Three-way trading to revitalize the Warrior Sun? The two billion-dollar gentlemen changed owners, and Durant was completely liberated
The strengthening of emerging forces will undoubtedly have an impact on the league pattern, like the Nuggets, their two core Murray inside and outside plus Jokic are already a group of outstanding partners in the league, coupled with the team's management strategizing to match the two with a number of suitable puzzle players, this season the Denver people have experienced the first taste of being the first in the West in team history, and also passed the hurdle to enter the Finals, the Nuggets' core team is still relatively young on average, and they will maintain a good competitiveness for many years to come. This will also have an impact on the future roster building, signing reinforcements, and trade choices of teams with ambitions to hit the championship.
In the past few seasons, a number of teams in the league have formed a big lineup that shows their desire and ambition for a championship, such as the Clippers with Leonard and George, two top forwards, and the Suns who made a big deal for Durant's "ABCD" combination.
In the offseason, there will be many "big fish" in the free market, including Harden, many powerful stars have player options, in addition, there is Irving in free agency, and under the new collective agreement, how each company will make targeted adjustments to the roster to make up for the shortcomings of the team's roster and find more suitable players, these are worth looking forward to. The Warriors and the Suns, the two powerful teams in the West, have encountered a lot of problems, the Warriors are burdened with a huge luxury tax, the aging of the core team, locker room conflicts, the Suns have Durant but eventually only fell in the second round, facing the Nuggets they seem to be quite difficult to fight, the gap between the strength of the first and second teams is too large, and now, the Warriors and the Suns have also changed, the Warriors have won 4 championships, general manager Miles left, and the Suns parted ways with Coach Monti, who helped the team reach the Finals, and instead introduced Vogel.
How should the Suns and Warriors make changes to the roster? In this regard, the US media wrote for them to pull the Hawks for a three-way deal, the Suns and Warriors have a chance to be revived through this deal, and the two billionaire gentlemen will change owners in this transaction plan.
Suns gained: Capela, Poole, Moody
Warriors gained: Collins, Okonwu, Payne
The Hawks acquired: Ayton, Shamet, 1 2024 first-round pick, 2 2026 first-round picks
Through this deal, Capela's addition can provide the Suns with interior frame and rebound protection, he has good physical fitness, 2.08 meters tall, 2.25 meters in arm span, Capela averaged 11 rebounds per game in the regular season this season, ranking fifth in the league, 4 frontcourt rebounds are second only to Mitchell Robinson's presence, in addition, Capela also averages 1.2 blocks per game, ranking in the top 20 in the league. Having Capela to provide the dynamism of the interior defense will help the Suns deal with Jokic and thick eyebrows, and it can also free up Durant on the defensive end, allowing him to have more energy to focus on the offense. On the offensive end, Capela can be activated by Paul's side, Capela can help the team's offense through blocking and good pie-eating ability, and thanks to his experience with the Rockets, Capela's integration will also be smoother because of Paul's presence.
After all, the Suns' bench players are averaging points per game very low in the league this season, Moody's open three-point grasp, defensive strength, and calmness when handling the ball are impressive in this season's playoffs, Moody's few minutes in the playoffs can average 5.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, shooting 59.1% from three-point range, and he can defend multiple positions, not eat the ball and be very selfless , It's good to partner with Durant, Booker, Paul or start off the bench. The Suns sent out a player who was playing softer in the playoffs with a billion-dollar contract.
The Warriors can be supplemented first and foremost in the forward and interior in a three-way deal, with Collins and Okonvu both young and dynamic players. The former averaged 13.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1 block per game in the regular season this season, converted offense and secondary offensive enthusiasm is good, and was trained in blocking and off-ball movement during his time with the Hawks, which is also helpful for integration into the Warriors system, as for Okonwu, his defensive coverage is quite large, as a 22-year-old, his defensive judgment is also quite good, with a good ability to assist defense and supplement defense, while rushing to grab the front court rebounding ability is amazing.
In the playoffs this season, in a modest 21.8 minutes of playing time, Okonwu can average 3.2 frontcourt rebounds per game, ranking seventh in the league, and his and Looney's presence can give the Warriors the possibility of rebounding in both rosters. In addition to Collins and Okongwu, Payne also went to the Warriors in the trade package provided by the US media, Payne is extremely fast, has a certain scoring explosiveness and organizational ability, which can make him a "bench bandit", because his addition will also increase the depth of the Warriors' rotation on point guards.
From the perspective of contract, the Warriors sent Poole, who had a 4-year, $140 million contract, to a relatively short contract and a relatively lower annual salary, and it would be easier to deal with in the future.
Finally, there is the Hawks, in the three-way trade plan given by the US media, Ayton and Shamet will join the Hawks, and the Hawks can also get three draft picks. The focus of the trade is Ayton, who had a conflict with the team management over salary during his time for the Suns, which affected his mentality, Ayton was not happy with the Suns, and the attitude on the court made the outside world's evaluation of him fall to the bottom, and changing the court was an opportunity to prove himself.
Ayton's way of ending the offense is diverse, the hook hand in the near frame, throwing shots have good certainty, medium and close range shots are also good, Ayton brings these can enrich the Hawks' offense, the previous Capela, Okongu's offensive means are relatively single, Ayton and Trae Young, Deontay Murray between the blocking will have more changes, and Ayton can also play the role of a "pie-eating" center, his body size is still larger than Capela and Okonwu, reaching a height of 2.11 meters, Capela and Okonvuze are 2.08 and 2.03 meters, respectively.
In the regular season this season, Ayton averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds per game, shooting 58.9% from the field and 8th in the league in interior scoring 13.1, he and Trae Young are the same rookies, both are 24 years old, can continue to grow together, to better results, it is worth mentioning that in the offseason last season, the Hawks reported that they were interested in Ayton.
So, what do you think of this three-way deal given by the US media?