Goodbye Suns! The American media revealed the inside of the Big Three locker room, Vogel completely lost trust, and class is imminent, Durant is dissatisfied with the team's role, or chooses the best place to leave the team is the Thunder!
Text: Lao Kan Kanqiu
Editor|Lao Kan Kanqiu
The first round of the NBA playoffs has passed the halfway point, the two groups of teams are about to usher in Tianwang Mountain 2-2, the three groups of teams are 3-1 and only one kick away, the Thunder and Pelicans are also about to usher in G4, the current score is 3-0, and the Pelicans are basically ruled out. And the Suns became the only team to be swept 0-4 after losing to the Timberwolves again in G4 at home, and the first team to be eliminated from the tournament, which is a shame. You must know that the last time the Suns were swept in the playoffs was back in the 1998-99 season, when the core was Jason Kidd, who was swept out of the first round 3-0, and this season's Suns, but with the most luxurious starting 'Big Three' in the league, can only be reduced to a laughing stock in the end.
Last offseason, the Suns management sent away Paul, Ayton and other original championship-contending core lineups, traded the third big man Beal and Nurkic, and fired Coach Monty, rehired championship coach Vogel (the head coach of the Lakers championship season in the 19-20 season), and also paid the league's third-ranked heavy luxury tax ($26.2 million over the luxury tax line), the purpose of which is to be able to show his strength this season and compete for the championship.
Who would have thought that in the 2023-24 season, under the coaching of coach Vogel, the Suns' Big Three led the team to only a 49-33 record, and it was only after the Lakers defeated the Pelicans in a row that they could sit in the sixth place in the West and avoid the embarrassment of the play-offs. The most important thing is that before the start of the playoffs, many people, including the Suns themselves, felt that their first-round opponent was the most relaxed, because during the regular season, although the Suns struggled, they had a 3-0 record against the Timberwolves, and they were swept in the regular season.
Not only did he not have to play the play-offs, but the opponent in the first round was still a loser in the regular season, and everything was going in the best direction. However, when it came to the playoffs, I don't know if it was because of the light enemy of the Big Three, or for other reasons, from the first round of G1, the Suns were defeated by the talented Timberwolves, with a 25-point defeat in the first game, G2 lost by 12 points and surrendered early, G3 returned to the home court and still suffered a 17-point defeat, and it was still difficult to win a win in the G4 life-and-death battle with all their might. To everyone's surprise, the Suns, who had the advantage in both playoff experience and star quality, became the first team to lose the playoffs, and just look at Durant's expression after the game, he didn't expect this result.
Out in disgrace, the Big Three round became the biggest joke. What followed was a frenzied skepticism from the outside world, and the pressure on the Big Three could be imagined. Especially Durant, since choosing to leave the Warriors and Curry in 19, although he has not missed the playoffs for five consecutive years (the Nets have not played in a year after recovering from injuries), but compared to the teammate configuration he has, this is absolutely unqualified. During the Nets period, with Harden and Irving, the two giants were configured, but they stopped in the semifinals, after Harden left, they were swept out of the first round by the Celtics 4-0, and directly proposed a trade in the offseason, after coming to the Suns, and Booker and Paul stopped in the second round again, this season the management once again formed a Big Three lineup for him, and he was swept out of the first round, which is simply a shame.
According to the latest report from The Athletic's Shams, during the playoff losing streak, Durant has repeatedly complained about his current team's role, Shams Saying: As one of the best scorers in NBA history, Durant questioned the way the coaching staff used him, he has always felt uncomfortable with his role on the offensive end, he believes that he has been placed in the bottom corner too many times, and believes that the coaching staff's tactical arrangement has not played its greatest offensive advantage, and its biggest threat comes from blocking.
At the same time, Shams also revealed that the Suns have been fighting in the locker room for a long time, as early as this month's regular season game against the Clippers, the Suns were once played by the Clippers at the beginning of the 35-4 disparity, Vogel was furious in the locker room at halftime, so that the entire locker room corridor could be heard in the locker room quarrel, and the next day in practice, Vogel and the players had another argument. Especially during the playoffs, Beal and Vogel had many infighting, and in the third quarter of the G4 game, when Beal fell into foul trouble and went off the court, he shook his hand and refused to high-five Vogel, and the infighting was directly public.
Clearly, the Big Three have completely lost trust in head coach Vogel, with sources revealing that after the Suns' first-round exit, team management is considering replacing the entire coaching staff, and Vogel may be stepping down. And, according to Marks, a salary expert from ESPN, the American media, if the Suns want to change the current team framework, because Beal has the right to veto the trade, the 27-year-old Booker has always been the Suns' non-sale, then Durant is the most likely to be sent away, and only Durant has the greatest trade value.
So, if Durant were to leave the Suns, what would be his ideal next destination? According to ESPN trade expert Shannon Sharpe, he believes that Durant's return to the Thunder is the best option. The Thunder has the most first-round picks in the league and the highest record in the league, which is indeed attractive enough for Durant, and the Thunder is also Durant's first team, and it is also a good story to return to the place where the dream began!