANT TRADED TO SUNS

[Wally_West]

Dario and 2??

[Split T]

[INFORMER]

Dario and 2??

Honestly, I would like to hang on to Dario unless we are getting size back in any trade involving him.

[JeremyG]

IT looking for a 10-day?

As long as it’s not Isiah.

[Flagrant Fowl]

The thing that is the most shocking is that it happened so suddenly. With zero leaks.

James Jones is the quiet assassin.

Seems like pretty much everyone needs to eat some crow. Of course not everyone is satisfied...

[Split T]

Dario and 2??

Yes this is a good thought

[Singh]

[Superbone]

Okay, my quick thoughts.

I actually think it's good that Mikal is going out rather than Ayton. There, I said it. I know Ayton is frustrating as hell. But having another dominant scorer like Durant will allow us to rely less on Ayton as a go-to scorer, which doesn't come as naturally to him. He'll still get points off P&R and rebounds and put-backs and the occasional inside play etc., but we won't run offense through him. And he can focus more on defense and rebounding, which he actually can do quite well when he chooses to do so. A trade focused around Ayton for KD might seem to make more sense on paper, but I was worried that we'd lose the ability to guard the league's best centers. Ayton for all his faults actually does some of his best work against Jokic, Embiid, and other prominent centers.

And, while I loved (LOVED) Mikal, you just can't compare him to a guy like KD. Mikal was having an amazing month of basketball, but I was worried that he'd regress to the mean. His shot and overall offense have always been iffy. Loved the strides he made this season, but I wasn't sure it would be something sustainable that we could count on. Maybe he'll prove me wrong, but there's just no comparison between Mikal and one of the best scorers in NBA history.

And, okay, I'll go there: I wondered whether Mikal's defense had become a bit overrated. Game to game he was a great defender, but then in the playoffs we'd put the other team's best scorer on him and that scorer would still go out and get 30-40 points. Specifically last year in the Mavs series, Mikal just absolutely could not stop Luka. Luka is one of the best scorers in the league, I get it, but the famed "Mikal jail" couldn't contain him at all. I think what Durant gives us is more valuable than the incrementally better defense Mikal brought.

The four 1sts are tough to swallow. All completely unprotected. We'll be feeling that for a while. I hope the team doesn't just give up on the draft given how top-heavy we're going to be for a few years. I'm not very sad about losing Crowder (obviously), nor Cam Johnson, because I think we probably would have lost Cam over money this summer anyway. So to me the only real long-term assets we give up are Mikal and the picks. And at least a couple of those picks should be about #28 if the trade works out for us.

We've become an older team. Both KD and CP3 have already seen their best days. I do worry a little bit that we may struggle with injuries. But let's hope we get a few healthy seasons out of this core to make runs at the title. And we do have our younger core guys in Book, Ayton, Landale to carry us to the next generation.

Bottom line is, before this trade I don't think we had any realistic chance at a title. Now, if healthy, I think the Suns are now the best team in the West.

WOW.

Come back when you have some time to put some thought into it.

[Flagrant Fowl]

Dario and 2??

Honestly, I would like to hang on to Dario unless we are getting size back in any trade involving him.

Yeah that kind of deal doesn't make sense. Needs to be just a pick(s) or buyout.

[JeremyG]

The thing that is the most shocking is that it happened so suddenly. With zero leaks.

James Jones is the quiet assassin.

Seems like pretty much everyone needs to eat some crow. Of course not everyone is satisfied...

I honestly don’t think Jones would have done it if the owner had left the decision completely up to him.

[Wally_West]

The thing that is the most shocking is that it happened so suddenly. With zero leaks.

James Jones is the quiet assassin.

I’ve been sniffing this out since yesterday

Fuckin knew something was up man with all those random Woj tweets about KD lol

[Flagrant Fowl]

The thing that is the most shocking is that it happened so suddenly. With zero leaks.

James Jones is the quiet assassin.

Seems like pretty much everyone needs to eat some crow. Of course not everyone is satisfied...

I honestly don’t think Jones would have done it if the owner had left the decision completely up to him.

Maybe.

I think it's more likely a sequence of events starting with Brooklyn offering Kyrie a goofy extension that lead to his trade request. Once that happened, the ownership transition was probably the biggest hurdle for Jones to overcome to complete the deal.

[TOO]

The thing that is the most shocking is that it happened so suddenly. With zero leaks.

James Jones is the quiet assassin.

Seems like pretty much everyone needs to eat some crow. Of course not everyone is satisfied...

I hope he's got more coming, but as the resident JJ hater, this definitely gets a well at least he's trying something from me.

[Uncle_Gene]

Mikal Bridges was ballin' this year.

Hate to see him go.

[Flagrant Fowl]

The thing that is the most shocking is that it happened so suddenly. With zero leaks.

James Jones is the quiet assassin.

I’ve been sniffing this out since yesterday

Fuckin knew something was up man with all those random Woj tweets about KD lol

I'm honestly impressed, Wally. Your never wavering faith was starting to wear me thin.

[Uncle_Gene]

DAMN !! I'm sick.

[Uncle_Gene]

Is it possible to be happy and sick at the same time ?

[Superbone]

The thing that is the most shocking is that it happened so suddenly. With zero leaks.

James Jones is the quiet assassin.

I’ve been sniffing this out since yesterday

Fuckin knew something was up man with all those random Woj tweets about KD lol

It was way too quiet on the Suns front, I'll tell you that.

[Wally_West]

Lol

Base on this move tonight, I’m pretty sure Ishbia is down to to buy late 1st round picks and 2nd round picks with straight cash money yo.

[Flagrant Fowl]

The thing that is the most shocking is that it happened so suddenly. With zero leaks.

James Jones is the quiet assassin.

Seems like pretty much everyone needs to eat some crow. Of course not everyone is satisfied...

I hope he's got more coming, but as the resident JJ hater, this definitely gets a well at least he's trying something from me.

Totally fair.

It's the handwringing over the deal minutia that is wild to me. This team has never won a title and never been closer (in February) than they are right now.