2024 NBA Season

[YuginKadoya]

Phoenix Suns new contender for championship?

Ayton - Booker - Durant - Paul

Which team has the biggest advantage after trades?

It pretty the Phoenix Suns got their upgrade, but right now Kevin Durant is out and injured when he returns that will be the worst case for the other teams and the teams that are not in the seed for the playoffs because when Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, and Kevin Durant are playing this could surely be a death lineup for the other teams, but regarding this team, I think the Los Angeles Lakers had a great upgrade aswell, from ejecting Russell WestBrick they have gotten an incredible upgrade, D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Rui Hachimura, imagine this 3 with Lebron James and Anthony Davis this is a scary team for sure, but right now the Los Angeles Lakers have a lot of catching up to do because they were way below the standings, I was surely surprised they have got a chance in taking out WestBrick, and for me Utah Jazz just got a downgrade in getting WestBrick in the team, Sorry WestBrick fans but this is my opinion,

Yes, their is a huge tip on the balance, now the West is pretty much stack up, when KD and Kyrie move to Suns and Dallas respectively. As for the Nets, they got a good picks as well so it's time for them to rebuild anew. Lakers did move a lot of pieces, but the question, is the move too late for them to get at least to a playoff spot? They are in the 13th spot so there are a lot of winnings that they need in order to at least vie for a play-in this season. For now I wouldn't comment on the chemistry of KD and the Suns, too early to see what's going to happen.

Well, right now the Los Angeles Lakers are in a very difficult spot, but all they need to do is keep winning this, but can they keep on winning, right now it is really hard to say if they can make it to the playoffs, but after Lebron James break the all-time record he is starting to get hungry, and this time the championship he really wants to be champion this season, for what is this for but surely it will be a tough season for the Los Angeles Lakers for sure even though they have gotten Beasley, Hachimura and Russell (Not WestBrick),

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[wheelz1200]

Phoenix Suns new contender for championship?

Ayton - Booker - Durant - Paul

Which team has the biggest advantage after trades?

No doubt that it's them. Yeah, they're now a contender for the championship but that doesn't mean it's a guarantee for them.
Mavs also got a good addition so, this would really means that too many teams now are too good to be considered as a top caliber for this season. Lakers as well.

I haven't looked yet but they have to have the highest odds.  This literally is the best situation for Durant.  He doesn't need to bring the ball up and is going to have cp setting the table for him lol.  If everyone stays healthy not a single team is going to want to deal with them.

I agree with the latter part. It's always on how healthy everyone is going to survive the season until they reach their goal, which could be the playoffs, semis, and even the finals.
A team that does have healthy stars are likely the one to be landing the goal of every team and that's to be part of those that I have mentioned. KD surely can go everywhere and I just find it odd this time that the Nets was able to trade him quickly unlike the last time when they're also looking to trade him but no team has taken him.

Between Durant and cp3 and book they've been out a decent amount this year.  Suns will probably "manage" minutes while competing for the top 4 slots in the west to assure 1st round home court.  At least kd and cp3 they are on the wrong side of time in terms of nba minutes.  Hope they all male a run in the playoffs they will be fun to watch.

[stadus]

With 20 points at halftime it’s looking like LeBron is going to break the record tonight. When they were showing all the celebrities in the house for the game I had a feeling I was going to be wrong. After missing his first two shots he’s been on fire. 16 points in a half is still no small feat, but I feel like he’s got a chance to get it done. Hopefully he can find a way to get a win also.

I got no doubts about him that he will really break the record in the game earlier, right after the game commenced, I know that he will do it even if 36 points sounds big and that would mean that he should carry the ball mostly. I just had a small heartache when his eyes were slightly injured by the one of the Thunders elbow when he drove the ball towards the ring. Fortunately, what happened wasn't that big of a deal and the historical game went smoothly.

As soon as LeBron called it the headband game I knew dude wasn't messing around.  The part that will get lost on the whole thing is that lebron did it in a loss to the young okc team to drop into 13th place in the west.  In terms of a game it was a non event.  Now let's talk about the folks that spent $10s of thousands for tickets on Thursday night to watch him break the record only to be there for another game for a team out of contention 😆

If I remember it correctly, the house was already fully booked in less than 24 hours before the game commences and the last price that was established on sale was $100,000 per seat. Imagine that, but people are still neglecting the price because that game was a very rare in a lifetime event and it would at least take a few decades again before it will be broken by somebody. Anyway, the Lakers now got a huge chance that they won't be playing again in the post-season.

[gagux123]

I would love to see how KD will add his greatness to the Suns franchise,  let's hope for the best on both Suns and KD partnerships.

They'll be tested once they already playing together I'm sure they'll find ways to make
Things workable in chasing  a ring, Booker and CP3 are longing to have a ring hopefully they'll going to adjust.

Well, that's true! I'll also be curious to see how Durant will benefit the Suns.
CP3 + KD + Booker + Ayton (I have no doubt this could be an excellent combination, but let's see if they have chemistry between them.

I'll be rooting for this combination to work out, and I hope even more that CP3 gets his dreamed champion ring

[blockman]

Phoenix Suns new contender for championship?

Ayton - Booker - Durant - Paul

Which team has the biggest advantage after trades?

No doubt that it's them. Yeah, they're now a contender for the championship but that doesn't mean it's a guarantee for them.
Mavs also got a good addition so, this would really means that too many teams now are too good to be considered as a top caliber for this season. Lakers as well.

With this changes they can be considered as good contender  for this seasons title,  though I agree that it isn't a guarantee for them to win a title.

It will still depends from how they will utilize  KD and how they will adjust with the system that they will include KD from the rotation.

So many strong superteams now, it will nice to see great  competition as it will benefits the fans a lot.

Yeah, too many of them have become strong lately and gotten the help that they need. But as said, only if most of them are going to remain healthy until the end of this season.
We have a very good example from the Lakers. AD is strong, there's the only obstacle that he's getting that is being injured which stops him from playing well and contributing to the team. He's one of the big man of the team and when he's not there, we can see the clear difference.

[harizen]

Phoenix Suns new contender for championship?

Ayton - Booker - Durant - Paul

Which team has the biggest advantage after trades?

Referring to Phoenix Suns, we can consider they won their recent trade move since:

a) they got what they wanted (Kevin Durant) without destroying, at least, the core lineup
b) the fact that they successfully get rid of Jae Crowder now which they working for a long already

However, if we looked at the long-term, Brooklyn Nets are a much more winner in that trade since they got those young cores who are currently doing great so far as role players. Aside from that, those 4 1st round picks that the Nets received are truly important and in most cases, might turn into an All-Star or Superstar caliber in their early years of playing.

Maybe the Suns put it all on this season so they gambled as this might be Chris Paul's last run, or taking advantage of Booker's dominance, or expecting Ayton's way of playing might be improved more as another superstar landed on their team.

[Yaunfitda]

Nets, Suns Agree On Kevin Durant Trade
The Suns will acquire Kevin Durant from the Nets in exchange for Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, four first-round picks and more draft consideration, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2023/02/nets-suns-agree-on-kevin-durant-trade.html

I'm quite sure that the Lakers can't afford that kind of trade because they doesn't have that much luxury anymore to give four 1st-round picks and a swap pick, and then giving away 3 players. But at least, Durant was traded to his preferred team as that's what he said last season.

Well, this time the Suns has a great chance of winning a championship. They mess up their chance before, but with Durant now, I believe they will b a better team. They have a great point guard who can also shoot, so having Durant and Booker will make them a very dangerous team.

Yes, that indeed mean that the Suns won't be the same anymore and the team who used to choke in the playoffs even after having a good run. This time, it will be a lot different because a new Big 4 of the Suns has been formed and the point god will not be having a hard time anymore to use his mastery when it comes to laying the table for the team because they now have a new additional which happens to be a very reliable shooter.

I think that will be the latest trend now in NBA, big a big solid big 4 and then see how far it goes. It's already a big roster upgrade for the Suns, it's just a matter of execution and there are no toxic environment with the team, Jae is already out and his situation with the team might be pulling them off for this season. They are now leading the Pacers end of the first half, Booker and CP3 are playing and it seems they have a different aura now knowing that they will have KD maybe after the all star break.

[chaser15]

Of course the biggest winner in this year's trade is Suns and I would say that Lakers is second.

Suns being called the biggest winner of that trade I guess shouldn't be the right term to be used. Don't just look at the status of how big the name Kevin Durant is but the Nets for me are the winner of that trade by looking at those several young prospects they got that might have good potential in the future. Durant can't even carry the Nets to a good position since he joined the team and you expect him to be a game-changer for the Suns?

The Suns are already good but since Durant shows interest to join the team, they grab it and it happened that they also want to ship Jae Crowder.

I don't even see and considered the Suns as a big threat to most teams. It's like just a usual day of trade in the NBA lol.

[LogitechMouse]

Lakers upgraded their roster, but might not be enough for this season to carry them to the playoffs.

I'm thinking the same as well, but come to think about it. The battle for a playoff or even play-in spot in the Western Conference is very tight and with lots of players being added to the West, it will be a survival to the fittest.

Lakers are now in the 13th spot, but they are only 3 games below the 10th spot, and only 5 games below the 4th spot. Just think about it. The Lakers' roster became better obviously, and what if they are on a winning streak let's just say after the all-star break? A mere 5 game winning streak will put them in the playoff spot for sure, but more is better. With this upgraded Lakers roster, I expect more wins from them, but with a healthy James and/or AD.

Of course the biggest winner in this year's trade is Suns and I would say that Lakers is second.

It may sound funny, but between the 2 teams that you said, the Lakers is the winner (for me and let me explain).

Suns roster might be upgraded on paper yes, but look at their depth. Look at their bench players. Who do you think can step up if one or worse 2 of their 4 all-star players get injured. Who do you think will step up if they are off the court? Shamet? Okogie? Payne? I don't think so and this is the problem of the Suns. They might got 4 all-star players, but their depth is for me one of the worse right now because they don't have good role players that can step up. They traded Cam Johnson already which is a good role player for the team.

As for the Lakers. They have a good starting five and at the same time a good bench players. They have Bamba and Gabriel as their bench big. They also have Vanderbilt, Hachimura and Brown Jr. as their wing players. They also got Russel and Schroder as their guards and of course, they got Lebron and AD. If Lebron and AD got injured or will not play, they still have tools like Russell who is shooting better this year, Schroder who can be their point guard, Hachimura, Walker IV and Reaves for three-point shooting.

Overall, the Lakers are a more balanced team right now thus, I see them a winner over the Suns. Don't get me wrong though as we have our own opinion.

[Dave1]

Of course the biggest winner in this year's trade is Suns and I would say that Lakers is second.

Suns being called the biggest winner of that trade I guess shouldn't be the right term to be used. Don't just look at the status of how big the name Kevin Durant is but the Nets for me are the winner of that trade by looking at those several young prospects they got that might have good potential in the future. Durant can't even carry the Nets to a good position since he joined the team and you expect him to be a game-changer for the Suns?

The Suns are already good but since Durant shows interest to join the team, they grab it and it happened that they also want to ship Jae Crowder.

I don't even see and considered the Suns as a big threat to most teams. It's like just a usual day of trade in the NBA lol.

So I guess everyone should be considered a winner since every team that deal with a trade is looking for their team to level up.

Durant to Phoenix
Kyrie to Mavs
Nets winning with Spencer and Cam Thomas
Lakers did have a lot of good players to team up with Lebron

So yeah, everyone is a winner in this trade and its hard to grade them.

[danherbias07]

Okogie or Damion Lee might be the one replacing the twins, Cam Johnson and Mikhail Bridges departure from the Suns roster. Even Ayton has hard time digesting the event leading up to acquiring Durant, but this is the brutal business of basketball everyone is dispensable.

So let's look at the lineup, Durant, Booker, CP3 and Ayton plus one. I think that is solid already and it can play defense too.

Unless they are really trying to go full defense, then maybe they are going to rotate more.

I think it will be Torrey Craig. They have two of the most dangerous shooters in the league and CP3's options for an assist are doubled so they might as well use the hole for their defensive push.
Yeah, a lot of tension circling around on social media about how loyalty is not considered anymore. It's all business and it sounds brutal but players cannot do anything about it. Some even went further at defining it as players like items in the eyes of team management.
I think this had been the biggest trading swing that I have seen, with lots of colors.  
Western Conference became more competitive, and now Dallas Mavericks became a championship contender and so do the Suns.

[OgNasty]

Okogie or Damion Lee might be the one replacing the twins, Cam Johnson and Mikhail Bridges departure from the Suns roster. Even Ayton has hard time digesting the event leading up to acquiring Durant, but this is the brutal business of basketball everyone is dispensable.

So let's look at the lineup, Durant, Booker, CP3 and Ayton plus one. I think that is solid already and it can play defense too.

Unless they are really trying to go full defense, then maybe they are going to rotate more.

I think it will be Torrey Craig. They have two of the most dangerous shooters in the league and CP3's options for an assist are doubled so they might as well use the hole for their defensive push.
Yeah, a lot of tension circling around on social media about how loyalty is not considered anymore. It's all business and it sounds brutal but players cannot do anything about it. Some even went further at defining it as players like items in the eyes of team management.
I think this had been the biggest trading swing that I have seen, with lots of colors.  
Western Conference became more competitive, and now Dallas Mavericks became a championship contender and so do the Suns.

We’ll find out right after the all star break. Most of the analysts seem to agree that it will be Craig. It was nice to see Booker back in action tonight against the Pacers. He helped them get the win with a pretty balanced scoring night from Booker/Ayton/Paul. They might already be making an effort to share the ball more evenly to set an example for when KD hits the court. It’ll be interesting to see the shot distribution.

[Ziskinberg]

Kyrie is still undefeated in the Dallas Mavericks.

With him playing, you can tell how he helps his teammates improve, unlike Luka who got most of the productions.
Last night, he only scored    25 points, but look at the production of his teammates, they are also in double figures.

Green - 17
Bullock - 13
Hardaway Jr. - 15
Hardy - 12
McGee -11


I hope that will not change when Luka returns.

[TravelMug]

Kyrie is still undefeated in the Dallas Mavericks.

With him playing, you can tell how he helps his teammates improve, unlike Luka who got most of the productions.
Last night, he only scored    25 points, but look at the production of his teammates, they are also in double figures.

Green - 17
Bullock - 13
Hardaway Jr. - 15
Hardy - 12
McGee -11


I hope that will not change when Luka returns.

Well we hope that it might chance, but for the betterment of the team, imagine Luka and Kyrie both at the same time, can create shots with their own one on one, or can pass the ball from the outside.

And it makes Dallas more dangerous because unlike before when Luka goes to the bench, that is the time that the other team will take a run against them. So by the time Luka goes back, it's going to be catch up most of the time. But this time, either him and Kyrie can sit each other and then the team will still have the opportunity to create shots and score.

[mirakal]

I would love to see how KD will add his greatness to the Suns franchise,  let's hope for the best on both Suns and KD partnerships.

They'll be tested once they already playing together I'm sure they'll find ways to make
Things workable in chasing  a ring, Booker and CP3 are longing to have a ring hopefully they'll going to adjust.

Well, that's true! I'll also be curious to see how Durant will benefit the Suns.
CP3 + KD + Booker + Ayton (I have no doubt this could be an excellent combination, but let's see if they have chemistry between them.

I'll be rooting for this combination to work out, and I hope even more that CP3 gets his dreamed champion ring

I think they won't have a hard time finding their rhythm once they will all play because their main line-up is already packed with good reliable players. The only problem for the roster is that those named stars are also prone to injury and once that happens, I'm afraid that their situation will suddenly go south from what is expected.

Right now, I'm just too interested to see them all playing wearing the same jersey and to see if this trade will benefit them as soon as possible. The same goes for the Mavs and Jazz.

[Maslate]

Phoenix Suns new contender for championship?

Ayton - Booker - Durant - Paul

Which team has the biggest advantage after trades?

Referring to Phoenix Suns, we can consider they won their recent trade move since:

a) they got what they wanted (Kevin Durant) without destroying, at least, the core lineup
b) the fact that they successfully get rid of Jae Crowder now which they working for a long already

However, if we looked at the long-term, Brooklyn Nets are a much more winner in that trade since they got those young cores who are currently doing great so far as role players. Aside from that, those 4 1st round picks that the Nets received are truly important and in most cases, might turn into an All-Star or Superstar caliber in their early years of playing.

Maybe the Suns put it all on this season so they gambled as this might be Chris Paul's last run, or taking advantage of Booker's dominance, or expecting Ayton's way of playing might be improved more as another superstar landed on their team.

In the present time, we can't say yet that the Brooklyn Nets have won the trade because their time is yet to come where we will know the outcome of those four 1st rounders that they received from the Suns but I'm really glad for what they received and they deserved it because they also poured a lot of funds for Kyrie and KD. And as of this moment, it's somehow obvious already that the Suns also won the trade because their roster has been boosted for acquiring KD. Now, the only thing left is to watch these all-star players playing their first game together.

[YuginKadoya]

Between Durant and cp3 and book they've been out a decent amount this year.  Suns will probably "manage" minutes while competing for the top 4 slots in the west to assure 1st round home court.  At least kd and cp3 they are on the wrong side of time in terms of nba minutes.  Hope they all male a run in the playoffs they will be fun to watch.

Right now the Phoenix Suns are in a safe position I think they need to maintain that and they are off to the pay-offs for sure, even though right now Kevin Durant and Devin Booker are injured, I really think if they manage to stay in this position and then when play-offs come and Kevin Durant or maybe Devin Booker can be in good condition when that time comes, I think the Phoenix Suns team will be in their complete form,

And for me right now the Los Angeles Lakers was the team that is in the last spot they will really need to move their way up, now that Russell WestBrick is gone, and the Lakers have acquired 3 great players that could surely come up with their great play, may they will have a chance bouncing back,

If I remember it correctly, the house was already fully booked in less than 24 hours before the game commences and the last price that was established on sale was $100,000 per seat. Imagine that, but people are still neglecting the price because that game was a very rare in a lifetime event and it would at least take a few decades again before it will be broken by somebody. Anyway, the Lakers now got a huge chance that they won't be playing again in the post-season.

Let's not hastily say such things right now the Los Angeles Lakers are in the 13 position and many are speculating that they will not get to the pay-offs, right now this could be true and it is really hard to predict the future, but right now the Lakers have a chance now in making a bounce back in winning every game It was really a historical moment when Lebron James finally Broken the record but let's just say that they have a 50/50 chance in getting to the playoffs because of D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Rui Hachimura to the team but they can also not make it to the play-offs because of their position in the standings,

[livingfree]

Well we hope that it might chance, but for the betterment of the team, imagine Luka and Kyrie both at the same time, can create shots with their own one on one, or can pass the ball from the outside.

And it makes Dallas more dangerous because unlike before when Luka goes to the bench, that is the time that the other team will take a run against them. So by the time Luka goes back, it's going to be catch up most of the time. But this time, either him and Kyrie can sit each other and then the team will still have the opportunity to create shots and score.

We haven't seen it yet but we can imagine that both of them will be playing good.

We're seeing that Kyrie is really a big help to the team. Although we haven't seen them play altogether but we saw how Kyrie adjusted quickly. So, if Luka is on the bench then Kyrie will take over and take care of it.

And when Kyrie is out, then vice versa. Very optimistic and positive to see how the games ended with Kyrie on it.

[xzone]

I would love to see how KD will add his greatness to the Suns franchise,  let's hope for the best on both Suns and KD partnerships.

They'll be tested once they already playing together I'm sure they'll find ways to make
Things workable in chasing  a ring, Booker and CP3 are longing to have a ring hopefully they'll going to adjust.

Well, that's true! I'll also be curious to see how Durant will benefit the Suns.
CP3 + KD + Booker + Ayton (I have no doubt this could be an excellent combination, but let's see if they have chemistry between them.

I'll be rooting for this combination to work out, and I hope even more that CP3 gets his dreamed champion ring

If the chemistry between these players is successful, they can become champions. but my fear is the players who will get injured when playoff time comes. The Suns have a good squad right now, but if one of these names is injured, the number of good players who can replace him in the team is low. So they can run into problems.
It will be an exciting playoff, I hope they manage to win the ring. The retirement age is now very close

[tabas]

If the chemistry between these players is successful, they can become champions. but my fear is the players who will get injured when playoff time comes. The Suns have a good squad right now, but if one of these names is injured, the number of good players who can replace him in the team is low. So they can run into problems.
It will be an exciting playoff, I hope they manage to win the ring. The retirement age is now very close

Many of us here have the same concern. No doubt that they certainly one of the strongest team now but that could really stop their reign if one of them becomes injure. KD is injury prone and that's not going to change the fact that he might get it again.
I guess they can manage to take care of this and they'll also be preserving most of these good players that they've got in the team. And that is because they're anticipating that they'll be making it to the finals or if not, close to the next stages.