We won, but it wasn't very exciting or anything.
2023 TRADE DEADLINE MEGATHREAD
- Thread starter Tetsujin
- Start date
We won, but it wasn't very exciting or anything.
Donkey
G-League
PHXSUNSFAN
Bench
Eh KD will be what, 37 yrs old in 2027? If LeBron can keep playing at an All Star level at age 37 I don’t see why KD wouldn’t be able to…KD is a more skilled scorer than LeBron. Issue with KD is injuries, he misses a ton of time. But when he’s playing, he’s a baller.
Overall I’m not a fan of the trade…but that’s because I really liked Bridges a lot he was a fan favorite and a treat to watch play. Giving up the picks and even Johnson (who’s about to get overpaid this summer) is fine with me but giving up Mikal sucks.
That being said, Suns couldn’t go into the playoffs with the same team from last season. The book was out on how to stop the Suns, the Mavs and even Pelicans exposed it. Trap Booker, abuse CP3 and force anyone else to beat them. There was nobody else that can do it and hence why we lost in the finals and last season to Dallas.
Now with KD (if he can be healthy then), they’re not gonna be able to trap Booker so easily. We lost Bridges defense but hopefully KD’s offense can make up for it. At the end of the day, great offense beats great defense every time anyway.
Still a very top heavy team. Hopefully Payne can become a a very good backup PG again like he was 2 yrs ago. And they can pick up some wings in the buyout market.
Yes its injuries, and its height and body type.....taller players are inherently heavier and experience more loading cumulatively and by later years more leg/knee problems. Suns are gambling on winning this and next 1 or 2 seasons with this trade banking on Durant's health. They will be somewhat deflated if injuries (think Kawhi Leonard and Clippers)
The Effort Police
Starter
With all this talk of superteams, all these teams either have their health (LAC, GS, LAL, NOLA, MIN) or locker room egos (DAL, MEM, MIN again) being held together with a glue stick.
Honestly, this is the most ridiculous post I’ve read in a long time on this board, and that is saying something. We are going to drop from 3 to 13 in 27 games?
The lakers are going from 13 to 5 in 27 games, and making up 6.5 games on us (and everyone) because they swapped Russ for Russell and Vandy? Your prediction would make them need to go like 20-7. You realize they are only 11-14 when both AD and Bron play, so 20-7 is a miraculous clip for them. Even 20-7 only gets them to 45 wins.
The warriors don’t have Steph and are plodding along at .500. They weren’t any better with him. Why are they suddenly zooming by us in the last 27 games too?
OKC is a nice story, but even with as well as they have played have never moved above .500. They are likely pivoting toward the future as well. But even so, making up 5.5 games on us in the last 27 would probably require them to go like 18-9 (getting to 44 wins). Seems crazy for a team two games below .500.
Same for Portland. When have they shown the ability to go 17-10 (needed to reach 44 wins)? That team has shown us they are at or below .500 all year. They just traded a starter.
And Utah, who just traded two rotation players for future assets, and is probably doing more of that today, is going to pass us too? They need to go 17-9 to reach 44 games. Even with Conley and Vandy, they have been 15-23 since they started 12-6. Suddenly, despite trading a starter and rotation player and pivoting to the future, they are going to revert back to early season form?
And (this is more subjective) I truly think Dallas is lucky to go .500 the rest of the way. Their wing situation is worst in the league.
The Suns, Lakers, and Wolves got better, but the lakers are so far back it likely doesn’t impact us. The rest of the conference is the still the same. Not sure why we are suddenly plummeting 10 spots. Yes, the schedule is tougher now, but our path to 44 wins requires us to go 13-15. That is way more doable than the 18, 19, 20 wins teams below us need. We have lost 4 straight once (to open the season), 3 straight once (in November) and haven’t been worse than 5-5 in any 10 game stretch since November. We are 31-19 in our last 50 games, are above .500 on the road, and routinely win close games. We aren’t suddenly going to be an entirely different team and get passed by 10 teams.
These moves put us more squarely in the play-in conversation, but 13th?!?!? To me, you have:
Top 3 (48+ wins) Denver, Memphis, Phoenix
Fighting for 4-6 (44-48 wins) New Orleans, Minnesota, Clippers, Kings, Dallas
Play-in (41-44 wins) - Warriors, Lakers
Out- Portland, OKC, Utah
Current record matters. Even getting to 41 wins is huge for the lakers given that it will require going 16-11. 44 wins requires Dallas to go 14-12 against a tough schedule, with Luka still out, no wings, and needing time to integrate Kyrie and Luka. And top 3 might be bullish on Phoenix. They are one of the three best teams, but they might not get to #3 in the standings. KD is out through the ASG, meaning he misses at least 4 games. Phoenix is MUCH worse without him, bridges and Cam, and will then have just 22 games to figure it out. They are easily the biggest threat in the playoffs, but they might not get up to #3 in the standings.
twslam07
All-Star
We really are going to need to upgrade our wing defense at some point (not necessarily saying it needs to be at the deadline) but considering there are many teams in the West with multiple threats at 2-4…
MEM: Bane & Jackson Jr.
PHX: Booker & Durant
LAC: Leonard & George
PHX: Ingram & Zion
GSW: Wiggins, Thompson, & Poole
UTA: Markkanen & Clarkson
LAL: LeBron & Davis
…it’s definitely something that can be exploited come playoff time.
I’m hopeful Murray can be a good/great wing defender but we’ll need at the very least to upgrade Barnes or Huerter defensively in the starting lineup. Bridges or Anunoby would fit the bill but would cost a pretty penny. Perhaps the 2023 draft can yield this player. Perhaps we can sign a wing free agent this off-season that helps in this department (e.g., Grant Williams).
There could be a path where you trade for Bridges now and have the ability to sign Anunoby in the 2024 off-season. However, it would result in losing Mitchell, Monk, and Barnes (most likely) but a Fox-Bridges-Murray-Anunoby-Sabonis lineup with Huerter off the bench is about as optimal of a lineup that you can build with Fox and Sabonis as your core pieces.
MEM: Bane & Jackson Jr.
PHX: Booker & Durant
LAC: Leonard & George
PHX: Ingram & Zion
GSW: Wiggins, Thompson, & Poole
UTA: Markkanen & Clarkson
LAL: LeBron & Davis
…it’s definitely something that can be exploited come playoff time.
I’m hopeful Murray can be a good/great wing defender but we’ll need at the very least to upgrade Barnes or Huerter defensively in the starting lineup. Bridges or Anunoby would fit the bill but would cost a pretty penny. Perhaps the 2023 draft can yield this player. Perhaps we can sign a wing free agent this off-season that helps in this department (e.g., Grant Williams).
There could be a path where you trade for Bridges now and have the ability to sign Anunoby in the 2024 off-season. However, it would result in losing Mitchell, Monk, and Barnes (most likely) but a Fox-Bridges-Murray-Anunoby-Sabonis lineup with Huerter off the bench is about as optimal of a lineup that you can build with Fox and Sabonis as your core pieces.
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White_Chocolate
Starter
Agreed. Just stay calm make a minor move or two and keep the core. Look at the most recent best teams. Their cores were all built from within. Lakers ( and honestly Lebron James ) were the only anomaly in the last decade to do it outside of that model. Also teams completely mortgaging their futures for old superstars in enjoyable to watch haha
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
Completely agree. That being said, I would still be absolutely thrilled if Monte turned a couple of pick swaps and Davion into Jimmy Butler or something.
Agreed the Nets totally boned us. Typical, the first year the Kings are actually good again, they ship 2 superstars to the West and teams somehow willingly help the Lakers. This is a little doom and gloom though, even if our path did get significantly harder with some of these moves. Every team would have to play near perfect behind us and we'd have to crumble going like 8-20 to finish out the year to miss the playoffs.
The goal of the season has always been to get to a 7-game playoff series. Kings still control that goal in their hands, 54 games into the year.
White_Chocolate
Starter
Sure, but I don’t see that happening. I really am not too keen on parting with valuable draft capital in this moment. I think thybule and plumlee could be done for spare parts + seconds. I guess we will just have to wait and see though
Ozymandias
All-Star
The Suns are now the worst matchup for the Kings in the west... Really bad news for us..
name me teams that had 4 better players than; KD, CP3, Devin Booker and Ayton. I'll wait.
The big 4 has been assembled..
name me teams that had 4 better players than; KD, CP3, Devin Booker and Ayton. I'll wait.
The big 4 has been assembled..
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
Not really because we no longer have to worry about Mikal giving De’Aaron fits on defense. It wasn’t like we were going to stop the Suns from scoring on us anyways
White_Chocolate
Starter
The assumption that those 4 can stay healthy might be a bigger gamble than the lakers hoping their core can do so. I mean they will be amazing when healthy but when will that be. They can’t play those 4 dudes 35-40 mins a game in a series and expect them to stay fit
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
Also Ayton is kinda bad now
Ozymandias
All-Star
Didnt he just drop 30 points n 15 rebounds 2 games in a row?
The good news is that those 4 are never all healthy. Despite the doom and gloom, our upcoming game against Phoenix just got easier. KD is out until the break and now they do t have Cam and Bridges.
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
He’s having the worst defensive year of his career and those thirty point games came against the Pistons and the post-Kyrie Nets with KD still out. Overall his numbers are down and he’s not looked happy.
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