Around the League: The Offseason

[Shabazz]

I'm torn for all the reasons everyone has mentioned, so ultimately I think it comes down to what package we send out. If it's Bledsoe + Chriss + maybe Miami's 18 pick (looking to be in the 18-23 range), then I think you pull the trigger and figure everything out afterwards. Not a ton of opportunity cost and that still leaves us with plenty of assets to make another move (and we can even flip Irving if we get the sense that he's not going to stay). If you're talking Bledsoe + Warren/Bender + our own picks, then I'd be much more reluctant. Kyrie's a fantastic talent and he's only 25. I think he and Booker could figure it out and many of our Bender and Jackson are both theoretically very good frontcourt fits with that duo.

[In2ition]

Gambo gave us his text message jist of the conversation with a high ranking exec in the know with Kyrie. He said that it would take a high level young asset, a veteran that could help right away and draft pick(s). He said that Chriss isn't a high level prospect, and it would take the Suns giving up Jackson for Kyrie along with Bledsoe and draft picks.

I say pass. I would like to see how the Suns do with Bledsoe and Jackson this year, instead of Kyrie. I don't think that Kyrie makes anyone else better. I'd rather suck, with Bledsoe and Jackson, then suck with Kyrie and have a chance to get Doncic, Bagley or somehow both. Now, if they could get Kyrie for a lesser package, or even be involved in a deal where Kyrie goes somewhere else and they could swap some contracts for expiring deals, a young player and draft pick, I do that instead. I would want to flip Kyrie for another high draft pick, so I could get both Doncic and Bagley without having to give up Jackson, Booker, or Bender.

[Superbone]

Gambo gave us his text message jist of the conversation with a high ranking exec in the know with Kyrie. He said that it would take a high level young asset, a veteran that could help right away and draft pick(s). He said that Chriss isn't a high level prospect, and it would take the Suns giving up Jackson for Kyrie along with Bledsoe and draft picks.

I say pass. I would like to see how the Suns do with Bledsoe and Jackson this year, instead of Kyrie. I don't think that Kyrie makes anyone else better. I'd rather suck, with Bledsoe and Jackson, then suck with Kyrie and have a chance to get Doncic, Bagley or somehow both. Now, if they could get Kyrie for a lesser package, or even be involved in a deal where Kyrie goes somewhere else and they could swap some contracts for expiring deals, a young player and draft pick, I do that instead. I would want to flip Kyrie for another high draft pick, so I could get both Doncic and Bagley without having to give up Jackson, Booker, or Bender.

I agree.
#TheTimeline

[TOO]

I'm not all in the JJ bandwagon by any means, but not moving him in a deal for Kyrie. Kyrie is a fantastic scorer aaaaand thats it. Like he doesnt do anything else well. Gross. Do. Not. Want.

[Aztec Sunsfan]

JJ is already under contract, the same with the french kid in NY, so they are out of reach for a summer trade. Irving is a special talent, he could be Harden all over again, but at the right price, Cleveland has the final word on this, but far from having enough leverage to ask for a king's ransom. Lebron's shadow is really big and cast many doubts on how good Irving would be. Again, Harden was in the same blind spot in OKC

[TOO]

The Cavs were terrible with Kyrie at the helm before LeBron, Kyrie is under .500 when LeBron sits. We know what Kyrie is, a shoot 1st, shoot 2nd, ask questions later PG.

[In2ition]

JJ is already under contract, the same with the french kid in NY, so they are out of reach for a summer trade. Irving is a special talent, he could be Harden all over again, but at the right price, Cleveland has the final word on this, but far from having enough leverage to ask for a king's ransom. Lebron's shadow is really big and cast many doubts on how good Irving would be. Again, Harden was in the same blind spot in OKC

That's a good point. I kind of doubt that Kyrie is going to be the next Harden. We already know he's great iso player, shooter and shot maker. He just suffers in defense, and setting up teammates while putting them in position to score and make the game easier for his teammates. I do like Kyrie though, and think he would be a little bit of an upgrade to Bledsoe.

[ShelC]

Kinda sucks that Chriss isn't considered a high level prospect.

I also think Kyrie is a better point guard than most are saying.

I'd rather keep Jackson at this point and try and play some team ball. If we had a win-now coaching staff, I might be more inclined to consider the move.

[JCSunsfan]

Gambo gave us his text message jist of the conversation with a high ranking exec in the know with Kyrie. He said that it would take a high level young asset, a veteran that could help right away and draft pick(s). He said that Chriss isn't a high level prospect, and it would take the Suns giving up Jackson for Kyrie along with Bledsoe and draft picks.

I say pass. I would like to see how the Suns do with Bledsoe and Jackson this year, instead of Kyrie. I don't think that Kyrie makes anyone else better. I'd rather suck, with Bledsoe and Jackson, then suck with Kyrie and have a chance to get Doncic, Bagley or somehow both. Now, if they could get Kyrie for a lesser package, or even be involved in a deal where Kyrie goes somewhere else and they could swap some contracts for expiring deals, a young player and draft pick, I do that instead. I would want to flip Kyrie for another high draft pick, so I could get both Doncic and Bagley without having to give up Jackson, Booker, or Bender.

OK. I am all for getting Kyrie. I really am. But not if Jackson is included. Jackson is essential if having Kyrie on the roster is going to work. It would make more sense to give up Booker. And no, I am not advocating that.

[Superbone]

I do like Kyrie though, and think he would be a little bit of an upgrade to Bledsoe.

More than a little bit. Quite a lot actually. That being said, no thanks. Not for what they want. No Jackson and definitely no Booker.

[O_Gardino]

I'm torn for all the reasons everyone has mentioned, so ultimately I think it comes down to what package we send out. If it's Bledsoe + Chriss + maybe Miami's 18 pick (looking to be in the 18-23 range), then I think you pull the trigger and figure everything out afterwards. Not a ton of opportunity cost and that still leaves us with plenty of assets to make another move (and we can even flip Irving if we get the sense that he's not going to stay). If you're talking Bledsoe + Warren/Bender + our own picks, then I'd be much more reluctant. Kyrie's a fantastic talent and he's only 25. I think he and Booker could figure it out and many of our Bender and Jackson are both theoretically very good frontcourt fits with that duo.

I agree with this and what everyone else is saying.

[Mori Chu]

Okay, I'll be the contrarian here.

If Kyrie would give me some kind of reassurance that he'd re-sign here, I would trade Bledsoe, Jackson, and a pick for Kyrie. I look at it this way. Bledsoe is not part of our future. Giving him up is almost zero loss for us, especially since we get his replacement back. The pick, I would insist that it not be our own pick, but maybe the Miami 1st rounder. I can live with that.

Jackson is the most difficult asset to part with. But the guy can't shoot. He's probably Andre Iguodala in a very, very best case scenario. Would you trade Bledsoe and Andre Iguodala for Kyrie? I think you should. He's probably a top-10 player in the NBA, an exceptional scorer and a much better shooter than Bledsoe. I agree that he isn't a pass-first PG, but I don't think he is as selfish as some are saying. His assists are down a bit because he plays with Lebron and the Cavs run most of their offense through Lebron.

Trading Bledsoe, Jackson, and a so-so 1st round pick for Kyrie is the classic "dollar for three quarters" trade. All of those pieces combined won't be as good as Kyrie Irving is going to be. If we are attached to that 1st round pick and don't want to part with it, we could try to make it Bledsoe-Jackson-Chriss-2nd rounder instead. That might be easier to stomach.

[Danimal]

We are only going to be in the market for flawed stars unless we grow our own.

I would feel better about getting Irving if we had a better offense game plan. But yes the Portland 2.0 comparisons may be just based on Watson's lack of chops at that end.
Please keep booker bender and Jackson if you do any deal

I don't really know where else to say this but I feel
Warren is very undervalued on this Board. Seems like he is only mentioned as a trade throw in these days. I really like him as becoming a super sub for us

[In2ition]

Reports are now that Lebron wants to kick Kyrie's ass? Why? Because he doesn't want Cleveland to be left high and dry when he leaves, so it's not so painful this time?

[Cap]

Reports are now that Lebron wants to kick Kyrie's ass? Why? Because he doesn't want Cleveland to be left high and dry when he leaves, so it's not so painful this time?

Because the buzz out of Kyrie's camp is that LeBron is the reason Kyrie wants to leave. If Screamin' A is to be believed, LeBron isn't happy with Kyrie trying to make LeBron look bad.

[In2ition]

Reports are now that Lebron wants to kick Kyrie's ass? Why? Because he doesn't want Cleveland to be left high and dry when he leaves, so it's not so painful this time?

Because the buzz out of Kyrie's camp is that LeBron is the reason Kyrie wants to leave. If Screamin' A is to be believed, LeBron isn't happy with Kyrie trying to make LeBron look bad.

Except that it is believed that Lebron's camp leaked the news that Kyrie wants out.

[Cap]

Reports are now that Lebron wants to kick Kyrie's ass? Why? Because he doesn't want Cleveland to be left high and dry when he leaves, so it's not so painful this time?

Because the buzz out of Kyrie's camp is that LeBron is the reason Kyrie wants to leave. If Screamin' A is to be believed, LeBron isn't happy with Kyrie trying to make LeBron look bad.

Except that it is believed that Lebron's camp leaked the news that Kyrie wants out.

Wouldn't make him the first guy to blame his victim for his own aggression making him look like a jerk.

[Hermen]

I don't think Kyrie Irving makes this franchise a contender, or even gets them closer to being one. With all this superteam stuff, people in the NBA and those who follow it have gotten lazy and oversimplified winning. Now people just say "go get a superstar." "Do whatever it takes to get a superstar!"

That's not how the Warriors won it all. That team is a calculated collection of the right players with complementary skills. When they added Durant, it wasn't just adding any superstar, it was adding a superstar that fit their team, fit the talent.

Is there a team Durant wouldn't fit? He has the game to fit anywhere because he's not a ball stopper and he plays decent defense.

There is probably no team Durant wouldn't fit but there are superstars that wouldn't fit on the Warriors.

[Superbone]

Reports are now that Lebron wants to kick Kyrie's ass? Why? Because he doesn't want Cleveland to be left high and dry when he leaves, so it's not so painful this time?

Because the buzz out of Kyrie's camp is that LeBron is the reason Kyrie wants to leave. If Screamin' A is to be believed, LeBron isn't happy with Kyrie trying to make LeBron look bad.

Except that it is believed that Lebron's camp leaked the news that Kyrie wants out.

Wouldn't make him the first guy to blame his victim for his own aggression making him look like a jerk.

Sounds like the whole thing is a setup agreed upon beforehand by both principals. This allows both to leave and they can blame each other. Abandon ship!

[Hermen]

The Cavs were never made to last more than a few years - they traded away a lot of their picks and overpaid some role-players. I don't know how much of it was the team guessing James wasn't staying more than a few years anyway or how much of it was James holding them hostage with his opt-out contracts. Either way, it didn't look sustainable (or like a happy environment). But they won the championship, so mission accomplished and time to move on. James will find a new team full of assets to spend for a few years with him