NBA Trades Are Broken

Oh my goodness. The Nets really just traded Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks. This is huge. Luke is finally going to get some help. Kyrie is free. But what's Kevin Durant going to do? He's trapped in Brooklyn with Brickshot Ben. He's playing at an all-time level right now. How is he going to dig the Nets out of this one? Breaking news. The Nets are not, they're no more, at least as they started this season. Kevin Durant is headed to Phoenix. Voila. That escalated quickly. In a matter of 72 hours, the Nets went from having two generational players and real hopes at a title to having Cam Johnson answer triple single himself. The Nets just went from legitimate contenders to a full-blown rebuild in literally three days. NBA trades are broken, and I don't know if there's a way to fix them. Today's video is sponsored by DraftKings. The big game is finally here. And what's better than sports, gathering around with friends, and instant betting wins? This week, I'm teaming up with DraftKings to give all new customers a winning offer. All new customers have to do is sign up for DraftKings using my promo code JIMMYHIGHROLLER, bet at least $5 on the big game, and you'll instantly receive an additional $200 in bonus bets. Talk about a lock. Just place any $5 bet on the big game, and you're instantly a winner. And if mobile sports betting is not yet available in your state, you can still get in on the fun with DraftKings Daily Fantasy. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app now. New customers use promo code JIMMYHIGHROLLER, bet $5 on the big game, and get $200 in bonus bets instantly. That's promo code JIMMYHIGHROLLER, only at DraftKings Sportsbook. What do you get when you combine an all-time great offensive talent with one of the greatest players of all time with arguably the most skilled player to ever touch a basketball and championship pedigree? You get 7 playoff wins, 2 first round sweeps, and the biggest disappointment of a team in NBA history. And that's no exaggeration. This Nets team that has quickly came and went over the last 3 seasons is without a doubt the biggest flop of a team I have ever seen. Three generational talents in their prime, all teaming up in a league that was wide open for any team to rise above the rest. And somehow, this trio, and then duo, fell flat time and time again. The culmination of this ultra-talented one-two punch? Absolutely nothing at all. I was still reeling myself back in from the shock of the Kyrie Irving trade when news broke that Kevin Durant was being shipped off to the Phoenix Suns. Quite possibly the weirdest part about this 72-hour saga being that the Nets handed over two all-time great players for pennies on the dollar. Trading Kyrie Irving is one thing, at the end of the day I get it. The man didn't want to be there, the writing was on the wall, gotta get what you can out of the inevitable transaction. But Kevin Durant, KD, the Slim Reaper? You couldn't waterboard me into trading that man. You could dangle me by my ankles off the face of a 10-story building, mob style, and I'd say my prayers before trading away Kevin freaking Durant. But no. Instead, the Nets opted to take what they could and decided that now is the time to start a rebuild. What did they get in return for the mega-duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving? Well, let's see here. Mikkel Bridges, Spencer Dinwiddie, two solid players, a guy that doesn't play basketball, two future first round picks, and five 8th graders. I mean, this is getting out of hand. At what point are we going to come to the realization that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush? Especially when the bird in your hand is one of the greatest players to ever lace up? I get it, distressed asset and whatnot, but do you know how rare it is to have a player like Kevin Durant playing for your organization? There are teams that have never, ever had a player like Kyrie Irving or Kevin Durant play for their team. And not only did the Nets get honestly nothing out of these guys, they got little in return for these guys. Now sure, that's a whole lot of picks that very well could become great players in the future, but do you know the odds of drafting a player of Kevin Durant's caliber? Well, considering there's maybe 12 guys in the history of basketball that were better than him, I'd say the odds are slim to none. It's the classic four quarters for a dollar transaction that we are seeing more and more often in today's NBA. In theory, this makes sense. I give you four quarters and you give me the dollar. We both end up with something different, possibly something that works a bit better for both of us, and we end up with assets of equal value. Except, this isn't in theory. This is the NBA. One Kevin Durant is worth more than seven assets that are significantly worse than Kevin Durant. In real life, I can just go and get another dollar. But in the NBA, you can't just go and get another KD. In the NBA, the dollar is vastly, exponentially more valuable than four quarters. And yet, these trades just keep on happening. Take a great, proven player and get cornered into trading him for multiple assets that may or may not add up to the value of that one player. And this, my friends, especially under these circumstances, rarely pans out. But of all the takeaways from these two blockbuster deals, I think the biggest realization that is just how bad the Timberwolves have railed themselves with the Rudy Gobert trade. Because you could argue that the Timberwolves gave up just as much for Rudy Gobert as the Suns did for Kevin Durant. The Timberwolves thought they were trading 10 dimes for a dollar, not knowing that Gobert was actually a counterfeit bill. So did the Suns get a great deal, or did the Timberwolves get fleeced? Well, it's a whole lot of both. And I've thought about this ever since the Gobert trade went down. When a player like Rudy Gobert can command 5 players and 4 first round picks in a trade, what can a truly great player command? In retrospect, and even in that moment, the Gobert trade was so bad that it crashed the NBA trade market for half a season. But now that we're back on track, you can still get your hands on star players. It'll just cost the next decade of your franchise to do it. Regardless, these moves are good for the league. Luka finally gets the help that he desperately needed, and the Suns get a crucial piece that could put them over the top for a title run. I mean, this whole time the organization has been racking their brains trying to figure out what they need to get back to the finals and have a real shot to win it all, and the answer was staring them in the face all along. Just trade for Kevin Durant. But looking back on the failed experiment that was the Brooklyn Nets, I think the most disappointing part is that we never really got to see the full potential of this duo. It always felt like right when they would gain some momentum, something would happen. Durant would get hurt. Kyrie would stir up some controversy. The basketball part of things was always good. It just felt like compared to all the other distractions, there wasn't a whole lot of basketball going on between these two simultaneously. In fact, out of the 4 seasons and 280 games that took place while Kyrie and Durant were on the Nets, they only played together 87 times. And that is a basketball tragedy. But I'm interested to see how the Suns look with Kevin Durant. I anticipate they'll go on a run here and make a push for the top seed in the West. Come playoffs, if they are healthy, I think they're capable of taking down any team in the conference. And now that the Mavericks have strength in their backcourt, I am hopeful that Kyrie Irving has been rejuvenated and we can see him and Luka at full strength. And uh, rip the Nets. I guess it was good while it lasted. I can't even say that with confidence. Let me know what y'all think. Who won these trades? How does this change things for the Mavs? And how does it change things for the Suns? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. And as always, until next time.