How is adding possibly the greatest scorer of all time onto a team that desperately lacks scoring a bad idea?
I love Durant, heās probably my favorite big man of all timeā¦ And Iām not against adding him, I was meaning trading Duren AND adding KD as package deal is short sighted
Why are you trying so hard to get rid of an all-star center? Losing Duren at this point guarantees the team to be worse next year, no matter who you bring in to replace him.
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Heās still ballinā
Per Game Table
| Season | Team | G | FG% | 3P% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-08 | SEA | 80 | .430 | .288 | 4.4 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 20.3 |
| 2008-09 | OKC | 74 | .476 | .422 | 6.5 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 25.3 |
| 2009-10 | OKC | 82 | .476 | .365 | 7.6 | 2.8 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 30.1 |
| 2010-11 | OKC | 78 | .462 | .350 | 6.8 | 2.7 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 27.7 |
| 2011-12 | OKC | 66 | .496 | .387 | 8.0 | 3.5 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 28.0 |
| 2012-13 | OKC | 81 | .510 | .416 | 7.9 | 4.6 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 28.1 |
| 2013-14 | OKC | 81 | .503 | .391 | 7.4 | 5.5 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 32.0 |
| 2014-15 | OKC | 27 | .510 | .403 | 6.6 | 4.1 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 25.4 |
| 2015-16 | OKC | 72 | .505 | .387 | 8.2 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 28.2 |
| 2016-17 | GSW | 62 | .537 | .375 | 8.3 | 4.8 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 25.1 |
| 2017-18 | GSW | 68 | .516 | .419 | 6.8 | 5.4 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 26.4 |
| 2018-19 | GSW | 78 | .521 | .353 | 6.4 | 5.9 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 26.0 |
| 2019-20 | Did | Did | Did | Did | Did | Did | Did | Did | Did |
| 2020-21 | BRK | 35 | .537 | .450 | 7.1 | 5.6 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 26.9 |
| 2021-22 | BRK | 55 | .518 | .383 | 7.4 | 6.4 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 29.9 |
| 2022-23 | 2TM | 47 | .560 | .404 | 6.7 | 5.0 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 29.1 |
| 2023-24 | PHO | 75 | .523 | .413 | 6.6 | 5.0 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 27.1 |
| 2024-25 | PHO | 62 | .527 | .430 | 6.0 | 4.2 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 26.6 |
| 2025-26 | HOU | 78 | .520 | .413 | 5.5 | 4.8 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 26.0 |
Durant was never a big man. He is an overgrown wing. That I would take over most every SF in history.
I wouldnāt want him and LeBron on the same team. Same position, overgrown 3.
Hakeem/KG/Durant/Jordan/Magic would be all kinds of impossible to play against.
Unless you had the All Power team-
Shaq/Malone/LeBron/Drexler/Big O
Or the All Assassin Team
Kareem/Duncan /Bird/Kobe/Isiah
Keeping Duren at the price tag he wants hurts the team now and in the future
I think he is overrated He made all nba because players were injured and missed the cut
he is a mid defender at best shoots like Angel Reese from beyond 15 feet and wants to be paid like a top 10 center when he isnt.
Give me either a better defender like in the 1 trade scenario where we got Allen among other things
or
Give me a guy who can space the floor and make a shot beyond 15 feet in the Sabonis idea a guy who in 2024/25 was 42.5 10 feet and beyond last year in limited time was 37%
Yes he is only 22 but with Ausar still to be paid do you truly want to tie up upwards of $70 million plus for 2 non shooters
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Or the We Will Just Effing Outscore You Team
Wilt/Barkley/DrJ /Maravich/Steph
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Isnāt it possible they improve their shooting? Kawhi did 
No, it isnāt.
I just did a spreadsheet and it models no way to improve whatsoever.
Granted it may be because I limited to 22yr old current players in the NBA , only born in one specific city on one specific day at the off guard position.
But, results donāt lie Duren canāt improve.
6 Likes
Both Duren and Thompson have to. Right now they are extremely limited offensively. Thompson makes up for it with his defense. Duren is slightly above average defensively but he has to improve his offensive range. He needs to stretch it beyond the free throw line. Thompson needs to improve his three pt shooting.
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Not a popular opinion. But Iām there to. Defense didnāt get us anything but the whistle in the playoffs. NBA officiating has made it clear its the NDA (No Defense Allowed) league and Flopping is the new defense. Time to change styles- let AT try to play defense and focus on scoring.
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https://x.com/i/status/2073091863142183117
Yet another star player weāre linked to.
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And if they dont at least Ausar can use defense to his credit If duren cant get a outside shot we clog up the paint and overpay for him and stuck with the contract With the move for Sabonis and picks if Sabonis doesnt work out year it is a 2 year deal not a 4/5 year pact plus we get Kings picks which that is a perk as well. Sabonis can knock down outside shots and is the defense going from Duren to Sabonis change so much where it kills this compared to the scoring upgrade and stretching of the defense out opening lanes for Thompson and Cade I think we have a better chance of getting Sabonis to playing some average to above average level of defense then we will ever see Duren getting a consistent shot from beyond 10 feet of the basket.
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I really donāt like the idea of getting 8 years older at the position to go from Duren, who just went 20/10, to a career 16/10 guyā¦ At the same point in his career, Sabonis had just come off a 14/9 season with the previous 2 being 12/8 and 6/4ā¦ The next season, at age 23, he became an 18/12 then a 20/12 player. I get the contract thing, but Iām more willing to invest in a player whoās young and trending upwards over an aging guy who is what heās going to be.
4 Likes
Same here. And getting a lot worse defensively.
Iāll give Collins a little bit a leeway/cautious optimism on defense, because heās never really been on a contender or many good defensive teams. That doesnāt forgive lack of defensive effort, but itās also somewhat understandable. Iām hoping he can turn that around a bit on a team that puts more emphasis on defense than a lot of his previous stops.
The Pistons came into the off-season with two big needs:
-
An effective #2 option to pair with Cade.
-
Three-point shooting.
-
Find someone to be able to give Cade a breather as primary ball handler.
One could still be addressed with adding someone like Murphy or Durant. Collins could possibly bear some of that, but isnāt a true #2 guy.
The second has certainly been addressed with adding Collins and Joe, re-signing Heurter and finding a way to keep Duncan Robinson while doing all that.
The third could be solved if Okorie is a Year 1 contributor, which is certainly a possibly, especially in a bench role. Others can also pitch in on this (Joe, a healthy Huerter, Jenkins, etc.). Okorie has a shot at being what the Pistons hoped Sasser would be.
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Sabonis has averaged 6.5 assists a game at the C position the last 4 full seasons, so itās not a real comparison of you leave out one guyās crazy outlier strength. Sabonis is a menace with the ball in his hands because he can shoot over you, back you down or kill you with a bucket getting pass if you send a doubler.
Led the NBA in rebounding in 22, 23 and 24. Maybe in 25 if not hurt.
Shot 37, 38 and 42% from 3 last 3 full years too.
Lerts not get as a board too far down the road on the Sabonis is Dog Meat Express. He is a far better basketball player than Duren.
Today. In 2 years? Probably not. Thatās the rub.
6 Likes
Duren averaged 1-2 less rebounds than Sabonis. Sabonis in those last 3 full seasons, made 1 3 pt shot every two games. Thats not a volume 3 pt shooter. Thats not a guy who can stretch the floor. Sabonisās contract expires in two years and runs $45-50M per season. He is 8 years older. Thatās not insignificant. Sabonis is a nice player but you donāt throw away the potential of a guy who is a 20 and 10 guy at age 22. Duren is still learning the game. Iād rather have potential of 9 years of Duren than 2 years of Sabonis.
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@Weaselpuppy he also easily gets shot over, backed down, and gets killed if he doubles. Hopefully something that he could improve upon if we got him.
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