If they are both healthy is a big if for guys that have been injured for a large part of the season recently. Also, I can't tell if you are factoring in all of the players Portland would have to send to acquire Durant, especially if they aren't trading Lillard. It seems like you still have them playing for Portland. As the only non-Lillard player making over $20 million, Grant would almost certainly have to be included, as well as Sharpe as the only attractive draftee. That still leaves around $15 million of salary to match, so I'm guessing a re-signed Simons would be the other one. Doesn't leave much of a team left over. I don't think replacing those guys would be as easy as you make out, especially since with Durant, the Blazers would already be within $10 million of the luxury tax threshold without signing any replacement players. That pretty much means the entire rest of the roster would be guys on veteran's minimum contracts in order to stay under the tax. That situation gets worse every year as Lillard and Durant's contracts go up and their performance goes down.
Grant can't be included to match salary, so he can't be part of this deal and has to stay. Bledsoe/Hart is over $32 million. Adding Nas gets it over the amount needed to match from Portland's perspective. Then you add the sweetener Sharpe or Ant and the multiple 1sts and swaps. Not saying it's enough but that would be the best we could offer.
I thought Bledsoe only counted for his guaranteed amount? I don't know why the Nets would want him anyway. Same with Hart- seems like all we can offer are expiring deals for their star player. Feels like we are spending a lot of time talking about something that has no chance of happening.
In a trade his salary would be guaranteed for next year. The Blazers literally can't trade for KD without Bledsoe being a part of it (unless it's Dame). Brooklyn wouldn't have an issue with his contract as long as the other assets were plentiful. For Brooklyn, they'd be rebuilding if Kyrie and KD left. They'd want to stockpile assets and expirings. Edit: Could also find a 3rd team for Hart if they wanted more picks.
If you count Bledsoe's entire salary to take back Durant, that puts the Blazers far beyond the luxury tax, and most likely for the duration of Durant's contract. We thought we had salary cap hell before.
You only have salary cap hell if you're not competitive and in the luxury tax. If you're winning championships (which we would be) then you're just fine.
I actually think that if the Nets were doing a youth rebuild which is what would make sense, this is the best trade we could give them (with first round pick swaps in '24, '26 and '28).
I like Durant more then most here, but hell no on your hypothetical. They'd be border line contenders for a hot minute but good god there would be nothing left in the cupboard for the future. STOMP
There would be nothing left in the cupboard... that's for sure. We would not be borderline contenders. We would win multiple rings unless there were serious injuries. Who is going to beat a team with Dame, Hart, KD, Grant, Nurk, Winslow, Ingles, TPMLE and vet min ring chasers?
The Warriors would still be favored over them. Several others would have at least as good a shot (Celts, Bucks) STOMP
I don't think he was talking about Carmelo Anthony. I think he was talking about but I have good news... they never left.
Guess we aren't allowed to dream. Not sure anyone actually thinks it happens. Didn't know we had to be serious for you at all times.
I don't think it's likely because Kyrie hasn't opted out yet and said that he'll be leaving or seeking a sign and trade. If that happens I think it's almost a certainty that KD will demand a trade and that they won't drag it out. I also think their likely approach at that point will be to build a good young team around Ben Simmons. At that point I think we will have the best deal to offer them... the deal being EBEC, S&T Ant, Nas, Keon, the draft rights to Shaedon, unprotected FRPs in '25, '27 and '29 and swaps in '24, '26, '28. In that case I think we would be the most likely to land KD but it's a trade and in any trade, even if your team is the most likely to pull it off, it is still not likely to happen until it's done because there are 28 other teams and all sorts of variables swirling around. That being said according to whoever the fuck @noknobs is, I am dumb because I think it's a realistic possibility that is unlikely but just as unlikely as us landing Grant, just as unlikely as any of the free agent signing ideas that people have in here. Many of them are realistic, the Grant thing did happen or is happening but until someone is signed and in the Grant case until it was reported as a done deal, it's very unlikely that it happens because there are many other premutations of events happening in a league of 30 teams with 450 roster spots, 60 two way spots and according to HoopsHype 165 agents. Again though, I'm fucking dumb for seriously thinking that Durant could be playing here next season... not that he's likely to be but that it might be more likely that he's playing here than anywhere else in the league besides Brooklyn.
Never going to happen. Too many of us just getting tired waiting for championship to come back to Portland.
Last time I checked it was the offseason, Dame posted a pic of him with KD in a Blazers jersey and free agency and the draft are upon us. However, you can't think about any potential transactions to better the team because it makes you an idiot. Do your best to try to be serious from here on out.
You're likely right. It's a very safe bet to make. It's a safe bet that we will not add an all star to this roster this offseason... there are just too many unknowns to think that would be a likely scenario, that being us getting any additional all star. Then when you make any into a specific all star and at that a legend still near the top of his game it becomes even more unlikely but there are reasons to think that it's not an impossibility.
