DEEP DIVE On All the Kevin Durant Trade Packages For Phoenix Suns This Summer

DEEP DIVE On All the Kevin Durant Trade Packages For Phoenix Suns This Summer

today unlocked on Phoenix Suns. We know the last domino has fallen for the Kevin Durant sweepstakes. That Houston Rockets pick. It’s number 10, which means it’s time to get creative. Deep dive on all the KD deals that could and maybe won’t actually happen. We’ll go crazy. We’ll go realistic. And we’ll break them all down. 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 in to 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 first listen here on this Wednesday. Don’t forget Locked On Suns free and available on all platforms including YouTube. So, click that follow subscribe button. Do what thousands of other Suns fans have already done. Become an everydayer and get locked on to the Phoenix Suns right here each and every day. We got a lot of different KD deals to get to. Joining me to do it as always from the Wild West Valley, my fellow Suns Credential media member, how we feeling, Ben Garcia. So, good. Yesterday got a little heated. People thought you were you were really angry with me, which was great. So, I just I feel like it’s nice to say, Brendan, I appreciate you. There is no one else more I’d rather work with. So, uh I’m feeling good. I hope you’re feeling even better. I still think the lottery is disgusting, but I’m happy to be here, man. I’m happy to be here. Appreciate you as well. We got a lot to dig into. KD, let’s start there. I was going to say he’s available, but we haven’t checked in on that in a while. We didn’t really get into it too much with the Brian Gregory situation. Gambo just tweeted out before we hit record that uh the Suns are kind of getting through the head coaching search. The second round of interviews is going to start and they’ll whittle down the list here soon. And obviously we kind of know what the trade packages are at this point. We talked about Giannis. So, how much are you still on the KD is getting traded side of things here on, you know, halfway through May? Even as skeptical as I’ve been about a Kevin Durant trade about like what’s coming back to the Suns because originally man in in February we’re talking about Jaylen Green and Cam Whitmore and Jabari Smith and just like a multitude of players and it feels like each week it’s kind of taking a little bit of a nose dive. There is where that nose dive just immediately hits bedrock where you’re like okay you’re just keeping Kevin Durant because what’s the point at this point? But for the people that want to keep Durant, I just don’t get what you’re saying because yes, maybe the trades aren’t as great as we thought two months ago, but Brendan, the Suns are in a in a scenario where it feels like they have to trade Kevin Durant because there’s no point running it back next year. They have no other way to retool this roster. They went the vet minimum route two years in a row. It didn’t work out like at all. It exploded in their faces both times. So, as much as I am like I want Kevin Durant to be here because he’s a top 10 player of all time, it just doesn’t make sense for him or for the Suns to be here. That’s where that’s kind of my point on it. What about you? Yeah, I would say the really unpredictable nature of these playoffs so far and the kind of desperation you’re feeling from a lot of the losing teams. Obviously, we’ve talked about Houston, but you know, any number of others could could crop up. We’ll talk about them throughout the day. And that just the idea that Giannis’s potential entry into everything this off season, which was solidified by Sham Shirania earlier this week, is just uh it just feels like it’s going to create more activity in the summer period. And I think that’s just a good thing for the Suns. And that makes me think if anything, you know, it’s a little more likely that he gets traded because the the the demand is there, right? Um and I think from the Sun standpoint, while I could understand a pathway if they’re if their goal, which Gregory has said, book has said, uh Ishbia has said their goal is still to remain relatively competitive. They’re not trying to be the Jazz next season or anything. And maybe you could look at that and say, “Well, all the trades we’ve looked at for KD aren’t going to keep us competitive and we’re buying Beal out and this roster doesn’t seem like it’s even going to win 30 games.” I could see how maybe there’d be a little part of you if you’re Brian Gregory that goes, “Well, if we keep KD, we’ll be pretty competitive.” That would just be such a even bigger egg on your face if you’re the Suns to basically just keep him to stay relevant. You can’t do that. You have to be making moves to get back to championship contention. And I’ve said a hundred times, I’ll say it again. I don’t think there’s a pathway keeping Durant where the Suns get closer to championship contention. So, we are on the same page. Let’s get to the three main teams that I think people are looking at here with Durant trades that we’ve talked about a lot because we’re we have screenshots we’ll show you guys. We we spent, you know, hours a piece on trade machines. Hours today. Hours. hours and we will get to plenty of of real trades. But the three that I think you and I had the toughest time with partially because the trade machine has its limitations and the new salary cap CBA is just stupid and it’s hard to actually do these. But I think it also speaks to the real situation that the Suns will be facing, which is especially up to next uh league year, which will begin July 1st, which means probably not a draft a draft day type of trade. And honestly, Ben, up until they get some clarity on the Bradley Beal situation and and what that buyout will look like or if in some way they pull a rabbit out of a hat and they’re able to trade him, there’s just a lot of dominoes that need to fall with these other teams again, New York, Minnesota, Houston that are at the tax line or over it. um that really make me I I it easily could still happen, but trades with those three teams are going to be really hard to do. I think you had the same experience trying to make it happen online today. Yeah. So, I I don’t want to doomsday it. Really hard sounds like to another level, but they’re definitely difficult. Especially that Rockets trade, man. the Rockets like for if the Rockets want Kevin Durant and that’s a whole separate conversation if we’re just talking about them uh specifically for a second and then there’s the Timberwolves we talked about with Randall a little bit ago where he could opt in he could opt out will he won’t he but like with the Rockets there is literally no deal un unless there was a stone that I left unturned today that they are doing a deal that doesn’t include Dylan Brooks and potentially even even Jaylen Green like you’re looking at a three to four team deal. Now it makes things a little bit e easier when you cut Meech and when if you cut Martin that brings you under the second apron but as you and I talked before the show just a little bit and that allows the Suns to kind of be able to combine some salaries to make things a little bit easier on everyone. But it’s hard to find another team that is just going to willingly get into a trade conversation without knowing that they’re going to get their back scratched, too. So, with all those different ones, the Rockets, the Knicks, the Minnesota Timberwolves, we haven’t even talked about, who knows, maybe these teams don’t even want this if they go far enough in the playoffs. Or you mentioned the Beal thing, the Giannis thing as well. You’re not just waiting for the Giannis domino to or the Beal domino to drop. They’re also waiting for the Giannis domino to drop. So, the more I think about it, man, if you are going to do a deal with one of those three teams, it’s going to be a little bit later into the offseason. I I mean, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think so. The the Rockets when I like I I we should explain because we’ve been talking about it a bunch and now all of a sudden we’re saying, “Oh, it’s going to be so hard.” The problem is that it’s a few things. Let’s just say off the top though, anything that we’re talking about here gets solved by three team trades, but those are just really complicated, right? Like it’s it’s it starts to be a lot. Even just think of the Lillard trade where the Suns got involved. I mean, no one would have been able to put up a screenshot of a, you know, ESPN trade machine version of what that turned into, right? Where all of a sudden Grayson Allen and DeAndre Aton and Tumani Kamar are involved. Like nobody would have foreseen that because it’s just a lot of moving parts. So, but that could solve a lot of what we’re talking about. There’s some teams like Detroit, Chicago, Brooklyn that have some cap space. Memphis even if you could send something to them and there’s ways to make that work, but just kind of between the two teams. The problem with Houston is they become an over-the cap team in a lot of the scenarios where you have Durant coming onto their team. That that’s the challenge. And so, um, they’re not right now, but even if you become an over the the apron team over the course of a trade, the league doesn’t it basically all those same rules end up going into effect. When you’re talking about Minnesota, they’re already over the second apron. So, you know, they’ve got a lot to figure out. And then the Knicks are over the first apron, I believe, already. So, they have their own situation. Now, the the dominoes to watch on these, Ben, would be Fred Van Vleet has a team option, and they push that date back. I don’t know if people saw, but until after the draft, basically the last day before free agency. So, you know, they’re giving themselves the flexibility to make that uh decline that or do what they need to do with it as things progress. And then, uh Julius has a player option, right? So, that would be those two dominoes are pretty big. Yeah, I was just going to say the the Vet one. I’m not sure with Randall, but the VIT one makes things like a lot easier. If they’re willing to trade VIT, it’s makes things 10 times easier because he makes $42 million opposed to Brooks’s I think 22 and Jaylen Green’s like 18 or something. So, well, part of the problem with Van Vleet is when he becomes part of the trade, the thing with the Rockets is basically if Jabari Smith’s gonna be involved, he actually makes a lot of money because he was such a high pick. So Fred Van Vleet and Jabari Smith, just those two, they make more than Kevin Durant. So this is all just kind of the permutations. It’s similar where you go to OG Anobi. Okay, he only makes 39, which is way less than Durant, but there’s not another salary. Like Mitchell Robinson could kind of be it, but then you’re going over Durant. It’s like just it it’s just a reminder I think that the salaries with the cap aprons now have to be so onetoone that it’s just really hard for good teams who are expensive to make trades with each other. Like that’s really I think one of the unforeseen consequences of the new CBA is the league has made it way harder than it ever was for good teams to trade good players to other good teams. It’s like almost impossible. No, I would agree with you and that was one of the things that I was running into today. Again, we’re not saying any of it is impossible or it potentially makes the Rockets much less likely for a Kevin Durant deal. It’s just it’s not so much a one for one because if you’re just like Een Jabari Smith like if you were just doing that Kevin Rant over to the Rockets the Rockets would have to give you uh Whitmore Jabari Smith Dylan Brooks you want your first round pick back Reed Shepard like you’re combining so much to where they’re like okay this is stupid I might as well go trade this for Giannis because if I’m going to gut my team I’m going to do it for a guy that’s 30 and not a guy that’s 36. And we know that KD’s expressed reticence like about what happened with the Suns trading for him where they had to do exactly that. They had to combine all of their forwards together, all three of their forwards, and suddenly they’re just thinned out and not very uh in a as good of a position to compete. So, yeah, I I we wanted to cover those three because they’re the biggest, but we have plenty of other ones to dive into. So, we’ll do that. San Antonio, Miami, OKC, and on down the line as the show continues. Coming next. First, today’s show brought to you by Wayfair. The days are getting longer, the weather’s warming up, and people are spending more time outside, which means it’s the perfect time to refresh your outdoor space. Uh, do it quick if you’re in Phoenix. Whether you’re working with a big backyard or a small balcony, Wayfair has everything you need to make it feel more like you. 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Let’s go San Antonio. Yeah. Yeah. Let’s go to San Antonio because this is something that I could throw up on here right now. That last night Oh, I got it got cut off a little bit. That should Oh, no it didn’t. This deal would be Devin Vel who was pretty much in it just for money purposes. Harrison Barnes, 32-year-old, kind of fits what the Suns want to do in terms of winning now and also not someone that they’re going to miss over in San Antonio to make the salaries work. And then because it wouldn’t allow you to make this the second overall pick because it was a pick swap with the Hawks, this should be their round one second overall pick. But I wasn’t going to not put this up here and not wait and waste people’s time with it. But over there, Kevin Durant would go to the San Antonio Toino Spurs. uh uh Barnes, Vel, and the second overall pick for Kevin Durant. I think if you are the San Antonio Spurs and you want to keep Castle and you don’t want to gut your roster and you still want to stay young while putting people around to win now, I think this is the best way you do it. I don’t know if Dylan Harper or whoever it is that the Bucks would want to trade if they wanted to do that. They I think they’d go elsewhere, but Vel Barnes, number two overall pick for Kevin Durant. Is that is that too rich? I know you’re not fond of Vel, but I know you’re fond of draft picks. Yeah, I I mean, the Spurs situation is a little interesting, right? Because outside of Castle, I actually don’t think that right now they have a ton of other really exciting young players. They’ve they’ve kind of not drafted great. um guys like Sohan, Brandham, um Wesley, guys that they drafted in the lottery that just haven’t really broken out. I mean, Sohan would interest me maybe if you were able to get him in here. Um, but I think that the number two overall pick is just it it’s not really likely for me to to see that change hands in in a dur in a trade for Durant, especially in a market like San Antonio where you probably wouldn’t be positive he would resign, although obviously that can change as reporting continues to tell us where he would want to go. But I kind of think here, Ben, and I’ll just throw this out now because I pulled some notes up. I think that the Durant trade is going to land somewhere between the 2023 trade, what what Portland got back for for Dame and what Miami got back for Jimmy. Now, that’s going to scare people because Miami got back basically nothing for Jimmy. They got back Andrew Wiggins, DaVon Mitchell, and a and the number 20 overall pick, I believe, is what it ended up being from Golden State. That’s not a lot. Portland got back at Kamara a 2029 first from the Bucks which looks pretty sweet right now and two pick swaps from the Bucks and 28 and 30 also look pretty sweet right now and then a bunch of other stuff for Holiday once they flipped him. So I don’t think the Suns are going to get that much but I think they’re going to get more than Miami. It’s going to fall somewhere in the middle but none of those trades had any asset as good as the number two overall pick in a very strong draft. So, I just think that’s a little too rich from what NBA history tells us, even recent NBA history to get that for a 36 year old dude feels unlikely. And and but what I would say to you is I think that the 14th pick, which is your placeholder in the graphic up there, and one of their other 15 extra picks they seem to have, I think now you could be kind of talking. I I think something like that could really work. just substitute another additional pick and get their 14th this year. That that I think is actually realistic. So if you’re talking Spurs, 14th overall pick, Sohan, Johnson, probably Barnes just to make the money work. That would be something that you would be interested in. That That’s interesting to me. I can’t remember if it’s Vel or Kell Johnson, who you’re not a huge fan of. I think it was Vel that you’re not a huge fan of. Uh Johnson I’m not a fan of at all. Vel I am a little lower on than Consensus but his contract he didn’t get a max. He got a little less. So I Vel would be a totally reasonable swing to make if you’re the Suns and he’s under contract forever. So that’s a nice building block. The the Vel if I could get Vel Sohan Barnes because money works and he does offers him in the Suns right now in the 14th overall pick. I think I I think I’d do that. I just feel like they value Sohan as an actual piece for that team down the line. It’s like, yeah, he’s not like the best scorer and you know, at times his shot can be a little wonky, but defensively and just the tenacity that he brings. I do like Sohan. I’m sorry. So maybe Yeah. So maybe it’s not Sohan, but it’s another like again like a second first round pick. I think maybe that’s kind of the where the negotiations could go. like do the Suns value a pick more or do they like Sohan? I I would hope that they have some scouting info on him from their, you know, personnel guys, whatever. That that would probably be where it would go. But I think that’s a decent construction as a starting point. Um, let me go to Miami. Uh, that’s not Miami. So, retrading Wiggins, who they just got for Jimmy, and this is a key part. uh trading Duncan Robinson who they basically don’t even want to be in their rotation anymore and he’s still making $20 million. That one would be helpful to them. Now, there’s another world where instead of Wiggins, this is Terry Roier. I’m not really in love with that, but I might still do it if it involved getting back the two best assets in this trade, which are a first round pick. Um I put in here the 20th pick. So you’re basically adding Kel Wear to the Jimmy package is basically what this trade is, Ben. Um, and Khal Wear is the other the the primo primo asset of all this. So I would take back Roger if I was getting wear and that first round pick. There’s a couple different options of what they could include there. They don’t have a ton of picks, but I think they have at least one other one that they could do. Maybe it’s Rosier instead of Wiggins, but this is generally the construction. What are your thoughts? Easily my favorite realistic like really realistic that you and I both agree on package because you’re getting where and if you could get Wiggins back. Yes, Wiggins is not the same player he was back in 2022, but he’s still a viable defensive piece. I like Duncan Robinson as like a guy that’s going to help keep you competitive in games. You’re not going to be a championship team. But where and a first round pick? Like that’s where I get to be. Like if I could get where Yeah. I This is where it’s going to be crazy. If I could get where or the second overall pick from the Spurs, dude, I think I’d take I think I’d take wear. I like what I saw from him this year. And I think the Heat might be spooked enough to trade him because of what happened with Himehawk as the year prior. That seemed like a blue chip trade guy and then he fell off a cliff. Do you want to run that back again? That’s where the risk comes of like could they won’t they actually blossom to what they want to be. Love that trade. I think it’s awesome. I think that’s that’s like your perfect win now plus get a couple of pieces package. So, it feels a little too good to be true. But that one’s interesting. I’m trying to see online. There was I believe Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald had tweeted this past week about what the Suns asking price was from Miami at the deadline, but this dude tweets so freaking much that I can’t find it. Um, so we could probably circle back on that a different day. I I think it might be a good idea at some point to just start having our fellow locked on hosts from some of these teams on the show to to talk it through. Um, but yeah, I mean I think the wiggle room on this one would be again who the who the money is, whether that’s Roger or everything else. But also, you know, maybe instead of a first, it could be Yoic or Hakez. I I I think you can kind of debate who what’s better among all that stuff. Or would you do it if it was just where and no pick? So just wear Wiggins and uh Robinson. Yeah, man. I would. I would. I’m that I I love what I saw in where a sevenfoot guy who can handle the ball a bit and is like he looks like this generation of big man. Moves well, fluid. I’m into that. Uh that was a guy that you and I were both into if I’m not mistaken. I know we didn’t do show together last time, but I was into wear last year. I liked Ryan Dunn more, but I was into wear last year. And of course Bob Carrington, who went superbly further than everyone else. But that one’s interesting. Uh, you want me to move on to the next one or you want to you want to save it for a second? Yeah, let’s go to the next segment and we can get to um I would say three of the less likely wild cards, but interesting but interesting. Oh, they’re more interesting because they’re wild cards. We’ll get there next. First, today’s show brought to you by Car Guru. Shopping for a car should be exciting, not exhausting. But between the confusing prices and hidden fees, it can feel overwhelming. And that’s why I love using Car Gurus. They help you cut through the noise and show you the best deals with full confidence. 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Um, because I actually think this is a really plausible trade, but it is all contingent on it being a place that I kind of doubt that Durant would have actual interest in going. All right. And that is the Detroit Pistons. Pretty straightforward. Tobias Harris, Isaiah Stewart, Assar Thompson. Now, of course, there are a few places you could go with the younger Detroit players. They have Jaden Ivy. They just drafted Ron Holland. But if I’m doing this, I want us. Like, that’s what I’m asking for if I’m the Suns. And then maybe the Pistons are a little more desperate because they’re the Pistons versus Houston who might be able to get Giannis or they already have a lot of upward trajectory where they want to keep Amen Thompson. Maybe you could get the other twin. And then I threw a pick in there. The Pistons have several picks you could choose from. They don’t have their own this year. Uh I believe they owe that to uh somebody, but it’s not that good of a pick anyway. So I went with 2029, but whatever. It could be protected, could be not protected. But the main assets, Isaiah Stewart’s not a bad player to have around. He fits the stretch big mold that I was talking about when we were looking at like, hey, what should the roster kind of ideally how could it be different around book? I had said like somebody who can stretch the floor at the five spot. Isaiah Stewart does that. And then Assar is good. Great young building block. And then uh maybe a pick, maybe not a pick. Maybe you get two of their young guys instead of the pick, whatever. You know how it goes. But I mean, watching them play in the playoffs, they very much looked like a team stylistically and just in terms of needs that could definitely be a Kevin Durant away from looking a lot better. Again, it’s just I don’t we have not seen superstar players say, “Yeah, I’ll go to the Pistons.” That just does not happen. So, I’m discounting it for that reason. If my You’re Okay, just so we’re clear in case someone clicks off. Yes, I agree with you. I think there’s like a no chance of it happening. Not because it doesn’t make sense. Not I I just don’t think Kevin Durant would go there. And it’s going to be up to Kevin Durant as well. If I remember correctly, Thompson was really effective, especially defensively in that Knicks series, although they didn’t pull it out. Isaiah Stewart would work perfect for Devin Booker. This you and you have to get a pick back. As a Thompson hasn’t shown the same amount of promise as a men Thompson, not even close. So I would like I don’t think that’s quite true. I I think that coming out of the draft people like Kevin O’Connor actually had a SAR higher because of his jump shot being a little more promising. And I frankly just think that a man his athleticism is probably like 5% better. Uh he’s also just on a better team so and a bigger market. I think he’s just gotten more shine. I don’t think the distance is super high. I think if you could get Assar Thompson, we had that conversation last week like what’s the best player or most promising type of player you could get, he would be pretty close to the top of my list. I think that highly of him. Wow. Okay. I don’t think that highly out of him, but that might be because that’s the small market bias. I think he’s a good player. I think defensively he’s awesome. I would want the pick if I could get the pick in that. Like I think that’s what would make it or break it for me. Even if it was a distant pick, I do want a pick on top. Is better most of the time because if you’re giving them Kevin Durant, you want a distant pick because they’re going to be really good right now. You said you said uh they have a flurry of picks that you could choose from. maybe someone else’s pick or whatever. If it’s not the TW, my point is if it’s not the 2029 pick, that’s fine. But I do want a pick uh uh for the Suns to come back. But otherwise, I like the framework of that deal. Tobias Harris was effective with the Detroit Pistons. Bring him over to the Suns again. That’s a player along with Isaiah Stewart that helps keep you viable and not the Charlotte Hornets over years to come. Uh anymore. I’ll move on to the to the Thunder. Oh, you have the rest of the way here. Let’s start with the Thunder because the last one is so so gross that I want to make sure that the least amount of people see it. But the the Oklahoma City Thunder, I’ve talked about this before. This one is more about getting players. I’m sorry. This one is more about getting picks than it is players. Here is Oh, that came up really quickly. The Thunder would be sending the Suns. Isaiah Hartstein, Alex Caruso. Alex Cruso has something weird with this contract that I’m not a thousand% sure, but it can be moved. Uh, Alex Crusoe, who makes $10 million. Isaiah Hartstein, who makes $30 million. And then instead of asking for a third pick, I want Nicola Topic who didn’t really play this year and hasn’t and but he is a 66 point guard who was seen as one of the biggest question marks in the draft last year. And if you’re the Thunder and all I’m doing is giving away picks that I have a flurry of. There was a million to choose from. Nicole Topic, who we’re not exactly sure what he is, but he’s a 19-year-old and it feels like you got a first round pick because it was that from last year. Topic was a guy last year where he was in the Reese draft and if he hadn’t had the ACL tear, Yep. A lot of people thought he had the talent to be in the mix to go first overall and he fell because teams didn’t want to take a a you know a mulligan year on him, but the Thunder said Mulligan is our name. We’ll do it and they you still have him and he he could have star level talent. So that that would be a real get. He could he’s a which is why I said it feels like you’re getting an extra first round pick because he was the first round pick from last year in the middle of the first round. So Hartinstein Caruso really just salary cap fillers and to help you stay viable for now. Topic who feels like a fir somewhere between a first and a second round pick because of the question mark and then two first round picks if I’m not mistaken. Uh one is from Oklahoma City for this year and then 2028 one is from Denver so it’s not their own first round pick so they’re not giving it up. from someone else in 2028, which I think is kind of viable because we’re not so sure about the Denver Nuggets like in a couple of years. So, it’s not a bad one to pick. Yeah, we we I mean obviously when you’re talking about OKC, the the picks possibilities are not endless. It’s it’s actually far less than I think because just so much time has passed. But this upcoming year they have 2026 they have they could potentially have six. After that, it starts to dwindle. But you can really take your pick. Um, yeah. I I I don’t think that this is preposterous because it’s just two of their expensive veteran players. Uh, maybe the Topic part isn’t part of it and it’s instead it’s like Cassand Wallace who’s a little, you know, more on the role players side or or maybe it’s um just another first and they just go even more on the pick side of things. I’m not sure. But I got to say, I think I said this on yesterday’s episode, I just don’t think Oklahoma City, they they are going to have to be pretty they’re going to have to have some hard conversations internally if they lose to Denver or if they uh don’t make the finals, frankly. Anything short of at least making the finals, I think, would be a disappointing end to this. But I just similar to what I’ve said with a lot of other teams, I just don’t see a 36-year-old guy being the solution that makes the most sense for them. And KD fits a lot of places. That’s kind of one of his superpowers. I don’t think a team that is modeled on being a swarming, flying, athletic, defensive first squad. I just think that’s asking a lot of any guy his age to be part of that type of identity the way that they play. So, it’s not an awesome fit in my opinion either for that reason. Totally fair. Um, I think it’s more possible than you think it is, but I don’t think we’re that far off. I did substitute out at the last second Nicole Yo Nola Joic Nicole Topic for uh Kase Wallace because Kase Wallace is like a solid rotational piece for them and I feel like that might be breaking up too much of your core where Nola torn ACL didn’t play. Uh so I so that’s why I swapped out those two. But maybe you’re right, you do need to add something to make the money work. It’s not much if I’m not mistaken. Uh yeah, Tobich makes four million. So you got to find something somewhere to make the money work. But if you if it’s another if if you want to give me three first round picks, all in. And then just some throwin, I would be all in for that as well. Now, here’s the most disgusting gross that Brendan was like, “You’re a madman.” when I sent it to him. What if the Phoenix Suns go in just full nuclear rebuild mode, which I think that’s what you would have to do. You get the third overall pick, a 2028 first round pick via the the Los Angeles Clippers, and you bring Paul George to Phoenix, and you potentially stick it out with Beal, or maybe not. Maybe you get rid of him, maybe you trade him. You take on two of the worst contracts in the NBA. And let’s say you’re just not finding the deals that you wanted to find for KD. And here come the 76ers desperate to try to figure out if this team can win a championship. And all you got to do is give up your third overall pick. You’re potentially not giving up Harper or Bailey. And then of course Cooper Flag, one of those two guys. And you bring Kevin Durant in into kind of a ready to win now team. What do you think of this deal? So, this includes the third overall pick. Third overall pick. Third overall pick, Paul George, and another first round pick. You were off the top. I mean, you’re gonna, you know what I’m going to say because I already said it with the Spurs pick. I I just I understand that you’re you’re getting part of the value that you would be needing to overcompensate for is the Paul George contract. Like, that is an albatross thing that you do have to provide some value similar to what we’ve been talking about with Beal in order to get off of it. But that’s still too much uh in my opinion to me the because because of this like maybe not in a vacuum like obviously I think even you know like this one is more like a thought experiment so I can’t say for sure because it’s just so out there but I think the thing about the Sixers that we are disagreeing on is this luck in the lottery not only to keep their pick which was on the wire’s edge of even happening but to jump This gives them the freedom to not care if next year is competitive. They don’t have to be all in anymore because suddenly they have this I mean I think people agree that anywhere in the top three of this draft you’re feeling pretty good. Obviously Flag is in a tier of his own but the other guys might be number one picks. They definitely would have been last year. Now you’re you’re kind of cruising a little bit. You don’t have to hope that Paul George is healthy again and Joel Embiid is healthy again and everything clicks the right way because your your kind of freedom and and flexibility as a franchise just multiplied with this prospect that you can now build your team around him and you have a little more time to say Embiid if you need to take all of next season off again go ahead like our this is our future now not so much Paul George. So, I don’t know why they would do another move to like go crazy with it when this was just such like a blessing all out of nowhere. Yeah. And by the way, you and I talked about some of the two teams that like would be on par with the Suns of like these are the two teams that have it worse. Both those teams jumped the Suns last night in the Mavericks and the 76ers. if you want another laugh. Um I I would just I think with Daryl my who has been a star chaser along with Matt Ishbia, maybe he hasn’t learned his lesson. Maybe he has. Whether it’s James Harden, whether it’s uh uh Paul George, they still have the star. That’s kind of the point that I’m making. The star is the the building blockchip prospect, which is is close equivalent to any of the vets that he’s chased. like this is a real opportunity. Just so we’re just so we’re fair, we’re probably talking about Ace Bailey. I think Harper goes too, who I think both Harper and Bailey are on par with each other with maybe a mix of someone else. I that argument of like yesterday you and I bickered about Booker Flag, like who’s got more value? I think right now if you’re a win now team depending on who you are like not the Hornets but like the Sixers if you’re trying to win now if maybe they’re not maybe they do want to push you back if they want to. I don’t think I mean they would like able to win now but I don’t think that they can. I mean, their best player is incapable of staying on the court. And Paul George looked like a corpse. So, I don’t think doubling down on all that makes a ton of I know they wouldn’t be doubling down on PG because they’d be sending him out, but yeah. And you get rid of PG’s contract. Jared McCain looked really good last year before he got like really good before he got injured. And then you still have Maxi who is awesome. Like awesome. Probably more suited to be a two. But you bring Kevin Durant in. I don’t I think it’s like the most unrealistic out of the realistic scenarios, but I still think it’s in the tier of realistic, but at the bottom of those. So like Rockets, Timberwolves, Knicks, all those different I just think the Sixers are interesting because if you can get back I think if you can get off the $50 million contract that is only second to Be’s contract, it makes sense without having to get up give up a ton and then you get back Kevin Durant, you sign him to a two-year deal, you extend your window, but that’s only if you’re right. If the Sixers are like, “Let’s let’s try to figure this thing out.” But if not, then you’re right. It doesn’t make any sense. Which is why I bring it down to the one of the least one of the lesser of the realistic options. Absolutely. That’ll wrap us up. Hit follow, subscribe if you haven’t already. More trade talk, coaching search, and some insane news along the way. Like, I don’t know, the Mavs winning the lottery. The NBA is ridiculous. Keep it right here for all of your son’s content, and we’ll talk to you tomorrow.

The Phoenix Suns are expected to trade Kevin Durant this summer, so what are the actual packages they could get back?

Brendon Kleen and Ben Garcia break down SEVEN different deals from all corners of the NBA, and why the new CBA complicates the trades.

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