I don't see it as a problem, like I said Durant will age out of that role by Year 3 and Steph will have to sink or swim against De'Aaron for the main offensive initiator role. For me the main problem is the Spurs will have to go into luxury tax in Year 3 of Durant's deal when Wemby's likely supermax kicks in. Would be a lot cleaner if he was expiring now and the Spurs could sign him to a 2 year $150 million deal this summer instead of a 2 year $160 million extension kicking in for 26-27 and 27-28.
For me the biggest question with KD is if his Year 1 & 2 are going to be good enough to have to pay him effectively supermax for one year at age 39 while also in the luxury tax when paying Wemby the first year of his supermax deal. So you're in a bad cap situation for one year and then KD's deal comes off the books and you have the money to extend Steph.
Would much rather surround Wemby/Fox/Castle with high end wings like Naz and Aldama and sitll have a stronger bench than KD and a bench of vet min guys. Having KD and Fox as your two max slots for now isn't too bad because we have the rest of our core on rookie deals - but it's not ideal, IMO.
I'd love Naz too but don't think the Spurs are going to be in a very strong position to get him. As of now they only have $11 million or so in capspace for next year not factoring in draft picks nor whatever cap space they'll use to extend De'Aaron (don't really know how that works, are the Spurs ripping up his final year to pay 30% max?). Durant is probably gettable for cheap (at least assets wise), while Naz + Aldama probably isn't.
Also doesn't Aldama become a RFA as soon as Memphis makes the QO?
Notice you didn’t include Wemby. If there’s an issue with Wembynotmaking it back next year,I don’t WANT to make the playoffs.
I wouldn't focus on Naz and Aldama specifically. Neither may be available (I think they both get resigned by their current teams), but my point is that I'd rather add two high end 4th and 5th starters (Santi and Naz are examples of those kind of players) than an aging star like KD. Any of them will require trading though, since there won't be FA's available to accomplish this. Trading for KD kind of locks you into having KD plus some cheap guys to fill out the roster. I'm happy with a big 3 of Wemby/Fox/Castle and surrounding them with a more well rounded roster.
I wonder how much more expensive it would be to go after TMIII than KD. There might be a team out there dumb enough to drive to cost of KD up to two FRPs. Could two FRPs + Vassell get TMIII? That seems on par with a Dejounte-like haul, but TMIII isn't at the level Dejounte was at when we traded him to ATL. If the price were the same, I'd rather have TMIII than KD, even though KD is the better player, because Trey's contract leaves us flexibility to fill out the rest of the roster.
At the end of the day, however, all of this requires us to move on from Devin and Keldon, so that's a win on it's own (although the post-ASB Keldon we've been getting would actually be quite valuable... but this is just Keldon on a heater, there is no way this is sustainable)
Im agnostic on KD coming here. But I do think the Durant offseason is gonna be quite interesting:
— Rockets are obviously the team to watch, but even they won’t give up a lot of assets for Durant if Booker is also there.
— I think the “it’s Kevin freaking Durant!” stuff is overstated. Dude is old (37 before next season), has lost a step on D, and comes with lists of off court baggage.
— the Suns showing their hands this early is just dumb. Ensures lowball offers. Maybe they just don’t care anymore (reinforcing point about baggage).
My offer probably tops out at Devin, Barnes’s expiring, a fake FRP, and 4 SRPs
I'd much rather have TMIII too since he's a far better defender than Durant while being on the timeline plus like you said half the price, but I'm trying to think guys that are attainable and not just who I wish I could have. I just don't see how you're going to get two high end 4th and 5th starters for Vassell, Keldon, Sochan, and a pick or two, and Durant would be far superior to just running it back with Evin and Kelon IF the team is willing to pay luxury tax in 27-28. I really want Vassell gone.
Last edited by baseline bum; 03-04-2025 at 03:44 PM.
In what world are we thinking NOLA is moving Trey Murphy? Was there being of gossip I missed?
Ouch scott man, what happened to TMIII's defense? I could swear he was like 85th percentile Crafted DPM just a month or so ago and now he's only 35th percentile.
https://craftednba.com/players/trey-murphy-iii
NOP has allegedly said TMIII is untouchable, but everyone has their price. No one here thought DJM could be on the move until he was, for example.
It’s not the Suns doing. KD was pissed that they shopped him at the deadline, and has mandated a trade this summer.
I think limiting our thinking to "who we think is attainable" is kind of self-limiting. Every year, lots of guys move who weren't expected to or even known to be on the block. Also, any name I throw out are just examples. A real FO should identify the archetype, attributes and characteristics (including their contract) of the guys they want and then call every team with one of those guys and see what it would take. We can't and shouldn't just wait around for trades to fall in our laps like Fox did. There is no reason for us to not be extremely pro-active.
I actually think if you start with a basis of Vassell, Keldon, Sochan, Barnes (I'll throw him in even though I like him and I hope we retain him) and two FRPs as your currency, I think you could definitely net two very good 4th and 5th starters. Even though I am ing sick of Devin, he still will have value to other teams. Likewise, I think Keldon doesn't have a TON of value, but as he approaches the end of his deal (only two years left after this one) he becomes more valuable - especially if he can continue to flash towards the end of the season. I don't actually want to trade Sochan unless the right deal comes along, but I think he'll certainly have value to other teams. These three guys won't have value the way Derrick White did, appealing to a playoff contender, but they'll have value to young rebuilding teams looking to shed their Cam Johnson-like players (Cam would be a high end 4th or 5th starter, IMO).
Barnes and Champ are the guys we have who I think would appeal to a playoff teams, but for different reasons. Barnes because he's capable and he's expiring next year, Champ because he's dirt cheap but might be able to give you some valuable minutes from time to time, especially in the regular season when you've got to eat up some of those minutes (these are the same reasons they'd be valuable to us, of course).
If I were GM, I'd see if I couldn't make this happen (these are examples, not my dream offseason):
- Large chunk of our MLE for a 3-year deal on Jake Laravia
- Trade Keldon and some kind of draft capital for Cam Johnson (saved BKN $10MM over two years)
- Trade Vassell and some SRPs for John Collins (primary value for us is just getting off Vassell's money). Not sure if Utah goes for this one
I'd might regret this opinion later, but I think I'd prefer that than KD and some dusty ol' vet minimum guys like who PHX currently has filling out the roster
I thought he was only around 50th percentile before. Average, but not great defender. Definitely a concern, but gotta wonder how much of that is from being on a bad NOLA team?
TMIII is kind of a pipe dream... maybe Herb is really who we should be thinking about. He might better fit what we're trying to do anyway as a 5th option 3&D guy
What kind of draft capital are you talking for Cam? Laravia's falloff in Sac concerns me too. You sure he's just not someone who benefitted from a great system in Memphis? I'd love John Collins but you're gonna have to throw a first in to get that trade done.
herb is coming off a down year and a season ending injury. if there was ever going to be a "buy low" opportunity, it's now
I don't think he would have up until now, but the reality is the fit and timing align and there's only so many teams who have the expendable assets to make it work and can offer him a chance to win.
He already turned down the Grizzlies, the Rockets are presumably waiting out Booker and the Thunder are about to get expensive and neither side probably wants to reunite, so my sense is it's between the Heat (no path to championship contention), Spurs, Mavericks and Timberwolves (either would be difficult due to cap issues).
Something like swapping the ATL pick for one of their picks in the 20s for Cam. I don't think they're going to get the 2 FRPs they had hoped for. Prices seem to be coming down on trades.
Jake is getting less opportunity to SAC. Maybe it's only like 7-8MM/yr for him and then you still have a portion of the MLE left for another move. I think he's worth a flier. You only got to get to $6MM/yr to price SAC out... maybe that's enough. Or maybe Jake likes SAC and will take $5MM/yr to stay there... who knows.
Are you going to come up with a clever nickname for Wemby if he wins a ring only after KD came? Garcon Dore perhaps? Will those Spurs les be authentic to you, or will they deserve an asterisks like you do with other teams?
Different scenario. Durant is nowhere near his second best player in the league peak and the the Spurs aren't in the same universe as single season GOAT regular seasons teams.Are you going to come up with a clever nickname for Wemby if he wins a ring only after KD came? Garcon Dore perhaps? Will those Spurs les be authentic to you, or will they deserve an asterisks like you do with other teams?
They wouldn't be assured of much (probably play-in or offs), let alone a championship.
I'm just worried about perfect being the enemy of good with regards to the offseason. I'd rather get our Lu Dort and Cason Wallace to flesh out the starting lineup for a few years but if that situation doesn't materialize I'd hate to pass on adding a good player like Durant and bring Vassell and Johnson back instead.
We're in total agreement there! And to be clear, I'm not against KD, it's just not my preferred route. I'm really counting on Brian to look alive this offseason. I'm sure we'll be disappointed and find out later we're still being patient and not skipping any steps. Need 2 years for Devin and Keldon to acclimate to Fox and for Castle to get over himself.
Although I would laugh if it happened, I don’t see the Thunder giving up much for KD. Now if Dagnault gets his ass handed to him in the playoffs like he did last year when he went with Giddy over Wallace and Wiggins, their FO may get embarrassed enough to make a move for KD. Or they could just move on from Dagnault.
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