Summer of Durant Part II (Durant asks for trade)

[Goldstar88]

I think Boston can make one of the best packages for KD and still have a team good enough remaining.

Something like this would be hard for other teams to beat:

Durant for Brown, Grant, Nesmith, 23 1st, 25 1st, 27 1st

Very tough for another team to beat that and it would still leave BY FAR the favorites to win the title over the next couple of seasons

Smart, White, Tatum, Durant, Horford, Rob, Theis, Pritchard with still having the TPE's to absorb unwanted salary and the TMLE to be used.

I'd do it. You almost have to. For good measure I'd try to get O'Neal for Theis to get wing depth and then try to sign PJ Tucker for TMLE (if he'd take that). See if you can get another center for the TPE or a ring-chaser.

Essentially throwing away our entire future for a chance to win now, sounds like something Brooklyn would do. Not the Celtics.

No thanks on that deal.

Absolutely not!! Durant is 34. He’s still very good, but he’s mortal now, which is why Jayson Tatum was blocking his shot in the playoffs last year. No thanks.

Exactly. It’s amazing how short peoples memories are. The Celtics with JB and JT duo just destroyed him and Kyrie in the postseason. I mean it was a sweep! KD looked old in that series and he’s not going to get better at 35 and 36 years old. Unreal..

Yeah exactly!  Why on earth would we  give up another 7-8 years of prime Jaylen Brown for 1-2 years of iffy KD right after we smoked them in the playoffs?  TP for you!
I honestly think our starting 5 should stay in place for next year.  That group of 5 was just clobbering teams during the whole 2nd half of the season after they got locked in.  Keep that 5 in place, ADD to those guys.

to win championships.  That is the goal is it not?

If the C’s lose Brown and another major piece, I’m not sure they are any better with a 34 year old Durant. In the West, Warriors are still probably better and possibly the Clippers too. In the East, you still have to go through the Bucks with Middleton back and who knows how Philly will be with a full off-season. It’s not worth it for a 2 year window. 

[C3LTSF4N]

Jalen could very well pass Tatum as the alpha on this team. He's totally off the table on any trade discussions imo.

Honestly I think he did after watching the playoffs. Tatum is the media superstar, I feel like Jaylen is the blood of this team.

If anything, the Finals drove home that this team can only go as far as Tatum can take them.

But yeah... I think I'm a "no" on Durant. He's walking away from a team with a pretty good shot to be competitive next season. Why? Because he's BFF's ego got bruised in negotiations.

Or he knows they’re trading Kyrie anyway so the whole thing is blowing up regardless.  Another Kyrie situation, another shtshow, what’s new?

[Sophomore]

I think Boston can make one of the best packages for KD and still have a team good enough remaining.

Something like this would be hard for other teams to beat:

Durant for Brown, Grant, Nesmith, 23 1st, 25 1st, 27 1st

Very tough for another team to beat that and it would still leave BY FAR the favorites to win the title over the next couple of seasons

Smart, White, Tatum, Durant, Horford, Rob, Theis, Pritchard with still having the TPE's to absorb unwanted salary and the TMLE to be used.

I'd do it. You almost have to. For good measure I'd try to get O'Neal for Theis to get wing depth and then try to sign PJ Tucker for TMLE (if he'd take that). See if you can get another center for the TPE or a ring-chaser.

Essentially throwing away our entire future for a chance to win now, sounds like something Brooklyn would do. Not the Celtics.

No thanks on that deal.

Absolutely not!! Durant is 34. He’s still very good, but he’s mortal now, which is why Jayson Tatum was blocking his shot in the playoffs last year. No thanks.

Or maybe it is because Brooklyn had a terrible roster construction and no help for Durant.  He didn't shoot well, but still averaged basically 26/6/6 in the series.

As I've said elsewhere, Boston has to enter this offseason like Middleton didn't get hurt and Boston lost to Milwaukee in the ECS.  If you look at the team like that, it has work to do.  Thinking this past post-season run was likely or repeatable is how a team ends up in the very good, but not great area.  Adding a top 5 guy like Durant while keeping your best player, your 3rd best player, your 4th best player, your 5th best player, and your 6th best player is a no brainer every single time.  Even if that guy is 34 and with some injuries in his past, especially when said player is locked up for 4 more years. 

Boston would be the heavy favorites to win the title over the next 2 or 3 seasons.  HEAVY.  You have to do that without giving it a 2nd thought.

I still prefer taking our chances with the current team and some reinforcements. You’re not just subtracting JB; you’re also sending half of our bench and all the assets we would use to shore up the rotation or fill a hole in the case of injury. No thanks. And I question whether 36 year old Durant will be better than 27-year old Brown. Even this coming year, Durant’s edge relative to JB isn’t big enough.

[Moranis]

Jalen could very well pass Tatum as the alpha on this team. He's totally off the table on any trade discussions imo.

Honestly I think he did after watching the playoffs. Tatum is the media superstar, I feel like Jaylen is the blood of this team.

And yet, Boston isn't that much worse when Brown misses games and falls apart without Tatum.  What the playoffs showed is that the team needs Tatum.  He is the driving force most responsible for wins and losses.  He is the guy that has to be on the floor. 

In the playoffs, Tatum's on/off differential per 100 possessions was +5.4, Brown was -1.5.  In other words, Boston was better when Brown was on the bench per 100 possessions.  That is all 24 games so not just 1 series.  That falls very much in line with how it has happened historically as well (both in the playoffs and regular season).  Tatum is the key and always has been.  And Tatum has pretty consistently played better when Brown is out.  That has been shown basically each and every year they've both been on the team. 

[JSD]

Wow this could leave the Nets a giant mess for the next 15 years. Houston owns all of their picks.

That Harden trade may go down as the worst trade in NBA history. The nets easily have 2 of the top 5 trades of all time.

[GreenlyGreeny]

People say, “oh, JB is only 25 and I’d rather have many shots with him.” Guess what JB does not have: A contract beyond the next two seasons. Read between the lines and it may very well be the case he would be happier playing with Kyrie rather than staying here.

Surely nobody can beat the package of JB, as many picks/swaps as we can offer, and Theis to make the dollars match. We’re title contenders the next 3 seasons if we make that deal because JT and KD are secured under contract the next 3. Probably beyond as KD might be the type of guy who’s elite into his late 30s, and JT may really want to stay a Celtic for life by being KD’s heir apparent. KD/JT is a dynasty duo for this era. JT/JB is may not be, as evidenced by our recent loss in the Finals.

This is a situation where unexpectedly a top five player is available. This rarely happens and nobody is getting him without giving up a really good player and picks/swaps. Ayton/picks/swaps might be the only deal that could trump us offering JB/picks/swaps, but ours trumps if the Nets think perhaps they can salvage the relationship with Kyrie by pairing him with JB (or maybe LAL would deal AD and a ton of cash and distant future picks/swaps to get Kyrie/JB as replacements for AD/Westbrick)

[tonydelk]

I know a lot of people want Durant.  I think at 33 Durant is still a heck of a player.  I just don't think getting Durant and lose all of the other pieces makes us that much better then last years team.  I'd pass.  The only thing I'd do is get in on pickup up a good player that needs moved because of salary purposes to match.  They can be a facilitator and hopefully move him out west.  He can beat up on Draymond so we can stop hearing that asshat open his mouth.

[RJ87]

Wow this could leave the Nets a giant mess for the next 15 years. Houston owns all of their picks.

That Harden trade may go down as the worst trade in NBA history. The nets easily have 2 of the top 5 trades of all time.

This is why I think they need to be really savvy here. They can't afford to let Durant bully them into a short list of teams with mediocre assets. Be savage and take the best deal on the table.

[jambr380]

Wow this could leave the Nets a giant mess for the next 15 years. Houston owns all of their picks.

That Harden trade may go down as the worst trade in NBA history. The nets easily have 2 of the top 5 trades of all time.

Eh, I doubt it. They got a couple of 1sts back from PHI along with Simmons and Curry. They are going to get a massive haul for KD. And they are going to get at least something decent for Kyrie. They failed expectations, but KD and Kyrie essentially just signed on with them for free and now they are getting all of these pieces for them. I highly doubt HOU is going to be getting multiple top 3 draft picks from BKN - they are still going to be a very competitive team.

[Moranis]

I think Boston can make one of the best packages for KD and still have a team good enough remaining.

Something like this would be hard for other teams to beat:

Durant for Brown, Grant, Nesmith, 23 1st, 25 1st, 27 1st

Very tough for another team to beat that and it would still leave BY FAR the favorites to win the title over the next couple of seasons

Smart, White, Tatum, Durant, Horford, Rob, Theis, Pritchard with still having the TPE's to absorb unwanted salary and the TMLE to be used.

I'd do it. You almost have to. For good measure I'd try to get O'Neal for Theis to get wing depth and then try to sign PJ Tucker for TMLE (if he'd take that). See if you can get another center for the TPE or a ring-chaser.

Essentially throwing away our entire future for a chance to win now, sounds like something Brooklyn would do. Not the Celtics.

No thanks on that deal.

Absolutely not!! Durant is 34. He’s still very good, but he’s mortal now, which is why Jayson Tatum was blocking his shot in the playoffs last year. No thanks.

Exactly. It’s amazing how short peoples memories are. The Celtics with JB and JT duo just destroyed him and Kyrie in the postseason. I mean it was a sweep! KD looked old in that series and he’s not going to get better at 35 and 36 years old. Unreal..

Yeah exactly!  Why on earth would we  give up another 7-8 years of prime Jaylen Brown for 1-2 years of iffy KD right after we smoked them in the playoffs?  TP for you!
I honestly think our starting 5 should stay in place for next year.  That group of 5 was just clobbering teams during the whole 2nd half of the season after they got locked in.  Keep that 5 in place, ADD to those guys.

to win championships.  That is the goal is it not?

I would rather have 7-8 shots at it, instead of 1 or 2 max.  I fundamentally disagree with you about this.  But that is ok.  We are both entitled to have opinions.

I just don't think Boston has 7 or 8 shots.  The team isn't good enough.  I absolutely believe that if Middleton doesn't get hurt Boston loses in the 2nd round.  I don't see anyway Boston gets by Milwaukee without a major upgrade anytime in the next 5 years.  Giannis is just too good.  Durant changes that calculus a lot though.  And I also don't think he only has 2 years max.  Sure, he is going to get worse, but I see no reason why Durant won't still be shooting lights out for the life of his contract and would be very surprised if he wasn't still a top 20 type player 4 years from now (which is what Brown is and will be). 

Durant is quite simply A LOT better than Brown.  It isn't close. 

[RJ87]

Wow this could leave the Nets a giant mess for the next 15 years. Houston owns all of their picks.

That Harden trade may go down as the worst trade in NBA history. The nets easily have 2 of the top 5 trades of all time.

Eh, I doubt it. They got a couple of 1sts back from PHI along with Simmons and Curry. They are going to get a massive haul for KD. And they are going to get at least something decent for Kyrie. They failed expectations, but KD and Kyrie essentially just signed on with them for free and now they are getting all of these pieces for them. I highly doubt HOU is going to be getting multiple top 3 draft picks from BKN - they are still going to be a very competitive team.

Lol. We didn't expect multiple top 3 draft picks from BKN, but look at us now.

[JSD]

Wow this could leave the Nets a giant mess for the next 15 years. Houston owns all of their picks.

That Harden trade may go down as the worst trade in NBA history. The nets easily have 2 of the top 5 trades of all time.

This is why I think they need to be really savvy here. They can't afford to let Durant bully them into a short list of teams with mediocre assets. Be savage and take the best deal on the table.

If I’m Houston I’m kicking myself for that John Wall buyout.

Wall and all of the Nets picks back for Durant!? Who would’ve said no?

[Larry for 3]

In the back of my mind I’ve always wondered if Jalen Brown was going 2 b here in the long term. He only has 2 hrs left. People keep assuming Brown & or Tatum will b here long term. They might not. This whole we have all this time could b wrong. Might only b 2 more years. Just saying

[BruceBanner18]

A sign and trade for Ayton on the way

[GreenlyGreeny]

I know a lot of people want Durant.  I think at 33 Durant is still a heck of a player.  I just don't think getting Durant and lose all of the other pieces makes us that much better then last years team.

If we can get KD for JB, Theis and picks/swaps, that’s a massive upgrade. Giannis is going nowhere and it may take JT/KD to get past him next time. No way we lose the Finals to GS in 6 with KD swapped for JB and towel-twirling Theis.