The Phoenix Suns gave it their all for a championship challenge.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Phoenix are signing Kevin Durant (forward, 208cm, 109kg) from the Brooklyn Nets.
Instead of bringing Durant and TJ Warren (forward, 203cm, 100kg), Phoenix decided to hand over several players and multiple picks. Brooklyn decided to hand over four first-round tickets from Phoenix, including Mikal Bridges (forward, 198cm, 95kg), Cameron Johnson (forward, 203cm, 95kg), and Jay Crowder (forward, 198cm, 106.6kg).
ESPN reporter Adrian Wojnalowski announced that the 2023, 2025, 2027, and 2029 first round nominations were all completely passed over this time. He additionally agreed to hand over the right to exchange the 2028 first round pick. # Trade Overview Suns get Kevin Durant, TJ Warren Nets get Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Jay Crowder, 2023 Round 1 ticket, 2025 Round 1 ticket, 2027 Round 1 ticket, 2029 Round 1 ticket, 2028 Round 1 exchange Why are the Suns ?
Phoenix put everything in to secure the limited power. Phoenix showed interest in Durant shortly after Kyrie Irving (Dallas) asked to trade to the Brooklyn Nets. Reflecting on last summer, Durant immediately applied for a trade after Irving’s whereabouts became unclear. Phoenix decided to keep an eye on this, and most strongly jumped into the fight for Durant, and succeeded in bringing him.
Phoenix’s new owner was also a big help in this trade. In the meantime, Phoenix has thoroughly distanced itself from the luxury tax under the ownership of Robert Xaver. Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton grew up, and after Mikal Bridges joined, they also made a major investment. They brought in Chris Paul from the outside and, following Bridges, signed a new contract with Ayton, who seemed unlikely to catch on.
However, as the owner decided to change during this season, the way Phoenix was operated changed. It is known that the newly appointed owner, Matt Ishbia, strongly promoted the trade. To this end, Phoenix offered four clear nomination rights and one exchange ticket, including three main players.
Since the Kevin Garnett trade in the summer of 2007, it is the trade in which the most assets have been transferred by a particular player. Of course, with the addition of Warren, it took a lot of blood to bring the two players, but considering that Durant is the key to this trade, Phoenix has significantly increased its power through everything that Phoenix can offer for him.
With this trade, Phoenix has built a powerful force leading to ‘Paul-Booker-Durant-Ayton’. Although he gave away a number of forwards in the process of this transaction, he turned off the urgent fire by bringing in Warren. Considering that the trade deadline still remains and that the transfer market can be monitored, there is still a chance for Phoenix to add forward power.
It’s not a bad idea to use an existing configuration. I had to send all the first forwards, but it may be a shame for Phoenix, but Landry Shamit and Torrey Craig are also herpes. In addition, he has Damien Lee, a professional 3-point shooter, so he can take advantage of them. It’s limited on the inside, but as long as Durant plays Jok Rendale and Bismack Biyombo, he can maintain a solid power.
Durant has appeared in 39 games this season before getting injured. He recorded 29.7 points (.559 .376 .934), 6.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.5 blocks in 36 minutes per game. This season, without fail, he showed off his top-notch appearance and made a big success. However, he has not been able to avoid injury this season and is currently out of the line. He is expected to return only after the All-Star Game.
By bringing in Durant, no one else, Phoenix has been reborn as a strong contender for the championship. However, as mentioned earlier, he cannot go on a business trip right away. Here, even Booker is excluded from power. Durant and Booker cannot come out at the same time. It will take a lot of time for them to finally come back from injuries and put their hands and feet together. The key is whether they can hold out well until the injured return.
However, Phoenix faces huge spending with this trade. Right away, the total spending this season, including the total salary and luxury tax, increased by a whopping $45 million. A number of players have been sent, but Durant’s salary this season alone is over $44 million. This is more than the sum of the salaries of the players sent. As a result, the total salary this season alone has easily exceeded $ 180 million.
Durant’s contract extension (four years, $194 million) begins this season. His contract extension runs through the 2025-2026 season. If they can maintain their finances, Phoenix can continue to maintain the current four-man division. It’s a burden right now, but Paul’s salary is partially guaranteed for the next season and not guaranteed for the 2024-2025 season, so there is room for reducing the amount of spending depending on the situation. why nets? Reporter Chris Haynes of 『TNT』 reported that after Durant asked for a trade, Brooklyn agreed to trade with Durant. Since Irving was traded, Durant’s request for a trade was expected in the offseason. In response, Brooklyn immediately spoke to Durant and pushed forward with the deal. With this trade, Brooklyn boldly broke away from those who controlled the team atmosphere. I put up with it once last offseason, but no more. He soon traded Irving, who caused controversy during the season with unnecessary gossip. Rather, there were aspects that did not receive their value. In addition, letting Durant part ways with those who were brought in in 2019.
Total expenditures have been significantly reduced. While some spending cuts were already expected by sending Irving, spending, including the salary cap and luxury tax line, was significantly lowered this season by sending Durant, the biggest contract. It saved a whopping $90 million and laid a solid foundation for reconstruction. The luxury tax alone was significantly lowered from $108 million to $35 million. 안전놀이터
He prepared for the future by securing a number of nomination rights. Brooklyn, who secured a ticket to the first round through Irving, obtained four additional nomination rights through a trade with Phoenix. In addition to the nomination rights obtained when sending James Harden (Philadelphia) last season, the number of nomination rights available from 2023 to 2029 has increased. It has increased significantly to 11 chapters, including the right to nominate itself.
Of the players accepted this time, except for Bridges, their contracts expire at the end of this season. Brooklyn sent Crowder (Milwaukee) after the trade. Bridges and Johnson are young players, but Crowder is an old player and needs to be sorted out. Brooklyn, which already has a number of forwards, is expected to try to secure the nomination rights in a trade for Crowder again.
Bridges has been very active in Phoenix this season. He started in all 56 games and recorded 17.2 points (.463 .387 .897), 4.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals in 36.4 minutes per game. He has improved every year since advancing to the big leagues, and this season he played the best of his career. He was a great help to the team while the main players were away due to injuries.
His presence on the outskirts allowed him to fill Durant’s place. It may be less active than Durant right now, but considering the existing Nicholas Claxton and Royce O’Neill, it is expected that he will play an active role as Brooklyn’s practical main gun as he becomes the main player. With the addition of Dorian Finney-Smith, who was secured in a deal with Dallas, he has built a thick forward power without fail.
That’s not all. There is also Johnson. This season, he played well at the beginning of the season, but has been away for a while due to injury, and has recently returned. He averaged 13.9 points (.474 .455 .818), 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 25.2 minutes in 17 games for Phoenix this season. He, too, has been steadily improving since entering the NBA, and is pulling out the best records.
His rookie contract expires after this season. However, as much as he’s a restricted free agent, market conditions may determine whether Phoenix stays with Johnson or not. If you don’t want to leave, you can sign & trade as needed. Since they already have a number of forwards, they plan to appoint several players to cover the odds.
It’s hard to tell which players Brooklyn will use right away, but it’s clear that they have a strong base of players in the frontcourt. With Claxton, O’Neill, Johnson, and Bridges starting out, Phineas-Smith is expected to support them. Ben Simmons and Cameron Thomas can’t be left out here. On the other hand, there are too many players, so there seems to be a possibility of another trade.
Or, with Spencer Dinwiddie and Ben Simmons brought in from Dallas, Bridges, Johnson, and Claxton will start, and O’Neill and Phineas-Smith may be able to support them. With this trade, Watanabe Yuta’s position should be seen as relatively reduced. As he has a large number of young players, he has everything to spur the reconstruction along with the additional nomination rights.