For those of you who went to sleep early Wednesday night, a couple of things: first, I envy you. Second, the Brooklyn Nets traded Kevin Durant and TJ Warren to the Phoenix Suns. In return, Phoenix sent Brooklyn a package of Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder — who was later traded to Milwaukee — four unprotected first round picks (2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029) and a pick swap in 2028.
This is a major win on Phoenix’s end, at least in the short term. It’s not every day you acquire a top-20 player in the history of the sport, a player who is still contributing at an MVP level. The Suns knew Durant wanted out of Brooklyn, so they capitalized on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity by giving Brooklyn their absolute best offer before anyone else could. And it worked.
For the next few years, Durant gets to play on a Suns team that is only two years removed from reaching the NBA Finals. Most of the talent from that 2021 roster still plays for the Valley, including its three most important contributors: Chris Paul, Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton.
The playmaking connection that Paul and Durant provide together makes their pairing a match made in heaven, and I like his fit with Booker enough to make me believe that it can work wonders — as long as Booker assumes more off-ball responsibility. I think these four players can play very well together, and if they do, their slowly diminishing championship window has just been pushed wide open for the next few years.
Conversely, opening that short-term window comes at the cost of them closing their long-term window. Four picks is a lot to give up. If something goes wrong, Phoenix doesn’t really have much of a contingency plan. Yes, giving all of that up was necessary. But Paul and Durant are not getting any younger or healthier, and a significant amount of their future is going to Brooklyn. I’m not saying they were wrong — it’s just something to think about.
Yet, a championship is not guaranteed in Phoenix. Bridges and Johnson were integral to their finals run last year, and losing them hurts. Even though you’re gaining one of the most talented shot creators in basketball history, you’re losing defense, cutting and most importantly, depth.
Beyond Ayton, who can this team rely on? Warren? Torrey Craig? I don’t know. Of course, having Paul, Booker, Ayton and Durant on one team is enough for Phoenix to be considered a legitimate contender, but their depth may be challenged when the playoffs roll around. I like their odds, though. Phoenix will be a tough team to beat for the next few years.
I talked about Brooklyn in my last column, and my opinions haven’t changed much. I’m glad they chose a direction regarding Durant. They got back a great haul for their stars. Unless someone transforms into a star with increased touches, this is perhaps the greatest team of role players ever assembled. The shooting is still there, there’s shot creation in Cam Thomas and Spencer Dinwiddie and Johnson provides some good off-ball scoring.
But where this team is REALLY dangerous is on defense: adding Bridges and Dorian Finney-Smith to a team that has Ben Simmons, Royce O’Neale and Defensive Player of the Year candidate Nicolas Claxton. They’re not going anywhere for the next few years, but that’s okay. These moves are for the future, as they’re currently swimming in draft capital now.
This team is doing the opposite of Phoenix — sacrificing their short-term success for long-term stability. I’m glad they did. The Nets have done a very good job of taking a very bad situation and turning it into something good. So Nets fans, while it may look like you guys lost the deadline, you could very much be winners down the road.
This wasn’t the only major trade that took place before the trade deadline on Thursday. The Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz swapped role players in a massive three-team trade.
The Lakers acquired D’Angelo Russell from Minnesota, along with Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley from Utah. In return, they sent Russell Westbrook, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones and a 2027 first-round pick to Utah. Minnesota received Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and three second-round picks in this deal.
I like this trade a lot for Minnesota. I understand that Russell was finally starting to gel with the team, but he was still a score-first guard on a team filled with score-first players and guys who need to be set up for shots, in addition to being a total defensive liability. Russell just wasn’t a good fit, especially considering he’d have to re-adjust to playing alongside Karl-Anthony Towns. Replacing him with a more natural playmaker in Conley just seems like a much better fit, and the Timberwolves will have a much easier time sharing the ball.
I don’t share that same optimism with Utah. I understand the move, considering they’re not trying to compete, but I expected Vanderbilt, Beasley and Conley to be more valuable. The first two were integral parts of the Rudy Gobert trade and valuable on their own — Beasley being a knockdown shooter and Vanderbilt’s defense and rebounding being able to fit anywhere — and Conley was a former All-Star with the Jazz. There’s an argument that those three guys would have each netted a first-round pick.
The first-round pick is nice, but that’s essentially all they got back for three important role players. Of course, they still have their draft capital and neither player was going to be there long-term, but I can’t help but feel underwhelmed by the Jazz’s return.
The Lakers, however, won this trade. Moving Westbrook and a couple role players while getting back three talented players that fit your team seamlessly? That’s a home run if I’ve ever seen one.
Beasley provides the shooting that this team desperately needs. Vanderbilt adds size and rebounding to a Lakers team that could use it. Russell is a much better option at point guard than anyone else on their roster, and he adds shot creation. Most importantly, the Lakers took one of the worst trades in recent memory — the Westbrook trade — and turned it into something potentially great. They won the deadline just for that alone.
