Phoenix Suns Pick DROPS, Are Kevin Durant Trades BACK ON After Draft Lottery?

Phoenix Suns Pick DROPS, Are Kevin Durant Trades BACK ON After Draft Lottery?

Today on locked on Phoenix Suns, the Suns did not give away Cooper flag. They fell and sent their pick number 10 to Houston. We’ll react to all of it, but much more importantly, how the rest of the lottery affects these here Phoenix Suns. Let’s go. You are Locked On Suns, your daily Phoenix Suns podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. Welcome back into Locked On Phoenix Suns. I’m Brendan Clean, a staff writer at Awful Announcing and a credentialed Suns media member. Thank you for making Locked on Suns after the NBA draft lottery. Don’t forget Locked On Suns is free and available on all podcast platforms including YouTube. So click that follower or subscribe button. Do what thousands of other Suns fans have already done. Become an everyday and get locked on to the Phoenix Suns right here each and every day. Today’s episode is well hold on we’ll say it’s brought to you by our friends at Locked on NBA. Check out the Locked on NBA show. They’re doing a squad show, a instant reaction. You can see our wonderful channel manager Nick going absolutely bonkers. You’ll definitely want to check that out. I think it’s going to be on this feed actually for you as well. It’s also brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with MonarchMoney and use the code lockedNBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. Joining me as always to break down this insane 2025 draft lottery as always from the Wild West Valley, my fellow Suns Credential media member. How are we feeling, Ben Garcia? Uh, I feel like the the worst thing that could have happened was Cooper flag. Obviously, the Suns get him and he goes to the Rockets. That was the worst thing that could have happened. I do think the second worst thing that could have happened was what happened tonight because it’s so stupid that an organization that shot themselves in the foot by their own doing, they they literally took the gun and just shot themselves in the foot a couple of times and said, “Thank you for it.” and they get a doover. That is so asinyingly stupid. And so to me, that’s the second worst thing that could have happened tonight. But at least we’re not giving away Flag. And that makes me feel a little bit better. But it’s just I’m just annoyed. So, uh, I would have hated it if the Spurs got it. That was feeling very scary to me. I’m not going to lie to you in that moment because the prospect of Flag and Wemb together is absolutely insane. But yes, the Dallas Mavericks do win the lottery and we’ll just get into it here. They jump from position number I believe it was 1211. They had a 1.8% chance of getting the number one overall pick. And of course they do it followed by as you hinted at there Ben the well the Spurs next. They were at the eighth place. 6% chance of the number one overall pick, 26% chance of into the top four. Rounded out by Philly at three. They had a 42% chance to jump. Not super surprising there. And the Charlotte Hornets who didn’t even jump. They actually fell and they were eclipsed by the other three teams and ended up at four. So, uh, yeah, surprises all around. This lottery has been bonkers since they reformed it and this one was probably the craziest. Atlanta last year like it it has been one thing after the next but honestly I feel worse Ben for the teams that were supposed to be up at the top and fell. Utah number one, Washington number two, New Orleans number four. They were just sitting there probably shaking their head at all of this. But yeah, crazy lottery for sure. I mean middle finger to Utah. They took one of our one of our teams here. I’m not going to act like I’m the biggest hockey fan, but middle finger to them. I I don’t care. Ryan Smith and company helping take this team out. But just to be clear, I’m not actually sad for the Wizards or the G. That’s the They’re the losers. I I feel I do feel sad for the other two teams because I I don’t know how you feel and I tweeted this during that commercial break, but like the draft lottery is stupid. like give the worst teams in the NBA the best chances at the players or come up with a different system. The draft lottery in every league is completely stupid. And I I actually do feel bad for the Wizards or the Charlotte Hornets because like if the NBA thinks that’s what’s going to stop them from tanking. They’ve been tanking since I was five. So that part of it is stupid. But it’s not my team. So part of it’s like no skin off my back. But you know, whatever. Yeah, I think it’s I I think you see less teams tanking. I I think that smoothing the odds out. I mean, we’re talking about multiple years in a row now where chaos has ensued and um you see a lot less of the overt like shutting guys down randomly at the end of the season and stuff like that outside of just teams that probably didn’t have a chance. Um but I think you know Utah and Washington to me like they’ve built the right way for the most part and they have like stability. They’re not just like falling backwards into this and and yet they were uh punished. And you know who fell backwards into it? The Dallas Mavericks. They have been the story of this NBA season for all of the wrong reasons. Trading Luca Donuche in his prime for pennies on the dollar. And yet here they are somehow uh getting all the way to the top with again less than a 2% chance. What I want to just say is I don’t believe that this stuff is fixed, but you’re they’re never going to run away from the accusations that this one was somehow set up. I mean, people already resorted, Ben, to conspiracies about Dallas and the Luca trade because it was just so preposterous. And of course, the fact that he ended up with the premier franchise in the league, that being the Lakers, already people were like the league sent him there or this was about devaluing the Dallas franchise so that they can relocate and then they get an expansion team when the next thing comes up or and this is just going to exponentially multiply all of that. But somehow the Dallas Mavericks go from the losers of 2025 in the NBA and now their stock is pointing up. I I did not expect that outcome. I mean, Brenda, could they be any better? Like, listen, I know Luca’s like, if if if Cooper Flag just projects to be an all-star, they’ve got this 18-year-old plus I mean, Anthony Davis, he’s 31, he’s still in his prime technically for at least two more seasons. Kyrie comes back in January. Like, they went from kind of being a laughingstock to Nico Harrison is praying to the basketball gods right now because no one cares anymore about Nico Harrison. I don’t even think anyone in Dallas cares anymore about Luca. Maybe a little bit, but man, dude, getting Cooper. Like, that’s so so stupid. That would never happen here. And so that I I I’m more curious into like how does that affect the Suns then? I mean, does that make the the Mavericks more keen on the idea of potentially going after KD? Maybe not obviously for the number one overall pick, but maybe you want to combine Kevin Durant and Cooper Flag and Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis together and do it for a fairly cheap price. I mean, that is a they went from nowhere to go, NBA purgatory to we think of the Dallas Mavericks as one of the highest pointing arrows in the NBA now. That’s how stupid that is. And I’m They definitely could go in a million different directions. I mean, it kind of feels like for the same exact reasons how it felt with Atlanta last year where it’s, you know, are they going to dump Deontay Murray, maybe Trey Young as well and really just blow this thing up and let Quinn Snyder kind of run a re a reset here or and then all of a sudden they get the number one overall pick. Now, it wasn’t a generational prospect like Flag is, and it wasn’t so obviously high-profile the way that the Luca trade was, but the the Hawks went the other way. They I mean, they kept Trey, but they they are really leaning into youth. And I think that I could see the Mavs doing the same thing where Kyrie Irving has a player option. Um, you know, maybe a as tough as it might be considering he was a good soldier, they just maybe let Kyrie go after next season and and he opts in and recovers from the ACL. And, you know, they have Anthony Davis Cooper flag front court. We’ll see how Lively factors in. That’s a little awkward now. They got a lot of cooks in the kitchen, in the front court, but just have a better team in the early years of Flag, but mostly just say we’re building around him now. Or I guess they could go all in, but I don’t think we’ve seen a lot of teams win a generational player. I mean, we just saw it with San Antonio, right? They got the number one overall pick and they’ve been very, very patient. Almost maybe to a fault, but two years. Not really, man. It’s been two years and they meet and in and in year one and a half they went and got Darren Fox. So I I disagree with that. I don’t think they’ve been very patient at all. I mean that was the only move of any sort to get a proven playoff player in the first two years. And so I’m just saying I think it’d be pretty shocking to see Dallas get a 37y old in the summer before Flag has ever played a a summer league game. That would shock me. We don’t see that very often. Well, let’s Well, listen. Dallas isn’t in on the Oh my god. Could you imagine if Dallas sent the number one overall pick to the Bucks for Giannis and they just go full nuclear trading the number one overall. It’s Nico Harrison six months ago. Six months ago. Six months ago, would you have said that they would have traded Luca? You would have told me the same thing. Listen, Nico Har different because I mean I’m not here to defend Nico Harrison, but the thing that Flag embodies that Luca didn’t is he’s a two-way player who doesn’t have any of the history of, you know, health and conditioning questions. One, because he’s only not played yet. But to me, Flag is like the perfect Nico Harrison superstar. He has nothing to complain about now. You’re right. You’re right. You’re absolutely right. I would just I’m shocked that you discount the Kevin Durant aspect now at least a little bit because PJ Washington they’re kind of I mean they’re not thrilled with him over there right now. He wasn’t awesome this year and if you could get I mean you always Derrick Lively well you mentioned the Derrick Lively thing too. If you could get Lively in Washington and the Lakers first round pick that they traded for Luca, which was just one by the way, I mean, I think that’s a pretty good price tag to pay for Kevin and it’s not much. I would want a different pick than the Lakers pick. I mean, I’m not trying to have Luca Jich’s draft slot. I would, you know what I mean? I would probably want maybe I mean, Dallas’s own picks like next year or something could be better than that. But yeah, I mean I I don’t know. And and even if just while we’re on the topic and kind of playing it out, Lively, if you read around the Dallas situation, they fired their trainers and Lively’s ankle is like at the center of this whole controversy with the Mavs because he came back a little early and he was not the same guy in the playoffs and whatever. So that that situation is going to be interesting. But I I just think history tells us teams that get a generational player, take their time to build the right kind of team around that generational player, and they usually do it through the draft for the first couple seasons to get guys that are running mates, and then go from there and kind of see what types of big-time vets are going to be available. Now, when you’re like when it’s Wimbeyama and and they’re ready to win immediately, then the the things change, but maybe Flag won’t be quite so dominant defensive player of the year candidate type of guy right away and maybe it’s three, four seasons and I don’t know. But they’ll know that and if they want to go after KD, it wouldn’t floor me. But let’s talk about how the Houston side of this changes because not only do the Suns care about Houston tonight because of the pick that they owe the Rockets, but they’re also expected to be in pretty close negotiations with that same team for Kevin Durant. So, what changed today with that front next? First, today’s show brought to you by Hungry Root. everyone. Well, I say everyone in my house. I mean, my wife and I are busy. Something going on. It’s family. It’s going to the gym. It’s especially I mean, look, on Mother’s Day, we were in Tucson and then we were up in North Phoenix within the course of like three hours. That’s how it goes. And it just gets crazy. That’s why Hungry Root comes in clutch. It is like having your own personal shopper and nutritionist wrapped into one. They take care of grocery shopping and meal planning for you, offering personalized recommendations based on your tastes and health goals. Here’s the deal. It’s not even just the cooking, but it’s the shopping. It’s the thinking. It’s the what’s healthy? What’s an alternative for this and that and the other thing. Hungry Root takes care of all of that. And it’s based on what you like. It’s not just, oh, this is the healthiest possible version. 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We all have a million ways to keep track of this stuff, right? You got this app, you got this uh spreadsheet, you got the little piggy bank in your closet, whatever it might be. Monarch Money takes all of that, consolidates it, and tracks it all for you, including long-term goals, spending, and your financial portfolio. So, take control of those finances with MonarchMoney. Use the code lockdown NBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. That’s monarchmoney.com, code lockdown NBA for half off your first year. All right, Ben, let’s keep it rolling. Sorry. I was just gonna say I think next time you I think next ad break you need to let me read the ad so you can just scroll on Twitter. Oh my god, it is a hellscape right now with how this unfolded. LeBron James is actively laughing at everyone. David Stern is rolling over in his grave and approval. This is just ridiculous. I’m sorry. You may have the floor. This is crazy. So, the Suns went into the lottery, of course, uh, giving owing their pick to the Houston Rockets. It had a 3% 3.8, I should say, percent chance of jumping up to number one and a 17% chance of jumping into the top four. Now, um, all of us were braced for the worst case scenario, but the reality is it was never all that likely. And the second most likely option outside of just staying at number nine was to fall to number 10. And that’s exactly what happened. One team, that being the Mavericks, jumped up past the Suns and um that or past the, you know, Rockets and that ended up with the Suns dropping. So, Ben, with that being the case, and we’re not talking about, you know, could the Suns get the number four pick in return for Kevin Durant. Frankly, if they had jumped, I think it would have been been almost off the table to get this year’s pick. Now, it’s fallen. It’s become a little less valuable. How do you think that what we saw tonight will affect the Suns Rockets negotiations? Um, I think it makes Kevin Durant to the Rockets, not significantly more likely, but it definitely makes it more likely. I mean, if you’re the like we everyone talks about the honest thing. I I mean, the draft is a crapshoot. I mean, you’re just going to take another team’s picks like the Suns. I mean, I saw someone else mentioned today the the Pelicans have the Bucks picks as well. They might want they might want that. Like if the Rockets want to play ball and they want to give the Suns their 10th overall pick and Jabari and Tyrie Een, I think that gets it done. You know, you were telling me pre-show that if the Suns could get the 10th overall pick in exchange for Kevin Durant as like the core part of a deal, you’d be doing front flips for it. So, I’d agree as well. I think it makes it more likely, although not significantly. Okay, so flesh it out for me because you’re saying the draft’s a crapshoot when you’re talking about the Bucks getting the pick back, but if the Suns get the number 10 pick, that’s kind of the centerpiece of that trade because Jabari Smith’s not quite the caliber of player of some of the other guys we’ve discussed. So, do you not like the Houston package because it’s a crapshoot and 10th pick’s not that valuable to you or Well, I mean, like the 10th pick is I mean, it is what it is, man. It’s the NBA draft. I think after the third overall pick in most drafts it’s a crapshoot. I mean we see guys I mean Nicole Joic is a second round pick. Draymond Green is a second round pick. Deon Booker was the 13th overall pick. Jimmy Butler was in the late 20s if I’m not mistaken. Hallebertton fell the vast majority of the best players that have ever been in the history of the NBA come from the top five 10 picks in the draft. I mean there are exclusions to everything but that’s the best way to build a team. We we know that. We don’t have to pretend. Exactly. Exactly. So like I would love it. I I think it’s a like if you’re talking about that being the hall for Kevin Durant, I think that’d be awesome because if you do the draft right, which we’re still not sure if the Suns have the capability of doing that with the new front office, you do get a capable player, potentially a three and D guy. You have another pick in this draft later on, which potentially you could take a wild card on and then you get two winged players to help bolster your roster for the seasons beyond. So, I’m with you. If you’re asking me if I would do that right now, it’s without a chance. I wouldn’t think about it. I wouldn’t call another team. I’d do it. But I don’t think it makes it like significantly more likely. I think it just makes it to where the Rockets have to play ball a little bit more. I think between nine and 10, it’s not that significant. Obviously, it makes it much more likely that it did not jump to 4,32 or one. And now there’s just the certainty, right, that it’s not that like up until this point we’ve been talking about, well, the Rockets, but we got to see what happens with the lottery. But now it’s over. We know it’s the 10th pick. That’s the asset. Is that Now you can start to compare that because I personally view the 10th pick in this draft as probably a hair more valuable than Jabari Smith. So, as we’ve kind of been doing this throughout What’ you say? I just said, “Wow.” I just I I a Jabari. I just am talking value. I think that’s always where you and I get off track. I don’t know what the pick what the player will become. I’m not a I’m not a wizard. I’m not a fortune teller. I’m saying value. Teams attribute value to picks. I mean, we know it with what was it? Doesn’t Jimmy Johnson have his old draft chart with the NFL where it’s this and that and this one’s more valuable than the other one? It’s just about are you getting more or less from a team? So, when the Suns traded for Kevin Durant, the most valuable stuff that they were trading was those really far-off Brooklyn picks or or Suns picks to Brooklyn and we’ve seen how Brooklyn’s been able to really really maximize that. That’s all I’m saying. So, that’s a good point to kind of think about it um down the line. And I mean, so now we we have like most likely OG anobi I I guess would kind of be the Knicks most valuable thing you’re getting back. Uh with the Spurs, whatever player that might be or pick that might be and on down the line, Jade McDaniels, whatever. Now this 10th overall pick, you kind of have to put it in in a ranking. Um but because it it landed kind of exactly where it was, I agree. It doesn’t really change my estimation of like where I would slot the Rockets trade package in um among the other ones. I I would probably have it near the top of the list. Does it change your does it change it from I’m sorry. I was just going to say does it change it because I thought I saw we all we heard you say before a couple of days ago that the Knicks have kind of jumped the Rockets a little bit. Um the Rockets haven’t jumped the Knicks. hasn’t changed anything for you because it makes it at least a little bit more likely that the Rockets would play ball with the Suns. Well, likeliness is different than what I like the best. I think we’re getting those over overlapped a little. No, no, I get what you’re saying. This makes it more likely Houston would do the deal, but it doesn’t really I mean, if anything, it makes the package worse, right? I mean, like you said, so it definitely Nothing that happened tonight makes the Rockets package more desirable to me, you know? So, I think I Yeah, go ahead. I would just say I think it made it a little bit more desirable because I know what it is and if like 10th overall pick, I know what it is and so if the Rockets maybe were to hold on to this pick and it would be and instead they give the Suns the next year’s pick, you know, whatever down the line, the second of the two, like I think it makes it a little bit more value, but ju just a little bit. I don’t think it changes the landscape of everything. Maybe because I went down now it was gonna be the ninth and now it’s the 10th. It didn’t exist before tonight. It was it was so that’s where I think that I’m struggling with because you’re absolutely right. It did fall. But now that I see it, it maybe it makes it just look a little bit more attractive to me. It’s a you could say to me Jabari Smith, Tyrie, salary cap filler and a top 10 pick. Like that just sounds better to me. So maybe that’s on me that I’m not reading it correctly because it literally did go down. So, that’s where I would go with it. Yeah. Either way, I expect that they’ll be in conversations. We did see a report today from The Athletic where uh the Rockets poured a little more cold water on the idea that, you know, they would pursue Durant just based on the same thing we’ve been talking about for a while, which is the um age curve, right? The the timeline. Is Durant the type of player that makes sense to give up a lot for when he’s like 10 years older at least than anyone else really on the team, at least the core? So, did you have any last thoughts on that report, Ben, before we jump to kind of the rest of this lottery and everything else that played out? The Rockets are so stupid. Like, we get it. You don’t want either guy, but putting out today that they’re no longer interested in Devin Booker. Like, okay, man, you weren’t invited to the party anyways. This is like a or I think Mike Vhill uh to put it best where it was like this is the best I I you can’t fire me I quit thing because like the Rockets are just now I don’t know what’s true because really you’re not interested in Deon Booker. No one buys that. So now it leads you to believe oh you’re not as interested in Kevin Durant or you trying to play the value game, the leverage game and that’s where I would lean towards it. Everything is that. I mean, not nothing we’re going to hear between now and whenever Durant is ultimately traded or maybe not, but most likely traded is going to be 100% factual, right? It’s all the question you always have to ask is who would who would prefer you to know that piece of information, right? And in the case of we’re not interested in KD, of course the Rockets would have a vested interest in telling you that if you’re, you know, uh, you know, the average fan, but more importantly, like people around the league and even the people in the Suns front office because they want to say, “Oh, whatever. No big deal to us. No sweat off our back if if he goes elsewhere.” Because then it it it makes them look like they’re less interested. And that’s always the best thing for leverage. But I don’t buy that they’re not going to go after him at all. I just think this is how they’re going to haggle over the price and negotiate in public and we’ll see what plays out. Let’s get to the rest of the lottery because it was very very crazy throughout and a lot of teams, not just Dallas, their trajectories changed tonight. How does that all affect what’s coming in the NBA off season? Next. First, today’s show brought to you by the FanDuel sports book. It is that time of year. 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Head to fandle.com to place your next bet. Make every moment more with FanDuel, official sports betting partner of the NBA. All right, Ben, let’s close it out. So, just read I’m just going to read through the lottery top to bottom again, and we’ll just give our final thoughts here. So, Dallas wins it. San Antonio number two, Philadelphia number three, Charlotte number four, Utah 5, Washington six, New Orleans drops all the way to seven. eight Brooklyn, nine Toronto, 10 uh the Rockets via the Suns of course, and then Portland, Chicago, Atlanta, and San Antonio again, which I believe um that’s somebody else’s pick, but I cannot remember whose it is. Um so, what are your thoughts on how this shifts beyond Houston, who we’ve just spent a while talking about? How does this affect what you’re looking at the rest of the NBA offseason? You’re muted. Of course I am. More I I’m more I I I don’t The Spurs are so interesting now, man. Like, if you’re the Bucks, I mean, you could go get Giannis. I mean, I think that their avenues are everywhere. And it’s not just the Giannis thing. It’s like the KD thing. How many more picks do you need? You have Stefan Castle, rookie of the year. Victor Wanyama, Darren Fox is not old. I mean, could you could they be in the play for KD? Like, this is how it does shake out the NBA offseason because now you can get KD for the second pick, Kell Johnson, and like nothing. Like, it’s nothing. Like, do you are you really going to miss another guy? I think the Spurs absolutely are going to be a KD team. We’ve already known that, right? Like but so yeah but I don’t think the second pick is going to be available for Kevin really. Yeah man when has that ever happened? You you and I seen the second overall pick go for Brendan Brendan they just traded I mean Andrew Wiggins was traded for Kevin Love once once a once upon a time like that it’s not that crazy to think the second overall pick could get moved like in that was because LeBron James went to the team and had some pressure to and and they had won the lottery multiple times in a row. So that that’s similar to the Spurs, but I I just I I I don’t think so. Like I don’t think it can happen, but it makes their lives easier. It makes the the decision to go after Kevin Durant easier or not because then it tells me they’re either going to go all in with this youth thing, which isn’t wrong, or they could be like, “All right, guys, we kind of have a lot of youth, the second overall pick.” But it’s Yeah, it’s not even just that, though, because they have they have they this was unlikely. like they they still have all the picks we we’ve all been talking about them having forever. This one just suddenly became a lot more valuable, but the the other stuff we would have talked about them offering for Durant is still there or Giannis. So I I just think like it doesn’t have to be get Kevin Durant or be young. like they can get Giannis or they can go get like freaking Lowry Markin or some in between guy like a Fox type player who’s a little bit more of just saying hey when Fox and Castle are our best guys let’s add to that on the edges you know what I mean I just I guess like my thing is I think there will be teams who are aggressive this summer and I think the Spurs and the and maybe even the Sixers are teams that obviously have the ability to do that now in a more uh interesting way than they could have before tonight. But being aggressive doesn’t have to mean Kevin Durant. That I think that’s the thing we have to remember. Just because we like to talk about Kevin Durant and we see a team that’s going to be aggressive doesn’t mean they’re going to get Kevin Durant. There’s a gap. Okay. You know, what about the Sixers? Would you Is the four pick by the Sixers the most valuable thing more is it more valuable than OG? Is it more It’s obviously more valuable than Jabari. If you think the 10th overall pick is more valuable than Jabari, could you? Uh, I don’t think Philly is a team that makes any sense for Kevin Durant. We don’t know when Joel Embiid’s going to play next and they already have three max salaries on their books. So, unless it’s about the Suns getting back, that’s what I was going to say. That’s what I was going to say. If you go into the Sun, I don’t listen. I’m just throwing out spitballing ideas at this point. Like the opportunities, I’m just saying no. I I would probably say no. Like if you can’t get something back with that because then if you you would be asking for two of the worst you’re you’re inviting another three worst contracts in the NBA. Hey, listen. Things change. Maybe the Suns field the offers. They’re not out there like they thought they would and they go into maybe we should trade Booker now mode and they decide, all right, we’re just going to take crappy contracts for a couple years and build up our young core. Like that’s an also another avenue. I’m just I’m not I don’t want to do that. I’m just saying like this is how it changes things because if the Suns made Devin Booker available, I think any pick after number one is a thousand%. But we have no evidence that they’re going to do that. You and everyone else imaginary. You and everyone else is so wrong about this number one overall pick. Like Devin Booker is worth the number one overall pick. like not the Mavericks because they like they don’t need to do that now because it doesn’t really make a ton of sense. But like a Rockets or whatever. Say why. Why think he’s worth the number one overall pick? Not just saying that I’m wrong. A team that is well because it’s it’s not it’s kind of hard to do on Twitter. It’s 160 characters. But this is stupid because it can’t happen anymore and I don’t think it’s going to happen. But 50 seconds for it. If you were the Rockets and you got the number one overall pick, you can take the risk of Cooper Flag being better than Devin Booker because that’s what you would be projecting towards if you would deny that pick. But Cooper Flag could just easily bust I once upon a time thought Zion Williamson was going to be awesome. I thought DeAndre Aiden was going to be awesome. Neither of them happened. I guarantee you both those teams wish they would have traded. I know the Suns had DeAndre had this DeAndre Aiden at that time, but would trade Devin Booker for that player because you we can think all we want, but it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. Now, again, it’s not going to happen anymore. It’s stupid, but Devin Booker is worth it depending on I don’t think that that’s I I don’t I don’t think that that’s how it works. He’s 28. It’s not like he’s a 32. I don’t think it’s because he’s old. That’s not what I’m saying. I’m just saying that. Okay. Because Ben, like you’re saying that like as we talk about it, we we get to this point sometimes as we’re talking about all the things about the Suns off season, like on mic and off Mike, where you’re like, damn, like the Suns need a surefire path back to getting a an a legit 1A player. It might the It might not be Book. And so therefore, like unless he can really get back to what he was 2, three years ago, 2, three, four years ago, they might have no chance but to like have to kind of throw, you know, reverse course a little bit and and do what it takes to go get somebody like that. which is exactly the argument for why Cooper flag is more valuable because that is exactly the type of trade that the Suns would do if they were to look themselves in the mirror and say Booker is so close to that level but he’s he’s just not quite there and he’s already making a lot of money. What can we do to be a little more more comfortable and confident that we’re going to have a player who is has a chance to be that Cooper flag is about as as good of a bet on that as it can possibly be which is why Dallas or anybody else would do the same thing and would never trade him for Booker. So is No, Dallas isn’t going to because it doesn’t make sense anymore because they don’t imaginary. I’m not talking about I don’t care. Andrew Wiggins, DeAndre Aton, Zion Williamson. Those are three number one overall picks that we all thought were going to be better than they were, and they aren’t. My point is is you get a flag right now is more It’s not It’s not in a vacuum. These people have played basketball. We’ve seen Cooper flag. He’s better than two of the three players. I saw Zion. I saw Zion. I saw I saw Zion. I saw DA. I saw Andrew Wiggins all play college basketball. And they all didn’t ever reach what we thought they were going to be. That’s my only point. Okay. But I’m talking about Cooper Flag now, not the imaginary number one overall pick. I’m saying Cooper Flag. We know who it is. He’s really good. He’s been a highly recruited generation, thought to be a generational prospect since before college and he made good on it all the way through Duke and made the freaking national championship or final four, whatever it was. So, it like he’s better than we ever thought Andrew Wiggins was going to be. Nobody was calling Andrew Wiggins generational. That’s why he got traded for Kevin Love cuz he was a worse prospect. Same with DeAndre Aton. No one was saying DeAndre Aton is up there with Victor or um with AD or the names that he’s in the company of. So that’s why this year, last year, Book could have gone for Reese. Easy. I wouldn’t be arguing with you at all cuz Zachary Reese’s an anonymous type of first round pick. He’s Anthony Bennett. He’s whatever. Yeah. My point is, okay, fine. forget the other two. Zion we all thought was going to be generational. The Pelicans I think up until and maybe even now the Buck the Pelicans might not trade Zion for Book. That’s because the potential is still so great. And he you say Book’s 28, he’s making $50 million and Zion is making 30 and he’s still like four years younger than Book always will be. So Brendon, if the Pelicans called, if the like this is so hypothetical and we’re on a use to the Pelicans have for Deon Booker? Uh, they could trade him. Who goes for more on the open market right now? Zion Williamson or or Deon Booker? Devin Booker trading. There you go. Book if he’s a better player because Zion has never hit what we thought he said up until recently and maybe even now the the injuries obviously complicate it, but I’m just saying that you’re you’re saying that like Zion didn’t reach his potential as a way of saying Flag might not, but he could not. Zion didn’t because he’s humongous and doesn’t stay in shape. That’s not an issue with Flag. So, we just have to be more specific is all I’m trying to say. And we know Cooper Flag is a really good bet. I’d agree. I’d agree he’s a really like a a spreadsheet player. He’s It’s Cooper Flag. Listen, he could flame out. He He could not be as good as Deon Booker. Like there’s a When Okay, let me ask you this. When is the last player we saw be as good as Cooper Flag in college and flame out to use your term. When does that happen? Well, flame out I mean just like didn’t reach their peak. Didn’t reach and their peak would be better than Deon Bookers. And Zion Williamson is a clear guy right away. Zion never reached Zion. When Zion has been healthy, he’s absolutely better than Deon Booker. That’s part of what I’m saying. The the tantalizing potential of players like that is always more valuable than a guy that we already know the value of who’s highly paid and not quite that tier of player. Zion, you’re right. Zion when he’s healthy and he isn’t messing around with corn stars and he’s not uh and his and his health is correct meaning he’s keeping his weight under it. Yes, he’s better than Deon Booker. The problem is he never made any of that happen. Now listen, some of that stuff is off. Cooper flag is that any of the weights isn’t. You’re you’re right. But to think so the odds of him flaming out are really low. Yeah, they listen they I do I think Cooper is going to be better than Booker. Yes. My argument is just if you were the Rockets if you’re the Rockets because if you’re the Rockets and you want a surefire two because you think Amed Thompson could be a one and you know Shingun is a three you could do that and your argument it’s not going to cost you anything because my argument was just my argument was just the the first pick salary cap filler for Booker. That’s it. Only the Rockets. Was that your argument that the Rockets are the only team where this would make sense? Because I was arguing for if the Rockets uh uh got the number one overall pick from the Suns, then I really want that pick back. I know that’s where it started, but I thought you were just saying in a vacuum Booker is more valuable than Flag cuz that’s what I’ve been arguing. I thought that’s what we were debating. If you’re saying only Houston, then sure, I think I might feel a little differently because they’re they’re at a different point in their trajectory. They already have him in Thompson. They just won 57 games. Lost in the first round. Who’s more valuable, Booker or Cooper Flag? It’s not even close to me. Oh, come on. It’s close, dude. Cooper flag makes 10 million bucks. Oh, that’s a good point. That’s a good point. That’s a good point. That’s a good point. I didn’t You don’t have You don’t You don’t put the money into it. I’d say Cooper Flag and he’s only 20 20 years old or whatever. I will say Cooper Flag is more valuable, but he also comes with more risk where Devin Booker is a safer risk, but he does cost a lot of money. So, that’s a good point that that is fair. My argument was only ever for the Rockets. And if the Spurs got the number one pick, if the Spurs got the number one pick, I would argue that as well, but they’re a little bit younger than the Rockets, maybe I wouldn’t do that either. But it’s a fun exercise. But but it’s like we just wasted 10 minutes wheels time because Booker’s not going to the Rockets for Cooper flag. That is a team right there. I’m like, “No, why would they do that?” Well, the reason I wanted to bring it up is because I think that it’s useful when we’re talking about it’s not a 0% chance that at some point in this stupid off season that Booker potentially becomes available. We don’t know. So, I think it’s I think it’s decent exercise to like map out what his value could in theory be and then see how it potentially changes or even next summer if we’ve had now we’ve had this conversation and then maybe next summer if if things don’t go well and we think Booker might eventually ask out then okay well who’s the number one pick and how did things look like? I I think it’s I I don’t think we wasted time but it’s it’s a good thought. No, no, no, no, no, no. It’s a wasted theory because it was always meant for the Rockets and I just never expected three teams. Well, the 76ers, you’re right, had a decent chance of getting up there, but the Spurs and it’s just stupid. It’s just stupid and it makes you feel like the Suns should have never traded for KD because these new draft lottery rules, you fall out of it, you could get a chance to get the number one guy. Like you know what the one thing that I think this makes me believe is I think teams are going to be less inclined to give up the farm for even a guy like Giannis because they have a down year. They could get the number one overall pick. Like the Mavericks were dead in the water, dude. Yeah, but the lottery thing’s been we’ve seen plenty of teams give up the farm since the lottery reform. The lottery reform has been in place for more than a half decade now. The thing that I think the Suns got screwed with is trading Durant when it became so much more valuable all of a sudden with the new CBA to have young depth on your team. And I think that’s why we won’t see teams do what the Suns did because the funny thing is like you mentioned if the Suns had not done the Durant trade and then well if they had a bad season they would have their own pick. They wouldn’t have had a season and this is not about KD. It’s about everything they had to give up to get KD. They wouldn’t have had a a a floor like this if they hadn’t done that trade because they wouldn’t have had the ceiling either. They wouldn’t have been contenders, but they definitely wouldn’t have been able to really bottom out like this. The be trade because they probably wouldn’t have made the bill trade, too. But yeah, that’s how they ended up in this situation. And I um it’s a big part of why I think that number 10 pick is so valuable because even if it’s a mediocre role player, it’s somebody who’s costc controlled for eight years and is young and can get better. Like that’s just so valuable right now. And the Suns have a grand total of one of those players, maybe two with OSO. Are you uh just last question, are you pissed? Like I’m pissed. I the off season has tech I guess it no it hasn’t started yet. I’m so pissed. I’m so pissed. I never two hours ago you would have never caught me dead saying I’d rather be the Mavericks than the Suns. Like this is like this is stupid. And I just I’m annoyed. I’m frustrated. I’m angry. But it is what it is, man. It is what it is. Whatever. Frustrated by the Mav side of it. Not nearly as frustrated as if Houston had jumped up. So silver lining. I you would have had to find a new co-host, which maybe some people might have liked, but I would have drowned myself in my bathtub. I would not have I would not have woken up the next day. That’ll wrap us up. Hit follow, subscribe if you haven’t already. We’ll be back with you throughout the week as the Suns are also set to hire a new coach sometime soon. Maybe we’ll finally hear some concrete names. Keep it right here. We’ll talk to you tomorrow.

The Phoenix Suns don’t have their draft pick, but they averted disaster and will merely send the Houston Rockets the 10th selection this year.

Brendon Kleen and Ben Garcia debate how the lottery impacts Kevin Durant, the Suns, and the rest of the NBA this offseason.

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