Kevin Durant
Instead of actively pursuing Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns during the current transaction cycle, the San Antonio Spurs are reportedly holding onto trade assets for a larger acquisition that better fits their plan.
Even though the Spurs are on Durant's list of desired destinations, they seem hesitant to engage in aggressive trade negotiations for the veteran forward. San Antonio thinks their schedule for winning the title is very different from that of other clubs vying for the 14-time All-Star.
While Durant's camp has named three potential landing spots, Phoenix has focused trade conversations on the Minnesota Timberwolves, Miami Heat, and Houston Rockets. NBA expert Shams Charania claims that Durant's preferred destinations are the Spurs, Miami, and Houston.
On Tuesday's Pat McAfee Show, Charania stated, "As far as I can tell, the Spurs have not been the aggressive club for Kevin Durant." Since it is Kevin Durant, the Spurs have shown some interest. After all, who wouldn't? However, their timeframe is not the same as Miami's, when compared to the assets and maybe the cost of going for Kevin Durant."
San Antonio's conservative strategy is based on their conviction that they should build around Dylan Harper, a probable No. 2 draft pick, and Victor Wembanyama. In contrast to Miami and Houston's win-now mindsets, the team sees its competitive window as spanning into the near future.
San Antonio's conservative strategy is based on their conviction that they should build around Dylan Harper, a probable No. 2 draft pick, and Victor Wembanyama. In contrast to Miami and Houston's win-now mindsets, the team sees its competitive window as spanning into the near future.
The Spurs intend to hold onto their assets in anticipation of a bigger acquisition that would better fit their development schedule. According to Charania, San Antonio might want to sign a different marquee player who aligns with their long-term goals.
Charania continued, "I believe they are going to be putting a lot of money into preparation for a bigger transfer, a bigger player, or someone who would match their timeframe."
Compared to Wembanyama, who turns 21, Castle, who is 20, and Harper, who turns 19, Durant turns 37 in September.
"At the moment, the Rockets and the Heat are more realistic than the Spurs," Charania stated.
Charania continued, "I believe they are going to be putting a lot of money into preparation for a bigger transfer, a bigger player, or someone who would match their timeframe."
Compared to Wembanyama, who turns 21, Castle, who is 20, and Harper, who turns 19, Durant turns 37 in September.
"At the moment, the Rockets and the Heat are more realistic than the Spurs," Charania stated.
When considering what might be possible later if they retain the majority of their assets, the Spurs are not motivated to make a significant move for Durant.
The front staff, general manager Brian Wright, and head coach Mitch Johnson, "want to have a similar run and be structured similarly to RC Buford and Gregg Popovich," Charania stated. "They think they have so many assets that you can go out and make the deal if a guy becomes available on that schedule.
This is not to imply that they are not interested in Kevin Durant. They do. Additionally, they might make an offer, and I am sure they have talked about several frameworks. The offerings of other teams are a bit more forceful.
In other areas of the NBA
The NBA's win-now incentives are driving an unprecedented boom in first-round pick trading.
The NBA's win-now incentives are driving an unprecedented boom in first-round pick trading.
Bane Desmond
The most recent instance of a team mortgaging its future to maximize championship windows is the Orlando Magic's trade of Desmond Bane to the Memphis Grizzlies, which gave many future first-round selections to the franchise. This forceful strategy has emerged as the hallmark of contemporary NBA team-building.
The Magic are one of an increasing number of teams that are going all out. In 2022, the Minnesota Timberwolves acquired Rudy Gobert by trading several first-round picks, and a few months later, the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Donovan Mitchell.
The Phoenix Suns acquired Kevin Durant at the 2023 deadline, the Milwaukee Bucks landed Damian Lillard in September 2023, and the New York Knicks traded for Mikal Bridges in June 2024 in similarly pick-heavy moves.
The 2019 blockbusters that sent Paul George to the LA Clippers and Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers set the precedent for these transactions. These exchanges have become far more frequent in recent years.
Zach Lowe made an effort to clarify the NBA's rationale for this booming team-building movement.
Zach Lowe made an effort to clarify the NBA's rationale for this booming team-building movement.
On his podcast with Kirk Goldsberry, Lowe stated, "The intriguing thing about these deals is Kevin Pelton and I did this over at ESPN a couple of years ago." "Trades involving the dumping of three, four, or five first-round selections were not common in the past.
There, we conducted the investigation. I believe that between 2012 and 2022, there were more than there were in the NBA's whole history before that, or from the merger until then. Since then, it has simply continued, and you consider some of the possible causes.
"I believe that organizations are saying, 'We just have to win when we have a chance to win,' because of the shorter contracts in the player empowerment age. And since the Warriors split up and Kevin Durant left the team, there is a feeling that the league has been very open. It seems as though the incentives have simply shifted more in favor of winning between the play-in and lottery probability changes.
Furthermore, I believe that if everyone experiences the same kinds of pressures I have written about this before if you throw away four picks in a deal like this, you probably think to yourself, "If this does not work out for us, we can just do the opposite to some other team that feels this aggressive in three years and recoup some picks maybe not our picks but some picks."
As we have seen with the Nets and now with Giannis's speculative remarks about getting your own picks back, the 'our picks' thing is a huge problem.
Bane Desmond
The fact that there are so many picks floating around and that most of them are from teams that believe they will be excellent makes it fascinating, but their picks are not going to be worth much. And I believe Orlando has good reason to believe that about itself.
The readiness to exchange several first-round selections shows faith in future flexibility. Businesses believe that by focusing on additional aggressive franchises in subsequent transactions, they can change their strategy.
The readiness to exchange several first-round selections shows faith in future flexibility. Businesses believe that by focusing on additional aggressive franchises in subsequent transactions, they can change their strategy.
The Magic's confidence in their trajectory aligns with league-wide thinking, since most clubs making these trades assume their choices will have little value owing to expected success.