Phoenix Suns general manager James Jones has to go get Kevin Durant†
Durant, the 12-time All-Star and two-time NBA Finals MVP, says he wants to leave Brooklyn and that Phoenix is one of the places he wants to go†
There are plenty of reasons to think a deal to take over Durant isn’t a snowball chance in the working desert. Each of them should be ignored.
Durant is one of the greatest goalscorers in the history of the sport and he has strong relationships with Devin Booker and Monty Williams.
If a man of this caliber says he wants to come to your town, you’ll find out. When Bobby Flay says he wants to cook dinner for you, don’t complain that you don’t have fine china. You break out the paper plates and plastic forks.
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If Halle Berry says she wants to come over to your house to watch Netflix and chill, don’t tell her you live in a van by the river. You go to the car wash, charge your iPad and look for a nice place to park.
And when your neighbor gives you the keys to his Lamborghini for the weekend, don’t tell him you’re a bad driver. Grab some aviator goggles and a pair of those leather gloves with the knuckle holes, and off you go to Route 66.
Trade Ayton? Mortgage the future?
The skeptics will say that the loss of Deandre Ayton, which would be essential for a trade to land Durant, puts a mortgage on the future.
And they will be right.
Jones should do the deal anyway.
The core of Booker, Ayton and Chris Paul is good enough to make it to the NBA Finals. It’s not good enough to win a title. Without making Ayton the center of attack, Suns’ roster will always be waiting in the wings.
If Phoenix isn’t willing to rework the whole system to make Ayton the next Giannis Antetokounmpo or Joel Embiid or Anthony Davis, then they’ll never maximize him. (This would be a shame. The young fellow has that kind of talent.)
It could also be that it’s better to have Ayton in four years than Durant, but that’s assuming too much to be a guarantee. Ayton won’t be able to develop into that kind of power in his current role and there are too many variables to accurately project that far into the future.
However, the future now lies with a core of Durant, Booker and Paul. That trio can do better than compete for a title. It can win a title.
It’s up to the cap gurus to figure out how to make it happen, and it’s going to be complicated. Durant makes a lot of money, and the Suns will be tied to him until he’s 37. But Durant is one 2-meter yoga session. Guards get old, but big boys never shrink.
Offensively, Durant will give defenders nightmares about the Slim Reaper until the day he retires. Defensively, he is far better than he ever gets the credit. There are very few wings in the league that can consistently beat this guy off the dribble in the fourth quarter, and as he gets older he can slide down to cover power forwards or help the post in zone defense.
(Plus, any new sweater sales will help offset that pesky luxury tax that would hit the Suns if they go over the salary cap. Durant is called The Servant, perhaps because of the way he injects money, attention, and energy into every franchise he does. along?)
Jones shouldn’t be doing the deal without Paul unless it’s a complete showstopper of a move like landing Damian Lillard along with Durant in a three-team trade.
Are aging stars bright?
NBA fans will say that aging super teams don’t win titles. They cite last season’s Lakers, the Steve Nash-Dwight Howard-Kobe Bryant Lakers and the Karl Malone-Gary Payton-Shaquille O’Neal-Kobe Bryant Lakers as examples.
And they will be right.
Jones should do the deal anyway. We’re not worried about the Lakers in Phoenix.
Paul, Durant and Booker is a big three that should scare the Bay Jesus from Draymond Green, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. What difference does it make that Paul is 37 and Durant 33?
No one would be more motivated than those two to knock the spice out of Curry. For Durant, there’s the debate about “whose team was it?”
For Paul, his legacy hinges on Steph climbing for a title. Win, and Paul is in the greatest conversation of all time. Retiring without a championship, and his legacy is whether guys like Allen Iverson, John Stockton and Nash can really belong to the elite without winning everything.
Where’s Brooklyn?
The naysayers will point to the reality that Brooklyn hasn’t won anything with Durant on the roster.
And they will be right.
Jones should do the deal anyway.
Durant was in Brooklyn with guys who couldn’t get to the arena with a bag full of subway tokens and a train ticket.
Kyrie Irving missed time by refusing to get vaccinated. James Harden missed games with a hamstring. And Ben Simmons hasn’t played in so long, we forgot what his jersey looks like.
In Phoenix, Durant will be with guys harder to get off the floor than the NBA logo — assuming the Suns would love Booker and Paul. These guys are low maintenance and don’t miss competitions when healthy.
There are plenty of reasons to think a deal for Kevin Durant wouldn’t work.
James Jones should ignore them all.
If a man of this caliber wants to come to your town, you find out.
Follow Greg Moore on Instagram and Twitter @SayingMoore†
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kevin Durant Wants Trade: Why Suns Should Make a Deal