ESPN has a trade idea that would send Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets this offseason. Would you support it? Watch In The Loop discuss.
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00:00I would kind of like your input on whether or not you're intrigued by this potential Kevin Durant
00:06or this hypothetical Kevin Durant trade proposal because ESPN in fact specifically all the inside
00:12NBA insiders but I think Bobby Marks really took the lead on this their front office insider uh
00:18they put the they put together a few um you know trade proposals for Kevin Durant it seems very
00:24evident that Kevin Durant's time in Phoenix is just not going to he'll tell you that yeah I mean
00:29it's been abundantly clear there they haven't been able to reach the places that they wanted to
00:33in acquiring him I imagine Matt Ishbia does not get very much good sleep thinking
00:40about that self-intention and he's sitting with a team that's that's ranked 11th in the west
00:45and uh has to scratch and claw for victories so they're they're trying to probably see if
00:50they can pivot um and if they can pivot if they have to go to a rebuild or if they can find a way
00:55to pivot and continue forward so they put together four trade proposals for Kevin Durant which I
01:00think first and foremost says that as ESPN they are looking at it they maybe max find themselves
01:07with four teams that could possibly vie for the services of Kevin Durant those teams being the New
01:12York Knicks, the Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, and the Houston Rockets. Dallas Mavericks. Well
01:20the Dallas Mavericks one it kind of makes sense once you blow up your team's future for uh with
01:24Luka Doncic and you have Anthony Davis it feels like you are really pushing in for the immediate
01:29term and you have Kyrie Irving in in a vacuum before you have all these injuries Kyrie Irving
01:35and Anthony Davis and you go hey maybe you go in and you add a another big but they're off the board
01:41now they might be uh I mean right it's possible I have no idea what they're doing it wouldn't
01:48surprise me neither do they still on the board man I don't I don't think it'd be it'd be smart
01:53for them to go and push for Kevin Durant especially considering that you probably have a
01:57whole season yeah uh without Kevin without uh Kyrie without Kyrie and so if that's the case like
02:03you kind of hamper what you're trying to put together there as a whole team right to go and
02:07try and contend but all right they're out there the Rockets though are obviously the local team
02:13and they've been in this place where they've been trying to acquire a star and Kevin Durant is
02:18one of those guys put together ESPN goes as follows the Rockets get Kevin Durant nice and
02:24easy right what they trade so far yeah sounds great everybody's in at this point hey wow
02:30Rockets Rockets got Kevin Durant sounds great no other things though I want to make that clear
02:36all right so the Suns would get in this trade Dylan Brooks we still feeling good yes Reed
02:42Shepard yes Cam Whitmore yes no opposition yet Jock Landale yes those are the players
02:49like so just with the players yeah we're in a cool place 25 and 27 first round picks
02:55that are the Phoenix so it's trading back Phoenix's picks is what you'd be doing here
03:00that's the that's the I would do that in a heartbeat that is the fullness of the trade
03:04I would do that in a heartbeat in a blink in a blink of an eye all four of those guys you know
03:10in terms of players are players that you I'm not going to say they're you know replaceable
03:16but they're sort of like somewhat expendable in what you have somewhat expendable they're not the
03:20they're not the core of your team no no like you still got Ahmed Thompson Shagun
03:26Jalen Green who I thought would have probably been part of the trade yeah and and you got
03:31Kevin Durant I mean you look at it when you have everybody healthy and you look at the
03:36rotation that you've kind of built three of those guys aren't even mainstays in the rotation that
03:40you have and then the last one is a guy that you were talking about once Jabari Smith came back
03:44is this and if Fred Van Vliet was healthy is this a guy that maybe goes to the bench
03:48yeah in order to facilitate all these things so I mean you look at the give up and it's not
03:53the worst thing in the world helps you that this is the consolidation that we've been talking about
03:56in some ways right and then you have a privy that you're privy to you can have the pigs I get it
04:04you hold on you hold on to the 2029 pick and you maybe still uh bet against their future yeah and
04:09say that hey maybe y'all still won't find where you get to and we have another nice pick there
04:14um and so it sounds like you guys are in on this idea are you that I think I would be for this cost
04:21the question that I keep coming back to Lafina's make a make a deal like that I think they would
04:25I think that like what's here like we started with like they're in a place that they need to find
04:30um find the place to move on from and I appreciate this somebody said pass do that did do that deal
04:36for Booker now first and foremost if you're getting Booker you're paying more but I'm actually
04:39okay with the higher price the question I have is would Phoenix do that deal because I think Phoenix
04:45still wants to be some level of uh you know competitive and I imagine that Phoenix if
04:50they're getting their picks back maybe they could feel especially getting a you know nice grip of
04:54talented players can't win more it's a really nice player that we know looking locally he just
04:59didn't have a space for him if you have and maybe not maybe not happy here maybe not a fit here
05:04possibly but I think even just like you can talk about it from a pretty you know surface level and
05:09looking he just doesn't have as much of a role talk less like being happy necessarily I don't
05:13know how much I want to speak to that but for Phoenix I think they look up and they go yeah I
05:18would very much like to rebuild against around Devin Booker the younger of the the guys that
05:24they have there and still have an opportunity to try and contend so I think that's why they'd be
05:28more palatable for them if if it's if if Devin Booker is there I think I like that a lot more
05:33however if you get the Kevin Durant thing I think that that makes sense the question that I come
05:37back to is you still have a lot of Durant how comfortable do you feel that the Rockets are able
05:46to capitalize with Kevin Durant in this system he gives you some instant offense but I don't know
05:52that the is the offense simply a Kevin Durant away uh yes uh I there there are so many things
05:59that have me warming up to the idea of not just that particular trade but a trade for Kevin Durant
06:05because most of them have happened here in the last month uh Kevin Durant you know for all his
06:11little quirks and everything is an absolute pros pro in that locker room correct like he is a pros
06:17pro we've heard him talking about Emey Adoka raving about Adoka uh we've heard him criticizing
06:24last week or hell it was probably earlier this week or over the weekend when he was torturing
06:28his own uh sons about about how they were prepared and not prepared and didn't you know kind of gave
06:33up the ghost and all that. S.U.N.S. sons I was like I like the idea that you're like he was
06:37torturing his kids. He's torturing those kids. He doesn't have any kids that I know of. I hate him
06:40uh no but you know he he is a pros pro and this team right now they need that they Emey Adoka
06:49I mean he he's frustrated he's voiced his frustration we've talked about his frustration
06:53I think these players need a Kevin Durant to come in here and say what the hell are
06:57y'all doing that's not how you do it you know or you know it's an every night thing
07:01uh and all that so it's not just the trade to me it's like and it's not you get him because
07:07you get a super talent you get him because you have the go-to guy that you need and we've talked
07:11about that I think the third thing is you get him because this this locker room needs him this
07:16locker room needs him uh to be able to look to the room you know. I mean you'd be trading Dylan
07:24Brooks adult for uh for Kevin Durant every day every day I'm so interested in it but it keeps
07:31bringing me back to like especially when you look at and I understand that they're in a downturn
07:34right now but the Rockets defense has been middling in a way that it needed to be incredible
07:40and the Rockets offense which has made it so that the defense is so important
07:44especially in since February 1st I was listening to H-Town Hoops podcast get that wherever you
07:48uh can find your uh fine podcast they just put out another episode that kind of
07:52where they were talking about and I want to say they it's B Scott and Adam Spillane talking about
07:57just you know what's happening defensively and offensively with this team and why they're in
08:00this place and offensively since February 1st they're like the second worst team at
08:06knocking down twos and I'm like no matter how good of a player that you add into it
08:11I don't I wonder like how like how that how that works you know and so I do think that there's like
08:16we were talking about this off air yesterday the idea of the spacing hurts like all these
08:21things kind of compound upon each other offensively and I think maybe that helps
08:24but I'm really interested to see over the next little while I love this as a trade in the off
08:29season but I would love to see also them find a little bit of offensive like stability in some
08:34of those other places so that I feel a lot better about hey you're dropping a Kevin Durant onto
08:38something that kind of works in a better sphere offensively as opposed to just a dysfunctional
08:43offense and now we're dropping Kevin Durant into be can you be instant offense for us
08:47Kevin Durant would would put you over the top I'm not saying all of a sudden
08:51you're Oklahoma City but I think I think you get in the in the mix uh you know for next year uh
08:57this is a team when we talked about they are entering win now mode you know they they made
09:05a big leap this year even with their their struggles right now but you know going into
09:09next year with that and and a real adult in the room I think I think it would work
09:15and you are adding a seven footer to the lineup eight three two but don't hey he is tall man he
09:19is not big man let's be careful might as might as well be five two when he's out on the three
09:23point line wait a minute he said he's six nine oh yeah I thought we gave did we not give that
09:28up a long time ago yeah I was and also I was like what are you staying to gain here I think we're
09:33no longer people want to be taller well I know in in the time where he was doing it was where the
09:38NBA was so beholden if you're seven foot you better get your keister in that paint yeah and
09:42now I think now we're in a place where we let the seven footers be seven footers and he's still out
09:46here lying what was it was it last year that he was out here trying to tell uh yeah I'm six eleven
09:51dog we can see you he said he was six nine was he still trying yeah he said he was six nine but he
09:57was standing next to taller you know what I'm out of the trade if you can't be truthful about your
10:02height you can't play I said he's got quirks I told you he's got work hey I would be down for
10:07Kevin Durant being in Houston though man he's an interesting dude he works out he works out with
10:12like two or three of these guys hip-hop head too yeah he's an interesting dude yeah I think Jalen
10:16Green was giving a little bit of credit to working out with uh I think Jalen Green works out with him
10:21I forget the other one but imagine that lineup with Kevin Durant yeah it would be very interesting
10:26I worth and you still got Tari Eason yeah you still can bring some real fun off the bench from
10:31the three four six before we go they said they wouldn't trade Dylan Brooks he plays good defense
10:34and they like the villain attitude like I do wonder in a heartbeat yeah I agree I do wonder
10:42though like do you keep that same like email physicality email intensity as that roster I
10:48mean email is still the coach as that seems to change a little bit I think you do yeah yeah all
10:53right I feel like Memphis still doing pretty fine I don't know if they still have that same attitude
10:57but they're doing pretty good okay I feel you all right you're in the