Is KD coming to the Suns?

[SunsRIt]

Yeesh. We all have dumb opinions about basketball as well.

I don't care for the guy, but it's not like he killed someone.

I’ve got some things I could say about your opinions too, but I will keep them to myself for now.

[Flagrant Fowl]

[Superbone]

[TOO]

[Mori Chu]

Those PHNX Sports people do a daily podcast and put out a lot of Suns content. I want to like their stuff, but they kind of have that obnoxious "local radio guys" quality to them. And they fluff up each podcast with a bunch of useless content like, "rank your top 5 1980s cartoons" or whatever that has nothing to do with basketball. And they have like 5 ads per podcast where they promote weed and online gambling.

[Vladimir_Taltos]

[AbeVroman]

I could absolutely see the KD talk being revived in January as guys can be traded. Easiest thing for now is let's make peace (and money), see how it goes and they can blow it up later.

I say stay tuned. We'll revisit this come the new year. I dunno that KD will come here but I could definitely see him getting traded mid-season.

[Indy]

Okay. So now what’s plan B? Plan B can’t be to run it back. That would be a terrible off-season. It doesn’t have to be huge moves, but we need 2 players that are more impactful at the backup 1 and 4 spots than what we currently have.

It does. Improving on the margins doesn't fix our biggest problem. We have a 36 year old PG as our 2nd best player. That isn't going to cut it. And Booker has been injured during both of our playoff runs. We need someone to push Paul to be our 3rd best player if we want a chance to win. Getting a better backup 1 or 4 or whatever isn't going to do that.

If you were willing to finally cash in the assets you have been hoarding for a superstar, cash in a little less for an all-star.

I agree, I just don’t think that’s going to happen. So if it isn’t, at least upgrade your other weakest links

Yeah, I agree that if they aren't going to go all in, they need to upgrade the worst parts of our roster that actually play.

But I also think they might bide their time for Jan 15.

[Indy]

There is no way I am willingly clicking on a link with Espo in the thumbnail.

[specialsauce]

There is no way I am willingly clicking on a link with Espo in the thumbnail.

So I’m not the only asshole then LOL. I cannot listen to him

[Indy]

There is no way I am willingly clicking on a link with Espo in the thumbnail.

So I’m not the only asshole then LOL. I cannot listen to him

Everyone knows you are an asshole, but yeah, you aren't the only one.

I think he seems like a nice guy that cares about the Suns and has a long history in the valley, but he just tries way too hard to be funny/relevant and I can't handle it.

[Split T]

I could absolutely see the KD talk being revived in January as guys can be traded. Easiest thing for now is let's make peace (and money), see how it goes and they can blow it up later.

I say stay tuned. We'll revisit this come the new year. I dunno that KD will come here but I could definitely see him getting traded mid-season.

Not saying this is the case, but this could actually be a good thing for us. Consider this scenario:

KD says he wants to be traded and leaks that Phoenix is his preferred destination. Brooklyn starts fielding calls but just aren’t getting the offers they want. They engage with us on some sort of Ayton S&T, but they want him for less than the max and want Bridges too(along with 4 picks). In the meantime, Ayton isn’t interested in waiting it out only to see all the money dry up, so he(his agent) gets Indiana to sign him to an offer sheet. The suns match, but that essentially takes them out of the running as we can’t make an offer anymore that Brooklyn would consider.

In the meantime, Brooklyn has been engaging with other teams but finds all their offers very underwhelming as well. Turns out KD(through his agent) is making it known that he doesn’t really want to play for these other teams. They fear he’d just ask out again if they trade for him and their offers reflect that.

Brooklyn meets with KD and says look, none of these deals are acceptable and would crush our franchise, we simply can’t trade you. None of these teams think you’d be willing to play for them. KD says, ya thats because we’ve told them we only want Phoenix. Brooklyn says, well we can’t trade you to Phoenix because their biggest trade chip isn’t eligible to be traded until January and we aren’t taking an offer headlined by just picks and expiring contracts.

So they agree to play nice until January, all the while quietly negotiating with Phoenix around an Ayton for KD swap.

Do I think that’s true? No, not really. I think more likely they just have a crazy high asking price that no one’s willing to meet. They have never intended to trade him and know he’s not Harden or Simmons and won’t holdout or tank his own season to get out. He’ll show up and play like he always has. If this season doesn’t work out and they let Kyrie go, maybe they rethink a trade next off season, but I think KD is a Brooklyn Net through this season.

[JeremyG]

Or the optimist pessimist in me thinks he has reiterated he only wants Phoenix and Brooklyn has said we can’t trade you there until Ayton is tradeable, so play nice for half a season.

Same.

[Indy]

If we sign Cam to an extension now, can he still be traded this season?

[Indy]

Or the optimist pessimist in me thinks he has reiterated he only wants Phoenix and Brooklyn has said we can’t trade you there until Ayton is tradeable, so play nice for half a season.

Same.

What level of play from Ayton and/or KD would make you conclude that trading Ayton for KD would bring the Suns closer to a title?

[Split T]

If we sign Cam to an extension now, can he still be traded this season?

I believe he’s still immediately trade eligible, but it triggers the base year compensation rules, so he’d count as his new contract for the team acquiring him, but only his current contract for us. Makes it harder to match salaries to trade him. Though if it’s in a big deal for KD, the higher salary amounts would make it easier.

[AmareIsGod]

There is no way I am willingly clicking on a link with Espo in the thumbnail.

So I’m not the only asshole then LOL. I cannot listen to him

Everyone knows you are an asshole, but yeah, you aren't the only one.

I think he seems like a nice guy that cares about the Suns and has a long history in the valley, but he just tries way too hard to be funny/relevant and I can't handle it.

Tryhards are the worst.

[Indy]

There is no way I am willingly clicking on a link with Espo in the thumbnail.

So I’m not the only asshole then LOL. I cannot listen to him

Everyone knows you are an asshole, but yeah, you aren't the only one.

I think he seems like a nice guy that cares about the Suns and has a long history in the valley, but he just tries way too hard to be funny/relevant and I can't handle it.

Tryhards are the worst.

Right?!?



That is why I love DA.

[JeremyG]

Or the optimist pessimist in me thinks he has reiterated he only wants Phoenix and Brooklyn has said we can’t trade you there until Ayton is tradeable, so play nice for half a season.

Same.

What level of play from Ayton and/or KD would make you conclude that trading Ayton for KD would bring the Suns closer to a title?

In order for me to conclude that, I would have to be fully confident in KD's health--it's not necessarily a matter of level of play. But it's also a risk of trading multiple years of contending for one non-guaranteed shot at the title.

Would you trade Booker (if eligible) for KD, knowing that you have probably 1 chance at the title and that you're destroying the future of the franchise? That's how I feel with DA and KD, even if KD is still the better player for another year or two. And it's obviously how many teams around the league feel about trading their young players for Durant (Raptors and Scottie Barnes, for example).

[Superbone]

There is no way I am willingly clicking on a link with Espo in the thumbnail.

So I’m not the only asshole then LOL. I cannot listen to him

Everyone knows you are an asshole, but yeah, you aren't the only one.

I think he seems like a nice guy that cares about the Suns and has a long history in the valley, but he just tries way too hard to be funny/relevant and I can't handle it.

Tryhards are the worst.

Yeah, shame on him for doing the best with what he's got!