Offseason Thread

[slightly biased bias fan]

It sucks to see Memphis give up on their team.

They might not be rebuilding, rather retooling.

Morant & Bane were not a great backcourt fit. Although Bane is a solid defender, his physical tools limited his defensive impact. Morant needs a defensive specialist next to him, perhaps they believe KCP still has defensive impact and being in Orlando was a poor fit. Memphis might also believe in Wells making a leap and sold very high on Bane.

I guess we will find out with their next moves.

Via Shams Charania:

The Grizzlies still want to build around Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr.

[Who]

Shams Charania on ESPN:

I?ve been told Kevin Durant has NO desire to play in Minnesota with the Timberwolves.

Kevin Durant has no self awareness whatsoever. I cannot stand the guy and his entitlement. He does not get the hate he deserves.

He is solely responsible for this second apron hard cap situation. The NBA should have shaved an asterisk on his two championship rings.

Part of the deal appears to be Durant signing a 2yr contract extension for around $100mil. That would give the new team Durant for 3yrs.

It is fair enough for Durant to say which teams he is or is not willing to sign that 2yr extension.

If a team decides to trade for him anyway, without the extension, as an expiring contract, like Toronto did with Kawhi Leonard 6-7 years ago, then fair enough. But they risk losing a load of trade assets in the process and risk Durant walking away in 12 months time. It is all about whether a team is willing to do that. If they are not, then Durant gets to push through a trade to one of his preferred destinations.

[Neurotic Guy]

Shams Charania on ESPN:

I?ve been told Kevin Durant has NO desire to play in Minnesota with the Timberwolves.

Kevin Durant has no self awareness whatsoever. I cannot stand the guy and his entitlement. He does not get the hate he deserves.

He is solely responsible for this second apron hard cap situation. The NBA should have shaved an asterisk on his two championship rings.

Part of the deal appears to be Durant signing a 2yr contract extension for around $100mil. That would give the new team Durant for 3yrs.

It is fair enough for Durant to say which teams he is or is not willing to sign that 2yr extension.

If a team decides to trade for him anyway, without the extension, as an expiring contract, like Toronto did with Kawhi Leonard 6-7 years ago, then fair enough. But they risk losing a load of trade assets in the process and risk Durant walking away in 12 months time. It is all about whether a team is willing to do that. If they are not, then Durant gets to push through a trade to one of his preferred destinations.

Would it not be a reasonable risk to take him without the extension?  Who will have the cap space to sign him in a year?  Probably only teams he wouldn't want to sign with. 

[Who]

Shams Charania on ESPN:

I?ve been told Kevin Durant has NO desire to play in Minnesota with the Timberwolves.

Kevin Durant has no self awareness whatsoever. I cannot stand the guy and his entitlement. He does not get the hate he deserves.

He is solely responsible for this second apron hard cap situation. The NBA should have shaved an asterisk on his two championship rings.

Part of the deal appears to be Durant signing a 2yr contract extension for around $100mil. That would give the new team Durant for 3yrs.

It is fair enough for Durant to say which teams he is or is not willing to sign that 2yr extension.

If a team decides to trade for him anyway, without the extension, as an expiring contract, like Toronto did with Kawhi Leonard 6-7 years ago, then fair enough. But they risk losing a load of trade assets in the process and risk Durant walking away in 12 months time. It is all about whether a team is willing to do that. If they are not, then Durant gets to push through a trade to one of his preferred destinations.

Would it not be a reasonable risk to take him without the extension?  Who will have the cap space to sign him in a year?  Probably only teams he wouldn't want to sign with.

It is a big risk. Part of the reason Toronto were willing to take that risk with Kawhi is because they weren't high on DeRozan. They had just given him a big contract and felt he wasn't good enough to lead the team to a title. So they saw it as win-win. Kawhi stays it is a win. Kawhi leaves we just did a cap dump to get rid of DeRozan and now have cap flexability to retool our team.

There will be more teams with cap space next summer. Currently there are 8 teams (mostly bad teams) with less than a $100mil on the books for 2026-27. One of those teams is San Antonio. Now they will have to give D Fox an extension but they can also clear another $27mil by moving Devin Vassell on (and even another $17mil if they move Keldon Johnson on). So they will be able to make Durant an offer. D Fox would be their only major contract outside of rookie deals. They will have plenty of money available.

It is a big risk.

It all depends on how much they would have to give up in the trade to get Durant. At certain levels, it is a risk worth taking. At higher trade packages, it may not be.

[tazzmaniac]

Shams Charania on ESPN:

I?ve been told Kevin Durant has NO desire to play in Minnesota with the Timberwolves.

Kevin Durant has no self awareness whatsoever. I cannot stand the guy and his entitlement. He does not get the hate he deserves.

He is solely responsible for this second apron hard cap situation. The NBA should have shaved an asterisk on his two championship rings.

Part of the deal appears to be Durant signing a 2yr contract extension for around $100mil. That would give the new team Durant for 3yrs.

It is fair enough for Durant to say which teams he is or is not willing to sign that 2yr extension.

If a team decides to trade for him anyway, without the extension, as an expiring contract, like Toronto did with Kawhi Leonard 6-7 years ago, then fair enough. But they risk losing a load of trade assets in the process and risk Durant walking away in 12 months time. It is all about whether a team is willing to do that. If they are not, then Durant gets to push through a trade to one of his preferred destinations.

Would it not be a reasonable risk to take him without the extension?  Who will have the cap space to sign him in a year?  Probably only teams he wouldn't want to sign with.

It is a big risk. Part of the reason Toronto were willing to take that risk with Kawhi is because they weren't high on DeRozan. They had just given him a big contract and felt he wasn't good enough to lead the team to a title. So they saw it as win-win. Kawhi stays it is a win. Kawhi leaves we just did a cap dump to get rid of DeRozan and now have cap flexability to retool our team.

There will be more teams with cap space next summer. Currently there are 8 teams (mostly bad teams) with less than a $100mil on the books for 2026-27. One of those teams is San Antonio. Now they will have to give D Fox an extension but they can also clear another $27mil by moving Devin Vassell on (and even another $17mil if they move Keldon Johnson on). So they will be able to make Durant an offer. D Fox would be their only major contract outside of rookie deals. They will have plenty of money available.

It is a big risk.

It all depends on how much they would have to give up in the trade to get Durant. At certain levels, it is a risk worth taking. At higher trade packages, it may not be.

I wouldn't want Durant at all but I definitely wouldn't give up the #2 pick for him.  The Spurs also have the #14.  I wouldn't go more than the #14 and another protected 1st.  Barnes, Johnson and Sochan for KD works. 

[Moranis]

Spurs should hold firm with Barnes, Vassell, 14 for Durant.  If someone beats that, then oh well.  Frankly, Durant seems like a poor fit and the wrong choice for them.  They should be holding out for someone better and younger.

[Who]

What would the Spurs lineup be with Durant?

Would he be their starting PF alongside Wemby? 2 thin big men with versatile offensive games.

If it was that package of H Barnes & D Vassell + picks:

G: D Fox, Dylan Harper
G: S Castle
F: J Champagnie, Keldon Johnson
F: K Durant, Sochan
C: Wemby, (free agent)

That is a dang good 8 man rotation. 9 man rotation if they sign a quality backup center. They can probably pickup a shooter at SG for the minimum.

[Who]

It is rumoured that Toronto are willing to offer Quickley & RJ Barrett for Durant.

I don't see the appeal for Phoenix. Neither guy fits their squad well Bradley Beal and Devin Booker there.

G: Quickley
G: Beal
F: D Booker
F: RJ Barrett
C: Nick Richards

That team would get pummelled on defense. No quality at center. Small undersized players at both forward positions who are poor defenders & rebounders at that respective position. Beal not much of a defender either. Quickley defends fine but he is not a true PG. He is a scoring guard alongside two scoring SGs and another scoring SG/SF in RJ Barrett.

I don't see Durant as a great fit in Toronto either. They already have good starting forwards in Brandon Ingram and Scottie Barnes. Tough for Ingram or Durant to chase around SGs on defense. Barnes has bulked up a lot since entering the league. No legit PG. Jamal Shead is next man up. Poeltl at center. Not much on the bench either.

G: Jamal Shead
F: B Ingram, Ja'Kobe Walter, O Agbaji
F: K Durant, G Dick
F: S Barnes, C Boucher
C: Poeltl, Mogbo

I don't see how that team becomes a title contender. They would have to trade Scottie Barnes. They could get a very good guard in return for S Barnes. Rebalance their lineup. Move Durant to PF with Ingram at SF. That fit is much better.

But I do not know that they are willing to trade S Barnes. My guess is they try to make it work instead and it flatlines.

[slightly biased bias fan]

NBA insider Jake Fischer writes on Marc Steins Substack today that the Suns may be a team taking a closer look at Porzingis.

I have also heard that Phoenix has done some background work on Kristaps Porziņģis with Boston known to be exploring its trade options up and down the roster, Fischer reports.