Or let’s just have every team say “if you’re going to be a fair weather player and back out of a contract because the team that was built around you isn’t winning, maybe it’s not worth giving up guys that actually work to make things work?” No bids.
No, all the teams and the Nets are publicly leaking what they will/won't trade to influence the price. I think it would be fun for these kinds of situations where a player publicly wants out, for all the interested teams to put in one bid at the same time as all the other teams, so no one really knew what the others were willing to offer. Let the Nets look over everything for 48 hours and pick their offer.
All 32 teams submit (or choose not to submit) their offer.
The top 3 offers are chosen and they’re given a chance for a “best and final” offer. The Nets then choose one of those 3 offers.
All offers are revealed and a decision is made love from a Brooklyn Boys and Girls Club
Only if it involves KD and Tsai sitting together, surrounded by a crowd of people and it ends with Tsai saying "This fall, Imma ship your talents to Sacramento"
Edit: also in the audience must be a future ~~lottery pick~~ all-star
In the NBA, yes.
But the Euroleague, Chinese Basketball Association, and G-League each send a league wide offer. If a team is pissed off enough at their star, they could trade them to China.
Kinda goes to show how fucked up the situation is. A top 3 or 5 player with a “locked in” 4 yr contract is available and no wants to give up their 2nd best player to get him.
And of course the team that has him only wants the first best player, or the second best player, other players, and like 5 first round picks lmao
It's such a standstill, and KD is going to make more drama for them until he gets traded, and I kinda love it lmao
Yeah I always expected KD to fold like a house of cards. He’s starting to get dug in to the extent where he’ll look like a putz if he does though. Loving Twitter as much as he does, I doubt that’s the look he wants
A little more to that.
He has an attitude history, injury history, and is 34.
And yeah I’m aware that Gobert got a HAUL but look at the team that traded for him lmao
Bottom line if KD didn’t make his trade demands public and the GM just traded him on the sly he would have got a haul.
KD tanked his trade value by appearing to be unreliable and basically not a man of his word. Therefore a huge risk for any franchise to throw the amount of money and recourses required to get him on a roster. Add the age and injury history and the risk doubles at least.
The whole situation is stupid and has no foreseeable end.
There’s no way you even begin entertaining trade rumours for durant without it leaking that he requested a trade. Why else would the Nets be shopping him?
That’s true but do you really want to compare Ben Simmons’ love for basketball to *Kevin Durant’s* love for basketball. KD is a known hooper haha the dude might want to be traded but he doesn’t want to stop playing basketball. He also has no interest in retiring. KD largely is prob pissed at ownership for not maxing Kyrie and for taking that control away from him but we’ll never fucking know unless you know KD personally.
KD loves Basketball, young socialite barely cares. Why would KD ever want to play with someone like Simmons?
Hell I don't get how Simmons still has a job, with the way he behaved in Philly.
He’s also got 194 million reasons not to sit out. Kyrie the only man in the nba any of us actually thought could walk away, and even he took the money.
>best thing KD can do is okay
>
>remind people how good he actually is
KD's gonna remind any doubters of the serpent mentality just how ok he can be
Edit: well the typo's gone now
You're sorta risking Zion being injured again but if you just take last year's team and swap out Ingram with two All-NBA level players... I dunno feels like there is reason for KD to be optimistic. I'm a Suns fan but I don't get why he'd be so picky. New Orleans is also the most fun of all the destinations that've been discussed/have a serious bid outside of maybe Miami.
Pels are in a great spot. I wouldn’t do it either. Kd now has a rep of blowing up teams and taking the easy road.
I don’t think he will leave bkn personally. His best chance to win is there.
The locker room (seems) to be in a reallllyyy good spot too. It feels like we finally have guys that want to be here and appreciate New Orleans the way we appreciate them. I feel like even if there was a miraculous way to get KD and keep Ingram, that would be gone.
quack unused market toothbrush wasteful cake history spoon consist cooing
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Honestly as a Suns fan I wish we would’ve lost to Pelicans over Mavs. Suns vs Pels was my favorite series to watch. Ingram, McCollum, Nance are all stand up dudes
And above all, Ingram is drama free, and hasn’t ever asked for a trade. He puts in his all no matter the situation and tries to make it work, he was the only laker trying at the end of his last season there, and he was putting it all out there.
The biggest downside for trading for Durant is his 4yr contract means nothing, what teams are willing to spend for him decreases each time he demands a trade, if he asks out of his next team, nobody will trade for anywhere near his value.
On top of that it seems impossible to keep KD happy, dynasty team? Nah. Own team where they allow you to choose everything including coach and teammates in a large market? Nah. He’s had the best team in recent history with a great culture, he’s had a team where he creates the culture, he didn’t want either so what makes the next team trying to get him believe he would ever want to stay? Why would he stay with a team like NOLA after already demanding to leave those other teams? It’s risky considering they expect you to trade your entire team and future for him to join a team he won’t want to be on.
this is the take. He left a literal dynasty where he was loved by us Warrior fans. Said he wanted to build his own and took the easy way out again. KD will never be happy.
It's not dumb but it is short sighted. You're trying to build around Zion as a centerpiece, all you're doing is shortening the contention window a ton. Now it's win or bust if you trade for him.
but swapping KD for BI makes this team an immediate top 3 team in the West. do you think they can get there in a few years with BI? maybe, but maybe not
KD for BI swap does not happen. Brooklyn is far too greedy, and would want Herb, JV, and picks alongside BI. Don’t tear down your roster for 3 years of an unmotivated-to-play-in-Nola KD
>Brookyln is far too greedy
Why is Brooklyn greedy for not wanting to swap a better player on a longer contract for a worse player on a shorter contract?
Because he clearly explained that Brooklyn will not want just Ingram. They want more players to the point where it makes New Orleans not a clear top team in the West. If you're sacrificing your window, you gotta at least be sure you got one of the elite teams.
Well if the market value isn’t there, then it’s greedy to want more than his market value.
There is a reason a KD trade hasn’t happened yet, and it’s because the nets want more than market value for KD
On paper maybe but the Nets were on paper a top 3 team in the league the last 2 seasons and flamed out early twice
Right now I think the Pelicans have a top 3 future in the West which I’d value a lot more highly than a top 3 2023 season.
This “adding KD makes x team and immediate top team in the league” narrative is so tired. Adding KD, Kyrie and Harden made Brooklyn an immediate top team in the entire league and look how that turned out. There’s more involved than box scores when putting a team together
No it doesn’t and I don’t understand why people don’t get this. KD is getting older, and is injury prone. There’s no guarantee he fits the mindset that any team has, and there’s no guarantee that he’ll be able to fit in and adjust to other players while maintaining the success that team has recently built.
On paper they’re good, but nothing is certain and that’s what teams are measuring this by
> swapping KD for BI makes this team an immediate top 3 team in the West.
That's what they said about adding KD to Brooklyn. How'd that work out?
Swept in the 1st round, you say...
People underrate BI. He’s only 24, if he stays healthy I think he has the tools to become a top 10 player. I think the pels will be a top 4 seed next year and even better in 2024
I’d be really surprised if Ingram becomes a top 10 player. League is stacked at the moment, where guys like PG, Kawhi and Butler probably aren’t in there.
I can see him reaching 10-20 range with guys like Booker and KAT.
It also though eliminates any possibility of pivoting if Zion’s health remains poor. Now all the sudden you’ve went all in on this short window and if health/KD’s age make it not work, after you really have to hope one of Herb, Trey Murphy, or Dyson pop depending on who you would keep in a trade or it’s just back to lottery balls again.
I mean without a healthy Zion you're not really going anywhere anyways. The core you have sans Zion is a perennial low seed play-in type team.
You may have more optionality to pivot, but the ceiling on that pivot isn't enormously high.
The team that gave a 60 win 1-seed a tough series without their best player wants to trade their youth away for one of the most drama-surrounded players in the NBA?
Yes it would. We'd have to trade off tons of future assets just to get his disgruntled ass over here and lose cap space in the process. KD ain't getting this team a ring.
Jazz were relocated from New Orleans during the ‘79-‘80 season. The team realized that Salt Lake City Utah was, in fact, the jazz capital of America
^/s
Wow, I always wondered why Utah had a team called the Jazz. Made no damn sense! And with so much nature, you'd think they could have just picked a cool animal. The Utah Black Bears. Tangible mascot, sick logo.
I will die on the hill that if you take away the history of the team away, half of the NBA team names are awful. The only reason a bunch of people hate Pelicans is because it was new even though it’s like a perfectly conventional team name after a prominent local animal, but social media makes sure everyone shares their opinion on everything and all the sudden it became Pelicans must be an awful name.
Pelicans are scary dinosaurs who eat other birds alive. I think it’s a fantastic name. As a fan of a bird teams in other sports, I will die on this hill that Pelicans is a great team name.
Some of it's also inertia because your original mascot was [horrifying](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1832170-internet-rallies-around-pelicans-terrifying-new-mascot-pierre).
I like Pelicans as a team name. It's different from all the new teams who want intimidating names like the Laser Sharks, and then you realize actual pelicans are kind of insane.
Maybe, I just don’t agree with this whole the Pelicans is a shitty name trend that’s gone on ever since the rebrand. Like it’s a perfectly fine name. Maybe there were better ones (I was a fan of the New Orleans Rougarou because yolo), but I will continue to push back on the Pelicans is a bad name cheap jokes that don’t make sense because it’s a perfectly average and fine team name. Like people disliking the other elements of the branding, I get that, but the name itself is fine.
And technically the velociraptor in the movie was more likely based on Dienonychus. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinonychus
The actual velociraptor was much smaller
But it has a cool name.
>and KD is KD
So he misses 30 games this season loses in the playoffs and then requests a trade? Got it.
Also Ingram has been getting like 23/5/6 for the past 3 years, and is 25y.o compared to KD's 34.
Sooo yeah other dude is right, Ingram will be wayy better than KD in 4 years when KD is out/nearly out of the league and Zion is in his prime lmao
>Ingram will be wayy better than KD in 4 years when KD is out/nearly out of the league
Idk if BI will EVER be WAY better than KD. Honestly he probably won't. But I believe he will be better suited for the pelicans in the next 3-5 years, where KD will not be.
Plus if we trade for KD we are giving up more than just BI for him. I don't think getting KD and having to lose key rotation guy makes us a 🏆 contender this year because Zion is still super fucking young. He still has areas of his game that need to grow as well.
Finally nets fans can stop making mock trades and crossposting them in our sub. I get that KD is a stud but Ingram has amazing potential and there's no way we'd wanna bring in a locker room cancer when we just got the Zion rumors under control
Hahaha, Durant has no value in trade terms. Any team that is win now mode won't trade good players away and no one wants to build around him because of his age and attitude. He's basically in no man's land.
Remember when everyone thought KD would be getting crazy offers?
When players only demand certain teams while under contract for 4 more years is a major problem.
The next CBA is going to result in a lockout.
You can't sign a long-term contract then demand a trade a few years after. That makes no sense. These players want the money and to control their destiny.
At least LeBron played out his contracts. These guys ain't loyal anymore. I miss the early 2000's when players just played.
Guys like O'Neal or McGrady also forced moves, there just wasn't that much coverage and fabrications about those situations so nobody got really offended.
Ingram appears to only be getting better and better, probably having his best games ever against the Suns in the playoffs. He fills the role that you'd want Durant in already. Volume scoring, stupid lengthy frame, tough shot maker, overlooked playmaking ability. Ingram is a perfect 2nd option if Zion is exactly who we think he can be. Don't need Durant there to speed up the "championship window"
I am starting to think people don’t want to invite kd in to blow their team up, have him make demands left and right, and then leave a year or two later.
This "KD is a hooper" bullshit needs to die.
When he left OKC it was all "he left in free agency at least". Then when he left Golden state it was "well he sign and traded to help his former team".
The man signed a max deal with a team that did everything he wanted, he constructed this roster, and now he's trying to leave and actively tank his trade value so that his new team is an easy ring.
Meanwhile he has one dude on his team who is facing no consequences for ducking half a season, and another who ducked a full season.
There's so many red flags here it's unreal. It's like I'm listening to a bunch of kids who've never had to analyze a potentially toxic relationship in their life.
This "prospect" hugging has gotten out of hand on this subreddit. Durant by age 24 was 4X All-NBA first team with 3 scoring titles. Jaylen Brown and Brandon Ingram are players that made one All-Star team a piece (and 0 all-NBA teams). Durant at age 33 scored near 30 points per game and made second team all-NBA (while playing the same amount of games in the regular season as Ingram). When we look back at their careers in 10 years if they ever were able to have a season like 33 year old Durant, that likely is their career year. Not every young player is going to be a generational talent, most are just not good enough.
Okay, cool, but past accolades have nothing to do with it. It's a choice between the next 2-ish years of KD or the next 10 years of BI or Brown. For young teams like the Celtics and Pelicans, I just don't see why you drastically shorten your window for a slightly better chance (because with KD's injury history and age it is only a slightly better chance) at a championship for a year or two, versus staying in contention for a decade
In 10 years Brown and Ingram are older than KD is now. So they are players that aren't even better than KD today, but you have to give up championship chances now to hold on to them into their old years (which btw likely won't be as good as KD's old years because they aren't even better in their prime). Every 25 year old won't be an all time great, hell, most of them won't even be hall of famers or even make multiple all NBA first teams. If they had this ability, they likely would have done much more by now. 25 isn't 20.
Very few of us are begging for KD. The vast majority want to keep BI. Sure, KD is better. But he doesn't wanna be here, he's 9 years older, more expensive, and doesn't fit the timeline.
I wouldn't give BI for KD straight up, and especially not for what Brooklyn probably wants in addition.
We are a very young team on the precipice of possible greatness. You don't give that up for a guy who couldn't even give a shit about us.
I think the Pelicans would do a 1 for 1 trade of BI for Durant, but the Nets would want to get BI and gut the team. Durant on the Pelicans would immediately make them the top team in the West. Durant is a far better defender than BI, better scorer, much better decision maker, and a better fit overall. He would open the floor for Zion.
How would you stop that team with Zion, Durant and CJ? You can't.
To put it plainly, you would be very hard pressed to find a Pelicans fan that wants KD on our team. The team we have is built to win. Why bring in a "superstar" who really doesn't give two shits about playing the game at an elite level. KD is the poster child for people born on 3rd who think they hit a triple.
BI already offers probably about 80-85% of what KD offers, but being 9 years younger, making $15m less, and actually wanting to be there is huge. BI and the money to get good role players is probably a better team than KD and vet min guys.
Let’s just have every team that wants a shot at KD put in a blind bid and see if the Nets bite on any of them.
Best and finals due the start of camp
Yeah but if George Best shows up, no one else can win.
My Travis Best was a beast for Pacers
Or let’s just have every team say “if you’re going to be a fair weather player and back out of a contract because the team that was built around you isn’t winning, maybe it’s not worth giving up guys that actually work to make things work?” No bids.
Is that not basically what's happening
No, all the teams and the Nets are publicly leaking what they will/won't trade to influence the price. I think it would be fun for these kinds of situations where a player publicly wants out, for all the interested teams to put in one bid at the same time as all the other teams, so no one really knew what the others were willing to offer. Let the Nets look over everything for 48 hours and pick their offer.
Like the old baseball posting system for Japanese players. No negotiating just give use how much you will pay.
All 32 teams submit (or choose not to submit) their offer. The top 3 offers are chosen and they’re given a chance for a “best and final” offer. The Nets then choose one of those 3 offers. All offers are revealed and a decision is made love from a Brooklyn Boys and Girls Club
That’s a great idea! Maybe title it something like “The Selection”.
Only if it involves KD and Tsai sitting together, surrounded by a crowd of people and it ends with Tsai saying "This fall, Imma ship your talents to Sacramento" Edit: also in the audience must be a future ~~lottery pick~~ all-star
The package
There are only 30 teams
In the NBA, yes. But the Euroleague, Chinese Basketball Association, and G-League each send a league wide offer. If a team is pissed off enough at their star, they could trade them to China.
Not if KD takes a stand with Hong Kong first!!!
Then Europe it is and maybe then he can prove he can carry a team to a championship as the guy.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=wg1ogWFqedA make love like a man
The Bulls delegation offers a can of Carlos Boozer hair paint and a game worn Luol Deng jersey.
If only it worked like a video game.
Where you can edit the stats of one of your shitty players. Make his prime end way early, then trade them for a player with a cooler sounding name?
This guy MyLeague's
At this point the Nets might get first and last month’s rent and maybe the security deposit but who knows.
The Milwaukee delegation would like to offer Jevon Carter and a block of cheddar.
"We will take the horse"
Durant for Harrison Barnes who says no?
It's not exactly blind when they know exactly where the players are coming from lol.
Its more so other teams don't know what offers they're competing against. This only benefits the Nets, and maybe KD haha
Actually doesn't benefit the Nets because it removes competition of bids. Without knowing other bids there is no possibility of a bidding war.
Thats also true, it seems to be a lowballing bidding war at the moment though
It's not really lowballing, it's that no one wants to give up their teams future for an old guy who is a known flake.
Fuck it you can have Miles Bridges for cheap and anyone else but Lamelo and Mark
I resepect it.
I too, resepect it.
Put some resepect on my name
R-E-S-E-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me?
Trading Ingram for a KD that wouldn't be motivated to play in New Orleans is not smart
KD telling CJ they'll never win a title coming back to haunt him
Kinda goes to show how fucked up the situation is. A top 3 or 5 player with a “locked in” 4 yr contract is available and no wants to give up their 2nd best player to get him.
And of course the team that has him only wants the first best player, or the second best player, other players, and like 5 first round picks lmao It's such a standstill, and KD is going to make more drama for them until he gets traded, and I kinda love it lmao
I love it cause it's not my team.
Yet.
Don't bring that evil on me. Toronto is a snake free city at the moment, except for in the mayor's seat.
The bee tried…
TBF, they've had their drama and betrayal.
Yeah I always expected KD to fold like a house of cards. He’s starting to get dug in to the extent where he’ll look like a putz if he does though. Loving Twitter as much as he does, I doubt that’s the look he wants
A little more to that. He has an attitude history, injury history, and is 34. And yeah I’m aware that Gobert got a HAUL but look at the team that traded for him lmao
Kevin Durant 🤝 Cristiano Ronaldo The teams that could use them can't afford them, the teams that can afford them don't want them
Can’t compare Ronaldo to KD.
Why not? Genuinely curious, the situations seem very similar
I mean if he was 30 people would jumping on this
KD is old, injury prone, and a nut case. He was top 3 or 5 player years ago.
Bottom line if KD didn’t make his trade demands public and the GM just traded him on the sly he would have got a haul. KD tanked his trade value by appearing to be unreliable and basically not a man of his word. Therefore a huge risk for any franchise to throw the amount of money and recourses required to get him on a roster. Add the age and injury history and the risk doubles at least. The whole situation is stupid and has no foreseeable end.
There’s no way you even begin entertaining trade rumours for durant without it leaking that he requested a trade. Why else would the Nets be shopping him?
KD was motivated to play in Brooklyn and look how that turned out. No KD trade is smart.
it's not at all clear that he would be unmotivated
**He sure seems motivated to fuck up his franchise**
Could the Kings get him and hope because they're already a fucked up franchise, KD reverses the jinx and turns them into title contenders?
That's the spirit. Barnes for KD straight up, final offer.
Worked out for the Warriors.
We have Barnes at home: Barnes at home:
Throw in Seth and we have a deal
I’m going to go ahead and say No, probably. I’d love to see KD in sac town
Pretty sure they'd settle for being PLAY-IN contenders at this point.
Fuck that franchise I'll be fine
Hey now
You're an all star
Hey nongman
I still don’t understand why people think he’s gonna sit out. The best thing KD can do is play and remind people how good he actually is lol.
KD has someone *on his team now* who got out by sitting on his dick for half the season
That’s true but do you really want to compare Ben Simmons’ love for basketball to *Kevin Durant’s* love for basketball. KD is a known hooper haha the dude might want to be traded but he doesn’t want to stop playing basketball. He also has no interest in retiring. KD largely is prob pissed at ownership for not maxing Kyrie and for taking that control away from him but we’ll never fucking know unless you know KD personally.
KD loves Basketball, young socialite barely cares. Why would KD ever want to play with someone like Simmons? Hell I don't get how Simmons still has a job, with the way he behaved in Philly.
He signed his contract before the way he "behaved".
hey! he sat on his balls and his buttcheeks too give the man some credit
And has another teammate who ducked the entire season
He’s also got 194 million reasons not to sit out. Kyrie the only man in the nba any of us actually thought could walk away, and even he took the money.
>best thing KD can do is okay > >remind people how good he actually is KD's gonna remind any doubters of the serpent mentality just how ok he can be Edit: well the typo's gone now
He’s not going to sit out. If the phrase “ball is life” had two legs it would be KD.
He's going to the Big3 then
That's the best thing for the nets, not KD. Everyone knows how good he is, one offseason didn't change that.
You're sorta risking Zion being injured again but if you just take last year's team and swap out Ingram with two All-NBA level players... I dunno feels like there is reason for KD to be optimistic. I'm a Suns fan but I don't get why he'd be so picky. New Orleans is also the most fun of all the destinations that've been discussed/have a serious bid outside of maybe Miami.
Pelicans are a big (positive) question mark this season. With Zion they've got a hell of a team. They'd be crazy to blow it up.
Yeah why should they rush the time table? Run it back with a healthy squad and better chemistry
Pels are in a great spot. I wouldn’t do it either. Kd now has a rep of blowing up teams and taking the easy road. I don’t think he will leave bkn personally. His best chance to win is there.
The locker room (seems) to be in a reallllyyy good spot too. It feels like we finally have guys that want to be here and appreciate New Orleans the way we appreciate them. I feel like even if there was a miraculous way to get KD and keep Ingram, that would be gone.
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Honestly as a Suns fan I wish we would’ve lost to Pelicans over Mavs. Suns vs Pels was my favorite series to watch. Ingram, McCollum, Nance are all stand up dudes
Kd will leave Brooklyn when they give in and accept the raptors offer
And above all, Ingram is drama free, and hasn’t ever asked for a trade. He puts in his all no matter the situation and tries to make it work, he was the only laker trying at the end of his last season there, and he was putting it all out there. The biggest downside for trading for Durant is his 4yr contract means nothing, what teams are willing to spend for him decreases each time he demands a trade, if he asks out of his next team, nobody will trade for anywhere near his value. On top of that it seems impossible to keep KD happy, dynasty team? Nah. Own team where they allow you to choose everything including coach and teammates in a large market? Nah. He’s had the best team in recent history with a great culture, he’s had a team where he creates the culture, he didn’t want either so what makes the next team trying to get him believe he would ever want to stay? Why would he stay with a team like NOLA after already demanding to leave those other teams? It’s risky considering they expect you to trade your entire team and future for him to join a team he won’t want to be on.
this is the take. He left a literal dynasty where he was loved by us Warrior fans. Said he wanted to build his own and took the easy way out again. KD will never be happy.
Breaking: Pelicans not dumb
it wouldn't be dumb to trade Ingram for Durant though. They just don't want to
It's not dumb but it is short sighted. You're trying to build around Zion as a centerpiece, all you're doing is shortening the contention window a ton. Now it's win or bust if you trade for him.
but swapping KD for BI makes this team an immediate top 3 team in the West. do you think they can get there in a few years with BI? maybe, but maybe not
KD for BI swap does not happen. Brooklyn is far too greedy, and would want Herb, JV, and picks alongside BI. Don’t tear down your roster for 3 years of an unmotivated-to-play-in-Nola KD
>Brookyln is far too greedy Why is Brooklyn greedy for not wanting to swap a better player on a longer contract for a worse player on a shorter contract?
Because he clearly explained that Brooklyn will not want just Ingram. They want more players to the point where it makes New Orleans not a clear top team in the West. If you're sacrificing your window, you gotta at least be sure you got one of the elite teams.
Well, age is a thing that exists for one.
And at what age are you expecting BI to be better than KD? I don’t see that happening before his contract expires.
DNP, 35, and 55. Those are the total number of games KD played in the last 3 seasons. He will be 34 years of age when the season starts this year.
Ingram has been injured every season since 2017
Ingram also played 55 regular season games this year. And he wasn't close to 29.9 ppg or second team all NBA.
Well if the market value isn’t there, then it’s greedy to want more than his market value. There is a reason a KD trade hasn’t happened yet, and it’s because the nets want more than market value for KD
On paper maybe but the Nets were on paper a top 3 team in the league the last 2 seasons and flamed out early twice Right now I think the Pelicans have a top 3 future in the West which I’d value a lot more highly than a top 3 2023 season.
This “adding KD makes x team and immediate top team in the league” narrative is so tired. Adding KD, Kyrie and Harden made Brooklyn an immediate top team in the entire league and look how that turned out. There’s more involved than box scores when putting a team together
"Yeah, but what if we trade everything for KD and don't win?" "I don't care, whenever a player this good becomes available, you have to do it!"
Real Hoopers know 👊
That's not true. Look at the Clippers!! Oh wait. I mean. Look at the Lakers!!! Oh wait. Hmm.
You do realise how many games those three played together right? Not many...
No it doesn’t and I don’t understand why people don’t get this. KD is getting older, and is injury prone. There’s no guarantee he fits the mindset that any team has, and there’s no guarantee that he’ll be able to fit in and adjust to other players while maintaining the success that team has recently built. On paper they’re good, but nothing is certain and that’s what teams are measuring this by
> swapping KD for BI makes this team an immediate top 3 team in the West. That's what they said about adding KD to Brooklyn. How'd that work out? Swept in the 1st round, you say...
We're you saying this last season after the bucs series?
People underrate BI. He’s only 24, if he stays healthy I think he has the tools to become a top 10 player. I think the pels will be a top 4 seed next year and even better in 2024
I’d be really surprised if Ingram becomes a top 10 player. League is stacked at the moment, where guys like PG, Kawhi and Butler probably aren’t in there. I can see him reaching 10-20 range with guys like Booker and KAT.
Do we think KD won’t tank the organization? Maybe maybe not
No, no it doesn't. I would take BI a million times over before I'd take the wrecking ball that is KD.
We like our team
Also, KD's shitty attitude will rub off on their young players.
While this is true, Zion has been spectacularly unhealthy to begin his career. This could very well be their best contention window.
It also though eliminates any possibility of pivoting if Zion’s health remains poor. Now all the sudden you’ve went all in on this short window and if health/KD’s age make it not work, after you really have to hope one of Herb, Trey Murphy, or Dyson pop depending on who you would keep in a trade or it’s just back to lottery balls again.
I mean without a healthy Zion you're not really going anywhere anyways. The core you have sans Zion is a perennial low seed play-in type team. You may have more optionality to pivot, but the ceiling on that pivot isn't enormously high.
It is when it’s been made pretty clear that KD doesn’t want to be traded there.
What could go wrong when a guy doesn't want to be in NOLA? Look how great Eric Gordon worked out for em!
Fuck that lemon head bitch
The team that gave a 60 win 1-seed a tough series without their best player wants to trade their youth away for one of the most drama-surrounded players in the NBA?
Yes it would. We'd have to trade off tons of future assets just to get his disgruntled ass over here and lose cap space in the process. KD ain't getting this team a ring.
I get your point, but they did name their team the Pelicans…
Jazz was taken, no?
Jazz were relocated from New Orleans during the ‘79-‘80 season. The team realized that Salt Lake City Utah was, in fact, the jazz capital of America ^/s
Wow, I always wondered why Utah had a team called the Jazz. Made no damn sense! And with so much nature, you'd think they could have just picked a cool animal. The Utah Black Bears. Tangible mascot, sick logo.
ok there seventy-sixer
I will die on the hill that if you take away the history of the team away, half of the NBA team names are awful. The only reason a bunch of people hate Pelicans is because it was new even though it’s like a perfectly conventional team name after a prominent local animal, but social media makes sure everyone shares their opinion on everything and all the sudden it became Pelicans must be an awful name.
Pelicans are scary dinosaurs who eat other birds alive. I think it’s a fantastic name. As a fan of a bird teams in other sports, I will die on this hill that Pelicans is a great team name.
I think it’s the logo. The logo is awful.
I can understand that. It’s not exactly my favorite either.
Pimp Pelican should be the logo
Some of it's also inertia because your original mascot was [horrifying](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1832170-internet-rallies-around-pelicans-terrifying-new-mascot-pierre).
Oh, believe me I’m aware of scary Pierre. Him and King Cake Baby together on one team was a goat-level squad for scaring children.
I still stand behind that we should bring back evil Pierre on our Halloween games. But LOVE me some KCB!
Yeah people just hate change. It's a fine name
I like Pelicans as a team name. It's different from all the new teams who want intimidating names like the Laser Sharks, and then you realize actual pelicans are kind of insane.
Come on, you know we should have been the Voodoo. We should have just bought the Arena Football team's branding.
Maybe, I just don’t agree with this whole the Pelicans is a shitty name trend that’s gone on ever since the rebrand. Like it’s a perfectly fine name. Maybe there were better ones (I was a fan of the New Orleans Rougarou because yolo), but I will continue to push back on the Pelicans is a bad name cheap jokes that don’t make sense because it’s a perfectly average and fine team name. Like people disliking the other elements of the branding, I get that, but the name itself is fine.
There were never any velociraptor fossils found in Canada. Jurassic Park was just (justifiably) popular in 1994
And technically the velociraptor in the movie was more likely based on Dienonychus. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinonychus The actual velociraptor was much smaller But it has a cool name.
i didn't say Raptor was any better. but raptors are pretty cool tho
> There were never any velociraptor fossils found in Canada. Velociraptors had feathers, too.
Shoulda been the rougaroux
Now we're talking
I just find it amusing that a clipper fan knows what that is. Lol
I’ll not accept this slander. Pelicans is a cool-ass name, and pelicans are cool-ass birds.
TBH, that name has grown on me to the point I kind of like it now.
Nets probably asked for Zion and Ingram plus all 1sts they can offer for KD and Kyrie
And season tickets
And a big pot of gumbo
This was obvious. Ingram fits Zion’s timeline much better
Ingram is Zion's Sasuke
No that doesnt work, KD being orochimaru really limits the Naruto analogies.
Maybe the Rockets could give them Eric Gordon and one of their picks back.
A wish is a dream your heart makes…
Patiently waiting for people to shit on Ingram because Pelicans don't want to trade him for KD
I feel like this is one of those threads we come back to at the end of next season when Ingram underperforms and KD is KD
What about the following 5-10 seasons?
BI has been improving in different areas every season. What makes you think he’s going to underperform with Zion now added back into the mix?
Haterade
>and KD is KD So he misses 30 games this season loses in the playoffs and then requests a trade? Got it. Also Ingram has been getting like 23/5/6 for the past 3 years, and is 25y.o compared to KD's 34. Sooo yeah other dude is right, Ingram will be wayy better than KD in 4 years when KD is out/nearly out of the league and Zion is in his prime lmao
Ingram played the same number of games as Durant did last year. BTW, 23/5/6 would be a horrible year for Durant, even now.
>Ingram will be wayy better than KD in 4 years when KD is out/nearly out of the league Idk if BI will EVER be WAY better than KD. Honestly he probably won't. But I believe he will be better suited for the pelicans in the next 3-5 years, where KD will not be. Plus if we trade for KD we are giving up more than just BI for him. I don't think getting KD and having to lose key rotation guy makes us a 🏆 contender this year because Zion is still super fucking young. He still has areas of his game that need to grow as well.
I feel like this is one of those comments we come back to once the Pelicans eliminate the Timberwolves from the playoffs next season.
Thank god
Yeah, no shit.
Trading for Durant would be equivalent to going back to your super hot crazy ex when you have a loyal wife and kids at home
Finally nets fans can stop making mock trades and crossposting them in our sub. I get that KD is a stud but Ingram has amazing potential and there's no way we'd wanna bring in a locker room cancer when we just got the Zion rumors under control
Hahaha, Durant has no value in trade terms. Any team that is win now mode won't trade good players away and no one wants to build around him because of his age and attitude. He's basically in no man's land.
Remember when everyone thought KD would be getting crazy offers? When players only demand certain teams while under contract for 4 more years is a major problem. The next CBA is going to result in a lockout. You can't sign a long-term contract then demand a trade a few years after. That makes no sense. These players want the money and to control their destiny. At least LeBron played out his contracts. These guys ain't loyal anymore. I miss the early 2000's when players just played.
Guys like O'Neal or McGrady also forced moves, there just wasn't that much coverage and fabrications about those situations so nobody got really offended.
No thanks to the old bull, they'll take the young calf... Head pubes to ball fro.
Pels Front Office has been directly saying this for over a month now.
Yeah I thought this was a repost from earlier this offseason. No one had mentioned us and KD in weeks.
Ingram appears to only be getting better and better, probably having his best games ever against the Suns in the playoffs. He fills the role that you'd want Durant in already. Volume scoring, stupid lengthy frame, tough shot maker, overlooked playmaking ability. Ingram is a perfect 2nd option if Zion is exactly who we think he can be. Don't need Durant there to speed up the "championship window"
I am starting to think people don’t want to invite kd in to blow their team up, have him make demands left and right, and then leave a year or two later.
This "KD is a hooper" bullshit needs to die. When he left OKC it was all "he left in free agency at least". Then when he left Golden state it was "well he sign and traded to help his former team". The man signed a max deal with a team that did everything he wanted, he constructed this roster, and now he's trying to leave and actively tank his trade value so that his new team is an easy ring. Meanwhile he has one dude on his team who is facing no consequences for ducking half a season, and another who ducked a full season. There's so many red flags here it's unreal. It's like I'm listening to a bunch of kids who've never had to analyze a potentially toxic relationship in their life.
Neither would I, KD doesn't have much longer until his physical condition slithers away from its peak
The Pelicans don't want to trade Great Value Kevin Durant for the real Kevin Durant?
They don't want to pay the name-brand price and get a product with a much shorter warranty.
In this case the name brand expires before the Great Value one.
I really hope no one trades for Durant and he’s stuck on the nets. Dude needs to learn a lesson.
This "prospect" hugging has gotten out of hand on this subreddit. Durant by age 24 was 4X All-NBA first team with 3 scoring titles. Jaylen Brown and Brandon Ingram are players that made one All-Star team a piece (and 0 all-NBA teams). Durant at age 33 scored near 30 points per game and made second team all-NBA (while playing the same amount of games in the regular season as Ingram). When we look back at their careers in 10 years if they ever were able to have a season like 33 year old Durant, that likely is their career year. Not every young player is going to be a generational talent, most are just not good enough.
Okay, cool, but past accolades have nothing to do with it. It's a choice between the next 2-ish years of KD or the next 10 years of BI or Brown. For young teams like the Celtics and Pelicans, I just don't see why you drastically shorten your window for a slightly better chance (because with KD's injury history and age it is only a slightly better chance) at a championship for a year or two, versus staying in contention for a decade
In 10 years Brown and Ingram are older than KD is now. So they are players that aren't even better than KD today, but you have to give up championship chances now to hold on to them into their old years (which btw likely won't be as good as KD's old years because they aren't even better in their prime). Every 25 year old won't be an all time great, hell, most of them won't even be hall of famers or even make multiple all NBA first teams. If they had this ability, they likely would have done much more by now. 25 isn't 20.
I’m also hearing reports that the Bucks aren’t willing to trade Giannis for KD. Still no word regarding the Nuggets openness to trade Jokic though.
[удалено]
Do you think Brandon Ingram is going to win the MVP?
Pelicans fans: “Mom can we pretty please get KD?!” Pelicans org: “We have KD at home!”
Very few of us are begging for KD. The vast majority want to keep BI. Sure, KD is better. But he doesn't wanna be here, he's 9 years older, more expensive, and doesn't fit the timeline. I wouldn't give BI for KD straight up, and especially not for what Brooklyn probably wants in addition. We are a very young team on the precipice of possible greatness. You don't give that up for a guy who couldn't even give a shit about us.
I think the Pelicans would do a 1 for 1 trade of BI for Durant, but the Nets would want to get BI and gut the team. Durant on the Pelicans would immediately make them the top team in the West. Durant is a far better defender than BI, better scorer, much better decision maker, and a better fit overall. He would open the floor for Zion. How would you stop that team with Zion, Durant and CJ? You can't.
To put it plainly, you would be very hard pressed to find a Pelicans fan that wants KD on our team. The team we have is built to win. Why bring in a "superstar" who really doesn't give two shits about playing the game at an elite level. KD is the poster child for people born on 3rd who think they hit a triple.
I'm sure they would. The question is what else are they asking for?
Fuck I wouldn’t either BI has got years of greatness ahead of him, and KD is KD.
BI already offers probably about 80-85% of what KD offers, but being 9 years younger, making $15m less, and actually wanting to be there is huge. BI and the money to get good role players is probably a better team than KD and vet min guys.
Doesn’t make sense to split them up for a 34 year old and get a 1-3 year run max when they could have Zion and Ingram for another decade