The Kevin Durant Problem

[Mori Chu]

OKC.

[Wally_West]

It’s gonna be the lakers. Buy your Austin Reaves jerseys now.

[Split T]

I would not trade KD to LA…Reaves and Knecht are more offense only players with limited size…not what we need around Booker. They also only have 1 pick to trade(though it is in 2031 when we don’t have a pick).

Houston is the obvious trade partner if they’d give us our picks back. I don’t actually love OKC as a partner because they mostly just have picks…They won’t trade Chet or Jalen. Cason Wallace is decent I guess.

[Wally_West]

You can prefer what ever deal you want, but we don’t really have much choice. KD is an expiring contract now. He’ll have a big say where he wants to go. No one is giving up decent assets for a rental. He’ll just say he won’t resign with them and we’re done. So if he wants the lakers, that’ll who we’ll being trading with. Like I said get ready to buy your Austin Reaves Jerseys.

Honestly, I think I’m the only one on the board right now that prefers to keep KD lol. IMO as Brad contract becomes more desirable as we get closer to the end. This deadline he had 2.5 years left, well this deadline he’ll have 1.5 year left. That’s 57 million off your books! How is that not appealing? We ain’t wining anything but another half season of struggle you actually could turn Brad’s contract into something interesting.

[specialsauce]

That's why they were so fucking stupid to let him dictate the trade at the deadline when he DIDNT have control. Too bad you parasite

[Cap]

That's why they were so fucking stupid to let him dictate the trade at the deadline when he DIDNT have control. Too bad you parasite

We didn’t let him dictate the trade, the Warriors did.

Seems kind of like tampering, but in reverse, since it was the player who initiated the contact. Maybe the rule should work both ways.

[Split T]

You can prefer what ever deal you want, but we don’t really have much choice. KD is an expiring contract now. He’ll have a big say where he wants to go. No one is giving up decent assets for a rental. He’ll just say he won’t resign with them and we’re done. So if he wants the lakers, that’ll who we’ll being trading with. Like I said get ready to buy your Austin Reaves Jerseys.

Honestly, I think I’m the only one on the board right now that prefers to keep KD lol. IMO as Brad contract becomes more desirable as we get closer to the end. This deadline he had 2.5 years left, well this deadline he’ll have 1.5 year left. That’s 57 million off your books! How is that not appealing? We ain’t wining anything but another half season of struggle you actually could turn Brad’s contract into something interesting.

I would keep him over trading him to the Lakers

[INFORMER]

Austiin Reaves is actually really good, and I don't think a Doncic-Durant-LeBron trio works, and even if it does, it has a limited shelf-life. It wouldn't be my preferred trade destination, but I'm not afraid of dealing Durant to the Lakers.

[Split T]

Reaves is good…I just don’t want another guard who doesn’t defend.

[Mori Chu]

Austin Reaves would not be a great haul for KD. But you throw in enough 1st round draft picks and I'll trade with almost anybody. Especially from a team where 2/3 of their best players would be age 41 and 37.

[Split T]

The lakers can only trade 1 1st

[The Bobster]

Austin Reaves would not be a great haul for KD. But you throw in enough 1st round draft picks and I'll trade with almost anybody. Especially from a team where 2/3 of their best players would be age 41 and 37.

When you're rebuilding you should only think about what you're getting in return. You trade whoever it takes to wherever it takes if it improves the team long-term.

[Split T]

Austin Reaves would not be a great haul for KD. But you throw in enough 1st round draft picks and I'll trade with almost anybody. Especially from a team where 2/3 of their best players would be age 41 and 37.

When you're rebuilding you should only think about what you're getting in return. You trade whoever it takes to wherever it takes if it improves the team long-term.

Ideally ya you just optimize the return…but player relations do matter…if the best offer is from Sacramento and KD is pissed about being sent there, I don’t think you do it. If there’s a slightly less offer from a team he’d want to go to, I’d do that. I don’t want the suns to get a reputation of just valuing assets over all else.

[bajanguy008]

The fact he has action instead of "auction" but typos are part of tweeting

[Mori Chu]

If KD really wants to screw us, he can refuse to sign an extension this summer. Then we're really stuck. But it also incurs risk for him, because if he tears his Achilles or whatever he'll basically have to retire and never get a paycheck again.

[Superbone]

I've been meaning to bring this up after hearing the quotes below. KD is not a leader no matter how much he protests that he is. It wasn't until he joined a ready-made team that he won it all. If he were a leader, this team wouldn't turn the ball over so carelessly including himself, they wouldn't be force feeding him the ball (his ego allows this and he should know better that team ball would be better; sure there's a time and place for it but not every play), and he would get on them for such poor defense and rebounding.

Instead, a perfect example of his "leadership" was during the Grizzlies game where the national broadcast reported that a frustrated woman yelled at KD to "do something!" and he replied to her, "What do you expect me to do?"

What he is is one of the all-time most skilled basketball players to ever play the game but not a leader as much as he argues the point. We gave up way too much to not get a leader. Skill alone isn't enough. Paul was a leader. Durant is not. Now, if we already had a leader in place, like the Warriors when he joined, then maybe it would have been worth it.

[Split T]

I think Booker was supposed to be the leader…and we did still have CP3 when we made the trade.

I don’t think the turnovers or feeding KD is a leadership issue. And to say we feed him every play is quite the exaggeration. KD spends a lot of time spacing. I wish we’d run more off ball sets for him…or use him more as a screener, but hard to argue with his results in the post or in isolation.

[Uncle_Gene]

It’s gonna be the lakers. Buy your Austin Reaves jerseys now.

No. It'll be to the Heat. Get your Adebayo jerseys soon.

Just kidding. I'm not giving up on this season, though it has been depressing. The Suns have to stop turning the ball over and rebound. They need more size.

[Superbone]

Man, KD let his guard down here. Never seen him like this before. Makes you appreciate him more.

[TOO]

Man, KD let his guard down here. Never seen him like this before. Makes you appreciate him more.

It does?