<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/suns-news-mat-ishbias-big-3-truth-bomb-again-blows-trade-rumors');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mat Ishbia’s Big 3 truth bomb again blows up Suns trade rumors');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Mat-Ishbias-Big-3-truth-bomb-again-blows-up-trade-rumors.jpg"></figure><h1>Mat Ishbia’s Big 3 truth bomb again blows up Suns trade rumors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-18T10:53:50-07:00">July 18th, 10:53am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-18T10:53:51-07:00">July 18th, 10:53am</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns might be in the most unenviable position in the entire NBA heading into the 2024-25 season, as the team is nowhere close to championship contention and has absolutely zero prospects for its future. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-bargain-bin-free-agent-target-round-out-roster">The Durant-Devin Booker</a>-Bradley Beal experiment was an utter failure a season ago, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/2024-nba-cup-west-group-b-breakdown-predictions">and the Suns</a> will be forced to run it back with that same group this year due to the contract situations of its three star players.</p><p>Following Phoenix’s sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of last year’s playoffs, <a href="https://x.com/DuaneRankin/status/1813738833533628475?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1813738833533628475%7Ctwgr%5Ed803f114a0c9f0d6e9f709d9012b3210c0fd7cdc%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fhoopshype.com%2Frumors%2F" rel="noopener">many fans thought</a> that Suns owner Mat Ishbia and company might opt to take drastic measures, including potentially trading Durant himself, for whom there would understandably be many suitors around the league.</p><p>However, Ishbia has maintained his stance that the team he has built is compatible to compete for championships, and he echoed that sentiment in a recent appearance on the NBA Summer League broadcast.</p><p>“We didn’t put our team together for a one year try. We put our team together because we love those three guys,” said Ishbia, via Duane Rankin of AZ Central on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter.</p><p>“…1st year, we didn’t to where we wanted to be. 2nd year, we’re going to see,” said Ishbia.</p><p>The Suns’ Summer League team of course isn’t filled with many prospects for fans to be excited about due to the treasure trove of draft picks the team was forced to give up when they acquired Durant a year ago at the 2023 NBA trade deadline</p><h2><b>Can the Suns compete for a championship?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Durant-Booker-Beal-1.jpg"><figcaption>Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>It would not appear so.</p><p>While there is no denying the individual talents of Durant, Booker, and Beal (actually, there probably can be some denying of the individual talents of Beal at this stage of his career), the three of them have so much overlap in their respective games that they at times seem to cancel out each other’s strengths and not cover for each other’s weaknesses.</p><p>The biggest issue is that the gigantic contracts of each of the three stars have made it so that the Suns have some of the worst depth in the league, relying last year on players like Eric Gordon, Josh Okogie and Royce O’Neal to make plays when they simply aren’t able to.</p><p>Phoenix hasn’t had many available routes to fix that issue heading into next season, where they are going to be very far down the list of championship favorites when things get underway. It’s also important to consider that Durant will be 36 by the time opening night for 2024-25 rolls around, meaning that a decline in production could be on the horizon, if it’s not here already.</p><p>Making matters even worse is the fact that several teams around the Suns in the Western Conference have gotten substantially better this offseason, including the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans, and obviously there were already several teams ahead of them to begin with.</p><p>In any case, the 2024-25 season gets underway in October.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mat Ishbia’s Big 3 truth bomb again blows up Suns trade rumors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/suns-news-kevin-durants-true-feelings-on-phoenix-after-recent-trade-rumors');   ga('set', 'title', 'Suns news: Kevin Durant’s true feelings on Phoenix after recent trade rumors');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Suns-news-Kevin-Durants-true-feelings-on-Phoenix-after-recent-trade-rumors.jpg"></figure><h1>Suns news: Kevin Durant’s true feelings on Phoenix after recent trade rumors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-13T14:56:30-07:00">July 13th, 2:56pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-13T14:56:30-07:00">July 13th, 2:56pm</time><address><a>Nayan Brahmbhatt</a>Nayan Brahmbhatt is a recent graduate from Queen's University's Smith School of Business living in Toronto, Ontario. He is passionate about and has been involved in sports since a young age, and continues to reminisce about the (brief) time Kawhi spent in Toronto. Although he can talk shop about the Raptors and Ravens all day, what's really always on his mind is having finished his undergrad without having won a single fantasy or intramural league.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>In the ever-volatile world of NBA trade rumors, Kevin Durant, one of the league’s premier players, finds himself in the spotlight once again. However, despite the swirling speculation, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-kevin-durant-breaks-silence-trade-rumors-calling-out-lies">Durant has made it clear</a> that he is content with his current situation in Phoenix.</p><p>In a <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1812237084423311805">candid interview</a> on the “Up &amp; Adams Show” with Kay Adams, Durant expressed his true feelings about playing for the Suns, shedding light on his mindset amidst the rumors.</p><p>Trade rumors are a perennial aspect of professional basketball, often fueled by speculation from analysts, insiders, and fans. Kevin Durant, due to his high-profile status and previous history, is no stranger to such speculation. Since his move to the Phoenix <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-kevin-durant-trade-rumors-shut-dopwn-mat-ishbia-nba-draft">Suns, rumors have periodically</a> surfaced regarding potential trades and his future with the team.</p><p>These rumors reached a new peak recently, prompting Durant to address his situation directly. When asked by Kay Adams if he was happy in Phoenix, Durant’s response was both introspective and reassuring.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m happy to be alive… Basketball is the easy part. You can figure that out… I feel comfortable in Phoenix now,” Durant said. His answer, while acknowledging his contentment with the Suns, also reflected a broader perspective on life and basketball.</p><p>Durant’s statement about being happy to be alive suggests a deep sense of gratitude and awareness beyond the game. This perspective is not uncommon among seasoned athletes who have faced the ups and downs of professional sports and life. For Durant, a player who has dealt with significant injuries and the pressures of maintaining an elite level of performance, this outlook is particularly poignant.</p><p>Durant’s comment about feeling comfortable in Phoenix is significant. Since joining the Suns, Durant has had to adapt to a new team dynamic, coaching staff, and city. Transitioning to a new team can be challenging for any player, but Durant’s seamless integration into the Suns’ system speaks to his adaptability and the welcoming environment fostered by the organization.</p><p>Phoenix, with its passionate fan base and supportive community, has provided Durant with a conducive environment to continue excelling in his career. His comfort level with the team and the city is a positive sign for Suns fans, who are eager to see their team make a deep playoff run with Durant as a central figure.</p><h2>The basketball part: Kevin Durant is figuring it out</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Durant-Booker-Beal.jpg"><figcaption>© Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Durant’s assertion that “basketball is the easy part” underscores his confidence in his abilities and his approach to the game. As one of the most skilled and versatile players in NBA history, Durant’s talent is undeniable. His ability to perform at a high level consistently is a testament to his dedication and work ethic.</p><p>By stating that basketball can be figured out, Durant emphasizes the importance of the mental and emotional aspects of the game. Physical skills and tactics are essential, but a player’s mindset and comfort level with their surroundings can significantly impact their performance. Durant’s comfort in Phoenix suggests that he is in a good place mentally, which bodes well for his on-court contributions.</p><p>For the Suns, maintaining stability and continuity is crucial in certain areas whereas significant change is required in others. Trade rumors, while part of the NBA landscape, can be distracting and unsettling for both players and fans. Durant’s clear message about his contentment in Phoenix helps to quell some of the uncertainty and provides reassurance about his commitment to the team.</p><p>Kevin Durant’s true feelings about Phoenix, as revealed in his interview with Kay Adams, offer a balanced perspective on his current situation. While acknowledging the challenges and uncertainties of professional basketball, Durant’s emphasis on gratitude and comfort highlights his maturity and focus.</p><p>For Suns fans, Durant’s contentment and confidence are encouraging signs. As the team looks ahead to the rest of the season and beyond, having a player of Durant’s caliber who is both happy and comfortable in his environment is invaluable. His perspective that “basketball is the easy part” serves as a reminder that success in sports is as much about mental and emotional well-being as it is about physical skills.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Suns news: Kevin Durant’s true feelings on Phoenix after recent trade rumors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/suns-news-kevin-durant-breaks-silence-trade-rumors-calling-out-lies');   ga('set', 'title', 'Suns’ Kevin Durant breaks silence on trade rumors by calling out ‘lies’');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Suns-news-Kevin-Durant-breaks-silence-on-trade-rumors-by-calling-out-lies-1.jpg"></figure><h1>Suns’ Kevin Durant breaks silence on trade rumors by calling out ‘lies’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-07-07T08:59:36-07:00">July 7th, 8:59am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-07-07T08:59:36-07:00">July 7th, 8:59am</time><address><a>Owen Crisafulli</a>Owen Crisafulli is a Senior Editor and NFL Lead at ClutchPoints. He recently received his Masters in Business Administration from Nichols College. Previously, he obtained his Bachelor's degree in Sport Management and for a while ran his own sports website. Sports are his passion, and he thoroughly enjoys writing about thoughts and opinions that are related to the game. He has been a lifelong fan of the major professional teams in Boston and loves discussing all topics surrounding those teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Phoenix Suns first season with their new big three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal did not go as planned, as they were swept out of the playoffs in the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves. As a result, questions about the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-kevin-durant-trade-rumors-shut-dopwn-mat-ishbia-nba-draft">future of the team</a> quickly began to pop up, and once again, Durant saw his name included in trade rumors.</p><p>The Houston Rockets were reportedly looking to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-kevin-durant-rockets-mikal-bridges">make a push</a> to trade for Durant, but the Suns never seriously engaged in discussions with them from the sounds of it. Still, Durant is the guy who has to deal with his name popping up in these rumors, and it sounds like he isn’t too happy with them, as he called out the media for <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/kevin-durant-discusses-the-trade-rumors-about-him-and-his-desire-to-play-till-the-wheels-fall-off-043602667.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9ob29wc2h5cGUuY29tLw&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANBAMx2DiuStbmSVFGI-NeNdNevSPes3t2ItL8DIsqpXJA4mSZNrKJus9-6dWQaQPycVTEHN0ePXehsG2Xa03rhGoMBDElCCF5p78Ecwo7Gyz0uSCq5q2gOErktFWSTciTa-HszQoy8y7O9rxDzJlrWORyEbJxTpy3F4OfYTB9st" rel="noopener">creating lies</a> just to keep fans interested in the league over the offseason.</p><p>“You could just press the ‘KD want to leave’ button anytime you want some attention. Yes, it’s a button. What else is gonna get people going around this time? Besides, ‘Oh, the journeyman is leaving again.’ That story is always gonna hit. It’s hard not to hear what they got to say about you. Because especially when you could just make up lies and everybody gonna believe you. So for somebody to say, ‘Phoenix wants to get out of the KD (business),’ I’m sitting here like, where is this coming from?”</p><p>“It bothers me that people lie like that and that the audience eats up the headline. I get sad when people buy into lies and just make up s***. It’s bigger than ball at that point for me. I can’t control that. I feel for people. It’s a bad practice to have when you just believe anything, for one. Just believe what you see on TV. And then it’s another bad habit when you’re just lying.” – Kevin Durant, Yahoo! Sports</p><h2><b>Kevin Durant shoots down recent trade rumors</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Kevin-Durant-dunking.jpeg"><figcaption>Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The Suns only traded for Durant midway through the 2022-23 campaign, so it would have been fairly surprising if they were to turn around after one disappointing campaign and immediately move on from him. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the Rockets weren’t interested in him, but it never seemed likely that Phoenix was going to give up on this team this quickly.</p><p>The good news is that the Suns roster is still incredibly talented. Durant, Booker, and Beal are all All-Stars; they just need time to figure things out when it comes to succeeding on the court together. Durant makes it clear that he has no desire to leave Phoenix after just a season-and-a-half, which should put these rumors to rest for good.</p><p>Durant is going to be focused on winning with Team USA at the 2024 Summer Olympics for the time being, but once that is over, he will focus on taking the Suns to another level next season. He won’t be getting traded anytime soon, and as KD notes here, if there are any more trade rumors swirling around him moving forward, they aren’t his doing.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Suns’ Kevin Durant breaks silence on trade rumors by calling out ‘lies’

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-bronny-james-still-getting-suns-buzz-draft-day');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Bronny James still getting Suns buzz on draft day');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Bronny-James-still-getting-Suns-buzz-on-draft-day.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Bronny James still getting Suns buzz on draft day</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-26T14:46:30-07:00">June 26th, 2:46pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-26T14:46:30-07:00">June 26th, 2:46pm</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Bronny James may just be the most talked-about draft prospect ever who isn’t projected to go in the first round of the NBA Draft. A lot of this has to do with the fact that he is LeBron James’ son, as heavy expectations fall on the 19-year-old, seeing as his father is the league’s all-time leading scorer. Another reason for the league being polarized by Bronny is the fact that he is a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bronny-james-ignoring-team-workout-requests-heading-into-nba-draft">major unknown</a> with a ton of untapped potential. This is why many teams, including the Phoenix Suns, continue to view Bronny as a legitimate option in the 2024 NBA Draft.</p><p>Outside of the Los Angeles Lakers, it has been hard to pinpoint a team as a definitive destination for James heading into the NBA Draft. This is simply because the belief around the league is that Rich Paul ultimately wants Bronny to end up in Los Angeles next to his father, regardless of what has been said.</p><p>Still, Paul is making sure there is a market for his client, and he even went so far as to name the Toronto Raptors and Dallas Mavericks as <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/new-teams-join-bronny-james-pursuit-2024-nba-draft">other teams who could pursue Bronny</a> in the draft. As for the Suns, they have been linked to Bronny for quite some time throughout the pre-draft process. Now, with just hours until the start of the 2024 NBA Draft, the Suns are once again coming up in connection with the young guard.</p><p>Although he is expected to come off the board in the second round of the draft on Thursday, NBA insider Marc Stein reports that the Suns continue to be mentioned as a <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/all-my-latest-nba-trade-free-agency?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=146016898&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">team with interest</a> in drafting Bronny.</p><p>Entering the first round of the draft on Wednesday night, the Suns currently own the 22nd overall pick in the draft. While <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/2024-nba-mock-draft-5-0-will-hawks-trade-first-pick">Phoenix has been linked</a> to prospects such as Marquette’s Tyler Kolek and Virginia’s Ryan Dunn, this could be a spot that the Suns look to trade down and gather some future assets, specifically second-round picks.</p><p>If they do end up with more draft picks and trade back from No. 22 overall, it does appear as if the Suns will give a lot of consideration to Bronny in the second round of this year’s draft. After all, this is a weaker draft than usual, and the second round will reflect this notion on Thursday. Bronny will begin the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft as one of the better players available in terms of potential.</p><p>Despite the Suns’ rumored interest in James, the wide belief around the league remains that he <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-why-lakers-drafting-bronny-james-seems-inevitable">will be on the board</a> when the Lakers are on the clock with the 55th overall pick. Bronny won’t be signing a two-way contract with any team, according to Paul, which is why minimal interest exists.</p><p>Whether or not the Suns will look to jump in front of the Lakers in the second round to pursue Bronny is yet to be seen.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Bronny James still getting Suns buzz on draft day

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/suns-news-kevin-durant-trade-rumors-shut-dopwn-mat-ishbia-nba-draft');   ga('set', 'title', 'Kevin Durant trade rumors firmly shut down by Suns’ Mat Ishbia before NBA Draft');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Kevin-Durant-trade-rumors-shut-down-by-Mat-Ishbia-ahead-of-NBA-Draft.jpg"></figure><h1>Kevin Durant trade rumors firmly shut down by Suns’ Mat Ishbia before NBA Draft</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-26T13:38:20-07:00">June 26th, 1:38pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-26T13:39:03-07:00">June 26th, 1:39pm</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>As soon as the Houston Rockets acquired the Phoenix Suns’ draft picks from the Brooklyn Nets as an extension of the blockbuster <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-stunning-mikal-bridges-nets-rockets-trade">Mikal Bridges trade</a> on Tuesday night, momentum that the Rockets were going to pursue a star rapidly grew. The one name that was quickly linked to the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-kevin-durant-rockets-mikal-bridges">Rockets in trade rumors</a> was Suns superstar Kevin Durant.</p><p>There have been no indications that the Suns are willing to split up their newly formed Big 3 of Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal despite being swept in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. With the 2024 NBA Draft just hours away from beginning, Suns owner Mat Ishbia took to <a href="https://x.com/Mishbia15/status/1806055201738314148" rel="noopener">social media</a> to shut down these Durant trade rumors himself, reassuring everyone that the 14-time All-Star is staying in Phoenix for the foreseeable future.</p><p>“NBA Draft night is the best. Everyone talking about the drama and storylines, some are right and some are just wrong,” Ishbia wrote. “My turn. Phoenix loves Kevin Durant and Kevin Durant loves Phoenix, and we are competing for a championship this year because we have the team to do it. Gotta love draft night! Go Suns.”</p><p>Ishbia has never been afraid to voice his opinion on the state of his organization, and his social media post on Wednesday should tell everyone everything they need to know about where things stand in Phoenix.</p><p>Durant has not once said publicly that he is unhappy with the Suns, nor has he expressed a desire to play elsewhere to the Suns’ front office or Ishbia. The first year of Phoenix’s Big 3 experiment did not go well, but the entire franchise remains of the belief that Durant, Booker, and Beal present the best path to contending for a championship. After hiring Mike Budenholzer in the offseason, the Suns’ goal remains getting to the NBA Finals.</p><p>Even though he is now 35 years old and set to turn 36 during the 2024-25 season, Durant is still one of the best players in the world. In his first full season with the Suns, Durant averaged 27.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 52.3 percent from the floor and 41.3 percent from three-point range. He played in 75 total games, the most Durant has been available for since the 2018-19 season with the Golden State Warriors.</p><p>What the Rockets look to do with their abundance of draft capital, most of which originally belonged to the Suns, is yet to be seen. However, as the Suns and the rest of the league prepare for the NBA Draft on Wednesday night, Ishbia has made it clear that a trade involving Durant won’t be considered in the slightest.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kevin Durant trade rumors firmly shut down by Suns’ Mat Ishbia before NBA Draft

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-stephen-a-smith-suns-kevin-durant-experience');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Suns trade update dumps cold water on Stephen A. Smith’s Kevin Durant claim');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/NBA-rumors-Stephen-A.-Smith-claims-Suns-want-out-of-Kevin-Durant-experience.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Suns trade update dumps cold water on Stephen A. Smith’s Kevin Durant claim</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-26T10:01:13-07:00">June 26th, 10:01am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-26T10:09:50-07:00">June 26th, 10:09am</time><address><a>Preston Byers</a>Preston Byers is an experienced writer and journalist who currently serves as an associate editor for ClutchPoints and as a staff writer at The Vindicator and Tribune Chronicle, where he covers sports in the Mahoning Valley. Previously, Preston worked as an associate editor for Dot Esports and a site expert for FanSided's Union and Blue.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-blockbuster-trade-proposal-lands-suns-star-kevin-durant">Kevin Durant received</a> quite a bit of criticism over the past several years for leaving teams. The first instance came in 2016 when Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors, with whom KD won two titles. Durant only spent three seasons with the Warriors before teaming up with Kyrie Irving (and eventually James Harden) on the Brooklyn Nets, but after fewer than four seasons in Brooklyn, Durant was traded to the Phoenix Suns. And now according to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, the Suns want to trade Durant.</p><p>Durant, who is one of the most lethal scorers in NBA history, arrived in Phoenix via a trade with the Nets in February 2023. The move was new Suns owner Mat Ishbia’s first big act after buying the team, but the trade hasn’t paid off so far. Durant was injured for an extended period in 2023 and could not develop the necessary chemistry needed before the Suns were eliminated from the playoffs by the eventual NBA Champions, the Denver Nuggets.</p><p>Things didn’t go any better this season either despite Phoenix trading for Bradley Beal. The Suns, who struggled with injuries once again during the regular season, were swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the postseason, calling into question if the trio of Durant, Beal, and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-devin-booker-rockets-trade">Devin Booker could achieve</a> championship success together.</p><p>If the Suns believe the answer to be no, a trade involving Durant could be on the horizon. And Smith, who <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1805993976396468666" rel="noopener">clarified that he is</a> “reporting” and not giving his opinion, said the Suns want to trade Durant.</p><p>“‘Pay no attention to what Phoenix is saying. They want out of Kevin Durant right now’. That’s number one,” Smith said, seemingly reading off a text message. “Number two, also, Houston doesn’t want Kevin Durant. (Rockets coach) Ime Udoka may want him, but organizationally, they know that they are not there yet, so their plans are more long-range. And they would prefer a Devin Booker, who they know it’s a slim chance they’ll get, but that would be their preference.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Pay no attention to what Phoenix is saying. They want out of Kevin Durant right now… Houston doesn't want Kevin Durant, Ime Udoka may want him."</p><p>Stephen A. Smith 🗣️</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/FirstTake?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FirstTake</a>)<a href="https://t.co/4JAX1YJzOC">pic.twitter.com/4JAX1YJzOC</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1805993976396468666?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>It <a href="https://x.com/DuaneRankin/status/1806000359263060404" rel="noopener">should be noted</a>, however, that AZCentral’s Duane Rankin said that “the Phoenix Suns aren’t looking to trade Kevin Durant and the Suns are ‘riding’ with Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Durant.”</p><p> </p><h2><b>Kevin Durant trade rumors swirling</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Kevin-Durant-1.jpg"><figcaption>Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>If the rumors or Stephen A. Smith’s report are true, then Kevin Durant would seem to be on the move sooner rather than later. Over the past few days, rumors have begun to swirl that Durant was a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-kevin-durant-rockets-mikal-bridges">target of the Houston Rockets</a>. The rumors seemed to heat up, especially after the Rockets’ trade with Durant’s old team, the Brooklyn Nets, which involved their own 2025 and 2026 first-round draft picks Brooklyn had traded away to acquire James Harden in 2020, as well as the Suns’ 2027 first-round pick and other picks involving the Suns.</p><p>Logically, if the Suns plan to trade Durant, they would have to get some valuable draft capital back, particularly because the Suns have mortgaged nearly every draft pick they would have over the next half-decade in order to acquire Durant and Beal. If the Suns now traded Durant to Houston, the Rockets could offer Phoenix some of its own draft picks, which could be very, very valuable if the team tanks.</p><p>That being said, it is still unclear where or even if Durant will be traded. The Suns have many reasons to not ship out the aging All-Star, including upsetting Devin Booker, who spent years toiling away on one of the worst teams in the NBA. But there may be no better time to hit the proverbial reset button than right now for Phoenix.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Suns trade update dumps cold water on Stephen A. Smith’s Kevin Durant claim

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-kevin-durant-rockets-mikal-bridges');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Kevin Durant ‘connected’ to Rockets after Mikal Bridges trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Kevin-Durant-connected-to-Rockets-after-Mikal-Bridges-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Kevin Durant ‘connected’ to Rockets after Mikal Bridges trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-26T07:00:04-07:00">June 26th, 7:00am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-26T07:00:04-07:00">June 26th, 7:00am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from a small town in Southern California. Mistretta graduated college with a degree in broadcast journalism from Biola University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Kevin Durant is one of the best players in the NBA. The Phoenix Suns remain hopeful that Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal can lead the team to a championship. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/best-kevin-durant-trade-destinations-demands-suns-exit">Trade rumors have swirled</a> around the stars, however. Most recently, Durant has reportedly been connected to the Houston Rockets.</p><p>The Rockets are rumored to have interest in adding Durant. Houston displayed signs of becoming a contending team with their young core of players in 2023-24. Trading for a superstar like Durant would turn them into a serious contender.</p><p>On Tuesday, the Brooklyn Nets <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grading-blockbuster-mikal-bridges-trade-involving-nets-knicks-rockets">traded Mikal Bridges</a> to the New York Knicks in a deal that led to a number of picks being swapped between teams. Houston returned a Nets 2026 first round pick for a Suns 2027 first round pick. They also acquired a right to swap with a Suns 2025 first round pick. So <a href="https://x.com/ESPNRadio/status/1805925132944240786" rel="noopener">how does this impact</a> a potential Rockets’ pursuit of Durant?</p><p>“That’s what they’re setting up for (to acquire Durant),” NBA insider Brian Windhorst said on ESPN radio. “Giving up the access to the Nets draft was done with the purpose of making a deal now… They made this trade specifically to attempt to make a deal with the Suns. They did it to make a deal with the Suns now.”</p><h2><b>Kevin Durant’s interest in potential trade</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Kevin-Durant.jpg"><figcaption>Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The Suns have potential to compete for a championship with their stars leading the team. Phoenix also had depth concerns this past season, though. Durant has displayed a willingness to move on from teams in the past, which is something to consider in this situation.</p><p>At the moment, Windhorst has not heard any news about Durant seeking a trade, however.</p><p>“To my knowledge, Kevin Durant has not asked for a trade,” Windhorst continued. “However, there are definite connections between Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets.”</p><p>Durant enjoyed another impressive season in 2023-24. The Suns star averaged 27.1 points per game on 52.3 percent field goal and 41.3 percent three-point shooting across 75 games played. He added 6.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists per outing. Durant’s play led to a ninth place finish in MVP voting.</p><p>Kevin Durant and Devin Booker are one of the best duos in the league. Beal endured some ups and downs in his first season with the Suns, but he still features the ceiling of a superstar. The Suns will have an opportunity to play at a high level if all three stars return.</p><p>That is certainly not guaranteed at the moment, though. Durant has been linked to a number of teams in trade rumors. Booker has also been mentioned as a possible trade candidate.</p><p>Phoenix will consider all of their options before making a move. If they receive an offer that is too enticing to pass on, perhaps they will consider trading one or both of the stars. Again, though, the Suns could look to run it back with championship aspirations. They do not need to enter a rebuild right now.</p><h2><b>Rockets outlook</b></h2><p>The Rockets are in an especially interesting position. They have been rebuilding over the years. Houston’s core of future stars makes them a landing destination for multiple stars in free agency or via trades.</p><p>It seems likely that the Rockets will add at least one more star this offseason. The question is if that star will be Kevin Durant, something that will become more clear over the next few weeks.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Kevin Durant ‘connected’ to Rockets after Mikal Bridges trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-suns-set-re-sign-key-player-4-year-contract');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Suns set to re-sign key player to 4-year contract');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/NBA-rumors-Suns-set-to-re-sign-key-player-to-4-year-contract.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Suns set to re-sign key player to 4-year contract</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-25T16:53:43-07:00">June 25th, 4:53pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-25T16:53:43-07:00">June 25th, 4:53pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is based in Los Angeles and currently covers basketball at every level from NBA/WNBA to men/women college and boys/girls high school.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>NBA free agency is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/2024-nba-free-agency-key-dates-available-players-what-to-know">rapidly approaching</a> and the Phoenix Suns have a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/biggest-need-suns-must-address-in-2024-nba-offseason-after-sweep">couple of decisions</a> to make regarding their roster. One key player for the Suns who is set to hit free agency is Royce O’Neale. But he might not get a chance to hit the open market once Sunday evening rolls around.</p><p>Royce O’Neale is reportedly <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/the-latest-nba-chatter-on-free-agency?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=145984308&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">close to an agreement</a> to re-sign with the Suns in NBA free agency on a four-year contract as per NBA insider Marc Stein. O’Neale was acquired by the Suns in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets last season at the NBA Trade Deadline.</p><p>O’Neale suited up in 30 regular season games for the Suns, including eight starts, at a little over 25 minutes per game. He averaged 8.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists with splits of 41.1 percent shooting from the field, 37.6 percent shooting from the three-point line and 69.2 percent shooting from the free-throw line.</p><p>During the Suns four-game sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round, O’Neale’s numbers dropped. He averaged 5.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists with splits of 31.8 percent shooting from the field and 33.3 percent shooting from the three-point line.</p><p>Despite the drop in efficiency in the playoffs, O’Neale was one of the Suns most consistent role players during a season in which their bench depth was often questioned. He’s a capable three-point shooter, rebounder and overall solid defensive player. If the Suns want to be a contender in the Western Conference, re-signing O’Neale is crucial to that end.</p><h2><b>Mike Budenholzer ushers in new start for Suns<br></b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mike-Budenholzers-introductory-press-conference.jpg"><figcaption>Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The Suns made a drastic decision following their first round playoff loss to the Wolves by firing head coach Frank Vogel after only one season. The Suns struggled to find consistent play throughout the year, but did manage to pull together to solidify a playoff spot.</p><p>The organization will now turn to Mike Budenholzer to try and right the ship. Budenholzer led the Milwaukee Bucks to the 2021 NBA championship. He took the past year off after the Bucks let him go following their first round playoff loss to the Miami Heat in the 2023 postseason.</p><p>Budenholzer began his coaching career in the NBA ahead of the 1996-97 season as an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs. He got his first head coaching job with the Atlanta Hawks ahead of the 2013-14 season. His Hawks teams put together strong regular seasons, but were unable to turn that into playoff success. He left the Hawks following the 2017-18 season.</p><p>He inherits a roster that features a Big 3 in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. The Suns starting lineup is as good as anyone in the league. It’s their bench that could use work. Backup big man Drew Eubanks has already opted in to his contract for the 2024-25 season. The team is also awaiting Eric Gordon’s decision to opt in to his contract or not.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Suns set to re-sign key player to 4-year contract

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-lebron-james-to-suns-has-a-lot-of-buzz-per-bill-simmons');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: LeBron James to Suns has a ‘lot of buzz,’ per Bill Simmons');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/NBA-rumors-LeBron-James-to-Suns-has-a-lot-of-buzz-per-Bill-Simmons.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: LeBron James to Suns has a ‘lot of buzz,’ per Bill Simmons</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-18T22:12:28-07:00">June 18th, 10:12pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-19T13:19:26-07:00">June 19th, 1:19pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Given how rooted LeBron James and his family have been in LA ever since he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency back in 2018, it seems rather unlikely that James, who could be <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lebron-james-leads-2024-nba-free-agent-class">entering free agency</a> if he declines his player option for the 2024-25 season, will be leaving Tinseltown. However, crazier things have happened in the NBA.</p><p>James has always maintained that he wants to play with his son Bronny in the NBA before he retires. Now, with Bronny set to enter the NBA via the upcoming draft, whichever team takes a chance on drafting the guard out of USC figures to play a huge role in determining which team James suits up for next season. In that case, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/part-2-a-mavs-celts-breakdown-phillys-summer-plans/id1043699613?i=1000659208537" rel="noopener">keep an eye out</a> for the Phoenix Suns as a potential draft-night spoiler for the Lakers as they look to convince James to join Kevin Durant and Devin Booker in The Valley.</p><p>“There’s a lot of Phoenix buzz right now; I’m just going to say it. And I don’t know if it’s real or not,” Bill Simmons of The Ringer said on his eponymous podcast. “I think Bronny is going to go in the first round because I think… I think that’s going to be encouraged.”</p><p>Indeed, Bronny James has the distinction of being the son of one of the greatest players of all time, and the influence he has on LeBron’s impending free agency decision cannot be overstated. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-lebron-james-to-suns-speculation-heats-up-after-bronny-james-workout-news">Suns have the 22nd overall pick</a> of the 2024 NBA Draft, and while Bronny did not have a good freshman season in USC, there might be a chance, Simmons thinks, that the Suns could snag him in the draft in hopes of scoring a package deal.</p><p>Simmons pointed out as well that LeBron James and Mat Ishbia employ the same media strategist, which further adds fuel to the fire of this potential bombshell move. While logic dictates that the Lakers remain the most likely team that James is going to play for next season, this Suns possibility is definitely something to keep in mind.</p><h2><b>LeBron James will be the ultimate home run move for the Suns</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LeBron-James-being-guarded-by-Kevin-Durant-on-Feb.-24-2024.jpg"></figure><p>The Suns have thrown all caution out of the window over the past year or so; they broke up the core that made the 2021 NBA Finals, dealing away Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, and a boatload of picks for Kevin Durant, and then in the 2023 offseason, they doubled down, sending Chris Paul away for Bradley Beal while turning Deandre Ayton into Jusuf Nurkic and Grayson Allen.</p><p>The results haven’t exactly been pretty for the Suns. They lost in six games to the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the 2023 NBA playoffs, and then after building a Big 3 in the Valley, they proceeded to win a grand total of zero playoff games in 2024 after they got laughed off the floor by the Minnesota Timberwolves.</p><p>The Suns come close to <a href="https://fanspo.com/nba/teams/Suns/24/draft-picks">literally not having any</a> draft assets to spare. With one more first-round pick under their control, why not go for one more high-risk move by drafting Bronny James with the hopes of supplanting the team’s top-heavy core by adding one of the greatest players of all time?</p><p>Going for broke has been the theme of Mat Ishbia’s tenure as the Suns’ governor. They are wedded to their current core, mortgaging their future for present gain, but so far, those present gains have not been nearly enough for what they have given up. They must win big and win now, and what better way for them to boost their chances of reaching that goal by adding LeBron James?</p><p>Adding James will allow Devin Booker and Bradley Beal to settle into more of an off-ball role. James gives their offense a different dimension as someone who could get to the rim at will. He is a big-game player as well, acting as a bit of insurance for when their more jumpshot-heavy stars have bad nights.</p><p>It will take a miracle for the Suns to pull off this heist from under the Lakers’ noses, however. The Suns are already over the second luxury-tax apron, which means that the most they could offer James is a minimum contract. Even if the Suns do draft Bronny, will the privilege of getting to play with his son be worth a pay cut that could end up costing him around $70 to $80 million?</p><p>As a famous general manager once referenced, “scared money don’t make none.” The Suns are not in a position to be scared, so expect them to swing for the fences this offseason even though it’s very unlikely that James leaves the Lakers.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: LeBron James to Suns has a ‘lot of buzz,’ per Bill Simmons

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-suns-mike-budenholzer-tried-to-hire-darvin-ham-after-lakers-firing');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Suns’ Mike Budenholzer tried to hire Darvin Ham after Lakers firing');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Suns-Mike-Budenhozler-tried-to-hire-Darvin-Ham-after-Lakers-firing.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Suns’ Mike Budenholzer tried to hire Darvin Ham after Lakers firing</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-02T20:49:28-07:00">June 2nd, 8:49pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-02T20:49:28-07:00">June 2nd, 8:49pm</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>Rexwell Villas is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football. He's a Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, and he claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers as the team’s head coach, Darvin Ham was let go by the Western Conference franchise. He reportedly had a chance to stay in the West, particularly in the same division with the Lakers, but <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/the-latest-nba-free-agent-coaching" rel="noopener">passed out on a chance</a> to work with Phoenix Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer, per NBA insider Marc Stein.</p><p>“League sources say Budenholzer made a run at trying to convince Darvin Ham to join his staff in Phoenix, but Ham — fired as Lakers coach on May 3 — is said to have understandably passed after two exacting seasons in Lakerland. The Suns responded by asking David Fizdale, from Vogel’s staff, to stay on as an assistant coach on Budenholzer’s new staff after initially offering him a front office role.”</p><h2><b>Mike Budenholzer attempted to lure Darvin Ham to be part of Suns staff</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Darvin-Ham-coaches-the-Lakers.jpg"><figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Budenholzer and Ham are very much familiar with each other, particularly from a coaching perspective. Ham worked under Budenholzer as an assistant head coach for the Atlanta Hawks from 2013 to 2018. When Budenholzer went to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2018, Ham followed him. Three years later, Budenholzer and Ham reached the pinnacle of coaching success in the league when they helped steer the Bucks to an NBA title by defeating the Phoenix Suns in the 2021 NBA Finals.</p><p>When the Lakers dismissed Ham, he still had two years remaining on his contract with the team. He could still be aiming to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-warriors-express-interest-in-darvin-ham-lakers-firing">continue his career</a> as a head coach in the NBA somewhere else, which may be a major reason why he turned down the opportunity to join Budenholzer on the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-mike-budenholzer-keeping-1-key-coach-frank-vogel-staff">Suns coaching staff</a>. It is also possible that Ham wants to take a bit of rest after two high-pressure years as the Lakers bench boss. Ham led the Lakers all the way to the Western Conference finals of the 2023 NBA Playoffs and had Los Angeles winning the inaugural In-Season Tournament. In the 2023-24 NBA campaign, the Lakers returned to the playoffs under Ham but LA got eliminated in the first round by the same team that struck them out in the previous year’s WCF — the Denver Nuggets.</p><p>As for Budenholzer and the Suns, they will be looking to capitalize on their immense potential, something they failed to do in the only season Frank Vogel spent calling the shots for Phoenix. The Suns parted ways with Vogel —  another former Lakers head coach — after Phoenix got swept in the first round of the playoffs by Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves. They weren’t too shabby under Vogel, as they won 49 games, but Phoenix must have felt the team could have done a lot better considering it paraded a Big Three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal.</p><p>As a two-time winner of the NBA Coach of the Year award, Budenholzer has the Suns’ trust that he could turn Phoenix into a real NBA champion. That is going to be easier said than done, but such a scenario would also be poetic, considering that Budenholzer’s only NBA ring so far came at the expense of Phoenix. With or without Ham, Budenholzer will be determined to make a champion out of the Suns and he’ll have help from the likes of Chaisson Allen of the Utah Jazz and Chad Forcier of the Wisconsin Herd, who both have been added to Phoenix’s coaching staff.</p><p>Budenholzer has collected 484 wins against 317 losses for a 60.4 percent win rate across 801 games through his NBA career as head coach.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Suns’ Mike Budenholzer tried to hire Darvin Ham after Lakers firing

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-76ers-join-lakers-suns-possible-bronny-james-draft-suitor');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: 76ers join Lakers, Suns as possible Bronny James draft suitor');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NBA-rumors-76ers-join-Lakers-Suns-as-possible-Bronny-James-draft-suitor.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: 76ers join Lakers, Suns as possible Bronny James draft suitor</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-31T14:10:56-07:00">May 31st, 2:10pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-31T14:11:41-07:00">May 31st, 2:11pm</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Bronny James recently made the decision to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-rich-paul-breaks-silence-bronny-james-staying-in-draft-eye-opening-lakers-take">keep his name in the 2024 NBA Draft</a> instead of withdrawing and working on his game for another year at the collegiate level. Throughout the entire pre-draft process, Bronny has been the player captivating NBA personnel, as everyone has been looking to gather more information on LeBron James’ son due to his lack of playing time at USC during his freshman season. While various teams have expressed interest in Bronny, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul recently <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/40238364/bronny-james-heading-nba-draft-agent-rich-paul-says" rel="noopener">made it clear</a> that he is going to do what it takes to put Bronny in the best position possible.</p><p>“Bronny’s [draft] range is wide,” Paul told ESPN recently. “He’s a really good prospect who has a lot of room for growth. It only takes one team. I don’t care where that team is — it can be No. 1 or 58 — [but] I do care about the plan, the development. The team’s strategy, the opportunity and the financial commitment. That’s why I’m not doing a two-way deal. Every team understands that.”</p><p>A variety of teams have looked to secure a pre-draft workout with Bronny since his performances at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. While he has received over 10 workout requests, James and Paul are <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-bronny-james-declining-draft-workout-invites-lakers-suns-interest">being selective and declining invitations</a>, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. However, Bronny will visit with the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers.</p><p>As the 2024 NBA Draft nears, more chatter surrounding Bronny and where he could possibly end up has occurred. Now, in addition to the Suns and Lakers being viable destinations for Bronny, the Philadelphia 76ers have <a href="https://x.com/BrettSiegelNBA/status/1796638022433161510" rel="noopener">emerged</a> as a third possible suitor for the 19-year-old, league personnel told ClutchPoints recently.</p><p>LeBron is expected to opt out of his contract with the Lakers, making him an unrestricted free agent. In recent weeks, the 76ers have been linked to the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. There have been recent whispers in league circles about Philadelphia being an organization that would do what it takes to try and lure James from the Lakers. The Sixers were a team that originally <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/76ers-news-philadelphia-inquired-about-bombshell-lebron-james-kevin-durant-trade-before-deadline">inquired about LeBron’s availability</a> at the trade deadline in February.</p><p>At this juncture, all indications point in the direction of James electing to re-sign with the Lakers on a smaller contract upon opting out of his $51.4 million player option before free agency.</p><p>The notion that teams would pursue Bronny in the NBA Draft with hopes of possibly luring LeBron has been prominent in talks around the league for quite some time. Because Bronny is LeBron’s son, these discussions of the two wanting to play alongside one another will not disappear until the day the 20-time All-Star decides to retire.</p><p>Bronny, who was once projected to go undrafted due to all of the unknowns that surrounded him, is currently ranked 60th on ClutchPoints’ <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-draft-2024-big-board-2-0-top-100-prospects-bronny-james-zach-edey-post-combine">2024 NBA Draft Big Board 2.0</a>. He is currently projected to be drafted 46th overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/2024-nba-mock-draft-2-0-hawks-considering-zaccharie-risacher-over-alex-sarr">ClutchPoints’ 2024 NBA Mock Draft 2.0.</a></p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: 76ers join Lakers, Suns as possible Bronny James draft suitor

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-bronny-james-declining-draft-workout-invites-lakers-suns-interest');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Bronny James declining draft workout invites amid Lakers, Suns interest');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NBA-rumors-Bronny-James-declining-draft-workout-invites-amid-Lakers-Suns-interest.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Bronny James declining draft workout invites amid Lakers, Suns interest</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-28T10:28:10-07:00">May 28th, 10:28am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-28T10:28:10-07:00">May 28th, 10:28am</time><address><a>Matthew Schmidt</a>Matthew Schmidt has been writing about sports since 2011 and is based in New Jersey. He primarily specializes in NFL these days, but has also extensively covered the NBA and MLB and has written for numerous websites.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Bronny James may not have interest in playing for any NBA team other than the Los Angeles Lakers or the Phoenix Suns.</p><p>James has gotten over 10 workout invites for the NBA Draft, but apparently, he is only going to attend a couple of those workouts. That includes the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-draft-news-bronny-james-suns-lakers-workout-after-nba-combine-boost">Lakers and the Suns</a>.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“Bronny James has over 10 workout invites… I’m told he’s only going to visit a couple of those, and that’s going to include the Lakers and the Phoenix Suns” 👀<a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ShamsCharania</a> with the latest on Bronny James <a href="https://t.co/DlvjeM7tAT">pic.twitter.com/DlvjeM7tAT</a></p><p>— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/RunItBackFDTV/status/1795463378636357884?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 28, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>This is certainly intriguing given the recent speculation that LeBron James could <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-lebron-james-to-suns-speculation-heats-up-after-bronny-james-workout-news">potentially join Phoenix</a> in free agency this summer.</p><p>The fact that Bronny is drawn to the Lakers is not surprising, given that the most likely scenario for his father, LeBron, is that he will remain in Los Angeles. LeBron has expressed an obvious desire to play alongside of his son, so right now, the Lakers appear to be the most probable destination for Bronny.</p><p>Bronny is absolutely not considered a top prospect by any means, as he averaged just 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists over 19.3 minutes per game at USC while posting 36.6/26.7/67.6 shooting splits last season.</p><p>However, teams may interested in drafting Bronny for the simple fact that it may lure LeBron in free agency.</p><h2><b>How could LeBron James and Bronny James team up on the Suns?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Bronny-James-and-LeBron-James.jpg"><figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The Suns currently have Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal on their roster. So, they don’t have any cap space. You would think that would eliminate them from the LeBron James conversation in free agency, but there is another avenue Phoenix and LeBron can take: the veteran’s minimum.</p><p><a href="https://x.com/esidery/status/1794803883933364251" rel="noopener">LeBron would have to sacrifice</a> in the neighborhood of $50 million if he joins the Suns, but at this point in James’ career, money may no longer be a top priority. After all, LeBron is a billionaire, so the extra money that another team can pay him may not be worth it to him.</p><p>If Phoenix drafts Bronny and LeBron signs there, the father-son duo would actually have the opportunity to win a championship together next season.</p><p>It is unquestionably a riveting thought, and it is one that LeBron and his son may be giving serious consideration to. Hence the reason why Bronny has the Suns on his very short list of teams he would like to play for.</p><p>Of course, it’s also entirely possible that Bronny is viewing the Suns as Option B if he isn’t able to join his dad on the Lakers. In that scenario, he would be linking up with Durant and a star-studded cast. So perhaps he is considering Phoenix even if LeBron remains in LA?</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-rich-paul-eye-opening-lebron-james-free-agent-slip">Rich Paul recently slipped</a> and said that LeBron will be a free agent this offseason, meaning he will be opting out of his deal. That was pretty much expected, so there isn’t a whole lot to see there. James also played it coy when asked about his impending free agency after the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs last month.</p><p>One thing is for sure: this next month will be full of speculation, conjecture and projections from fans and the media, and we’ll all probably be wrong on most of it.</p><p>But hey, that’s what makes this stuff fun.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Bronny James declining draft workout invites amid Lakers, Suns interest

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-lebron-james-to-suns-speculation-heats-up-after-bronny-james-workout-news');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: LeBron James-to-Suns speculation heats up after Bronny James workout news');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/7439369977.jpeg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: LeBron James-to-Suns speculation heats up after Bronny James workout news</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-26T15:27:12-07:00">May 26th, 3:27pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-26T15:27:12-07:00">May 26th, 3:27pm</time><address><a>Zachary Weinberger</a>Zachary Weinberger joined ClutchPoints in October 2023 as a Miami Heat reporter as well as an Associate Editor. He graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 2022 after covering the school's athletic programs since his freshman year at the FAU University Press, where he was a Sports Editor and Editor-in-Chief. He then covered FAU Sports for The Palm Beach Post.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>As the NBA Draft inches closer and closer, there is a storyline that will keep heating up until it eventually happens which is the team that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-draft-news-bronny-james-potential-2-way-deal-shut-down-by-rich-paul">selects USC Trojans guard Bronny James</a>, the son of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James. The one team that could be in contention to draft Bronny which would possibly entice his <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-kevin-garnett-truth-bomb-kevin-durant-led-suns">father would be the Phoenix Suns.</a></p><p>In a report by Shams Charania of The Athletic <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2024/05/24/lebron-james-phoenix-suns-rumors-bronny-james-nba-draft-workout/73839475007/" rel="noopener">used by AZCentral,</a> “The Phoenix Suns will conduct a workout with Bronny James ahead of the June NBA Draft, sources say. Phoenix has the 22nd pick and he is among several players in consideration. Bronny has over 10 workout invites but is expected to only visit a few teams, including Lakers and Suns.”</p><p>It is also important to remember that the Suns are not the only team that have invited the young star for a workout as he “has over 10 workout invites,” <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-mike-budenholzer-issues-blunt-take-on-phoenixs-point-guard-concerns">but the Suns’ pick</a> is vital. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-draft-news-bronny-james-suns-lakers-workout-after-nba-combine-boost" rel="noopener">While Bronny has usually</a> been predicted to go in the second round of the draft, the Suns could jump the gun and grab him with their 22nd overall pick just so they beat any other team after them.</p><h2><b>LeBron James and Kevin Durant teaming up on the Suns?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LeBron-James-being-guarded-by-Kevin-Durant-on-Feb.-24-2024.jpg"><figcaption>Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-2-best-players-must-re-sign-2024-nba-free-agency">While any Suns fan can</a> get behind the idea of LeBron James joining the likes of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal, they will have to wonder how the contract situation works with all those stars. It has been known that Phoenix is top heavy in paying their stars but the conversation has been involving James taking a veterans minimum contract as he aims to play with his son as discussed by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5517948/2024/05/24/bronny-james-nba-draft-workouts-suns-lakers/?source=user_shared_article&amp;utm_content=buffer07532&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer" rel="noopener">Charania and Doug Haller.</a></p><p>“Is it possible drafting [Bronny James] could help the Suns lure LeBron to the desert on a minimum contract?” they wrote. “Probably not. But if you’re Jones and owner Mat Ishbia, it doesn’t hurt to explore.”</p><h2><b>LeBron James talking about teaming up with Bronny</b></h2><p>It is arguably the worst kept secret in basketball that James wants to play with his son or at the very least, be on the same floor. He expressed this as early as Jan. 2023 where he stated in an interview with Dave McMenamin of ESPN that <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/35395560/lakers-lebron-james-talks-pursuit-scoring-record-staying-great-38" rel="noopener">“I would love to do the whole Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. thing,”</a></p><p>“I need to be on the floor with my boy, I got to be on the floor with Bronny,” James said. “Either in the same uniform or a matchup against him. I don’t mean like [guarding one another all game] — because he’s a point guard and I’m a, at this point now I’m playing center or whatever the team needs from me,” James said. “But I would love to do the whole Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. thing. That would be ideal for sure.”</p><p>“I ask him what are his aspirations, and he says he wants to play in the NBA,” James continued. “So, if he wants do to it, he’s got to put in the work. I’m here already, so, I’m just waiting on him.”</p><h2><b>Bronny James wants to make a name for himself, could be with Suns</b></h2><p>Some could say that it is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bronny-james-what-nba-personnel-saying-after-successful-pro-day">insulting for Bronny James since</a> the main reason he would be drafted is because it would lure his father to the team of choice. However, as he was speaking to the media during the NBA Scouting Combine, the Trojan expressed that he does not believe that to be the case and <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/bronny-james-making-name-for-himself-at-nba-draft-combine-there-needs-to-be-that-divide-between-bronny-and-lebron-012517286.html" rel="noopener">wants to make a name for himself</a> according to Yahoo Sports.</p><p>“Honestly, I feel like this is a serious business,” Bronny said. “I don’t think there would be a thought of, ‘I’m just drafting this kid because I’m going to get his dad,’ I don’t think a GM would really allow that, I think I’ve put in the work and if I get drafted it will be because of not only the player but also the person I am.”</p><p>“Everything that follows my dad, people just try to link me with that and all the greatness he’s achieved and I haven’t done anything yet,” Bronny continued. “So there needs to be that divide between Bronny and LeBron. I just want to let people know that my name is Bronny James and not being identified as LeBron James’ son.”</p><h2><b>Bronny James talks the pressure </b></h2><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-draft-rumors-bronny-james-combine-performance-fans-making-craziest-bets">It is a lot of pressure for Bronny James as he</a> is not only the son of what some people believe is the greatest basketball player of all time, but he is also only 19-years old having only played one year in college. However, all the attention and pressure thrown his way has made him “into a stronger individual.”</p><p>“It’s a lot and it’s built me into a stronger individual,” James said. “All of this, I’m extremely grateful, but it’s a lot sometimes. I don’t ever want to be that guy and say that all this pressure is what’s compelling me to not perform as well. It’s something that I have to deal with and it’s been present my whole life.”</p><p>“I’m extremely grateful to be here and given the opportunity to be here,” James continued. “I’m just trying to showcase my best work that I’ve been putting in after the season and just take it all in.”</p><p>With that pressure comes the massive criticism whether it be from fans or even media personalities saying that he should have stayed in college basketball before inserting himself into NBA competition.</p><p>“I obviously see everything that’s been thrown my way, but I just have to shrug it off,” Bronny said. “They haven’t seen what I’ve been through or anything like that, so I just continue to believe in myself and keep putting in the work.”</p><p>In any sense, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-bronny-james-lakers-espn-2024-mock-draft">the Suns drafting Bronny James and therefore</a> getting his father on a minimum contract would be the best case scenario. However, anything can happen from the current moment and the draft as Phoenix fans are now at the edge of their seats wondering what they will do with their 22nd overall pick after being swept in the first round of the playoffs.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: LeBron James-to-Suns speculation heats up after Bronny James workout news

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-devin-booker-linked-thunder-spurs-by-nba-executive');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Devin Booker linked to Thunder, Spurs by NBA executive');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Devin-Booker-linked-to-Thunder-Spurs-by-NBA-executive.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Devin Booker linked to Thunder, Spurs by NBA executive</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-05T14:15:15-07:00">May 5th, 2:15pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-05T14:15:15-07:00">May 5th, 2:15pm</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Recently, Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns saw their 2023-24 NBA season come to an end with a shocking sweep at the hands of Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have since gone on to take a 1-0 series lead vs the reigning champion Denver Nuggets. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/call-of-dutys-update-brings-suns-star-devin-booker">Booker had a</a> horrid start to the series before finally coming alive in Game 4 to the tune of nearly 50 points, but the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/5-blockbuster-trades-shake-up-nba-2024-offseason">Suns are still</a> now faced with an offseason filled with more questions than answers after yet another early playoff exit.</p><p>Considering the Suns’ current salary situation, featuring Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal all on unbelievably lucrative contracts that don’t exactly allow for a ton of front office mobility, some have wondered whether the Suns might try to swing a trade featuring one of their stars in an attempt to <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10119912-devin-booker-trade-rumors-nba-gm-questions-stars-future-exec-links-spurs-thunder" rel="noopener">shake things up</a> a bit, if not enter a full-on rebuild.</p><p>Recently, a bit of fuel was dumped onto this idea in the form of some speculation from an anonymous NBA executive.</p><p>“San Antonio has the assets to get (Booker),” an executive said, per Rich Bucher of Fox Sports (via Tyler Conway of Bleacher Report). “So does Oklahoma City. And it’s really the only way Phoenix can change course.”</p><p>One person who doesn’t seem to be thinking about a huge switch is Suns owner Matt Ishbia, who recently told reporters that he believes this year’s Suns team was actually better than last year’s, which won six more games in the playoffs.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Devin Booker linked to Thunder, Spurs by NBA executive

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-news-charles-barkley-true-feelings-darvin-ham-frank-vogel-firing-rumors');   ga('set', 'title', 'Charles Barkley’s true feelings on Darvin Ham, Frank Vogel firing rumors');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NBA-news-Charles-Barkley-defends-Darvin-Ham-Frank-Vogel-over-firing-rumors.jpg"></figure><h1>Charles Barkley’s true feelings on Darvin Ham, Frank Vogel firing rumors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-01T23:08:16-07:00">May 1st, 11:08pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-01T23:08:45-07:00">May 1st, 11:08pm</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>A lot of noise has been made in recent days about whether or not Darvin Ham and Frank Vogel deserved to be fired for what transpired this season with the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns, respectively. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sources-lebron-james-decision-lakers-future-will-be-influenced-stephen-curry-kevin-durant">Ham has been on the hot seat</a> ever since the Lakers won the first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament in December due to their inability to remain a consistent championship threat and the fact that they lost to the Denver Nuggets in five games during the first round of the playoffs. In the desert, Vogel and the Suns concluded their first year of the Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker trio by being swept in the first round at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves.</p><p>As the Lakers and Suns evaluate their immediate futures and the status of their two head coaches, Hall of Famer Charles Barkley gave his <a href="https://twitter.com/nbaontnt/status/1785897676384448664?s=46&amp;t=vnLDgTn4yNZudl1UzUUjJA" rel="noopener">bold take</a> on Wednesday night during TNT’s Inside the NBA regarding both coaches remaining with their respective teams for the 2024-25 season.</p><p>“We watch all the games and all of the talk shows. A lot of these people on television, they’re cowards because they want the players to like them. They don’t want to do their job, which is to tell the truth,” Barkley adamantly claimed. “I just want to say this about coaching: Anybody who thinks the reason the Lakers suck is because of Darvin Ham or the reason the Suns suck is because of Frank Vogel, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Frank Vogel is a hell of a coach. Darvin Ham is a hell of a coach trying to get his career started.</p><p>“For all of you punks, idiots, and jacka**es on other networks, who want to be media that want all the players to like y’all, do your damn jobs. The Lakers suck, and the Suns suck because of the players. It has nothing to do with the coaches.”</p><p>Barkley went on to claim that whoever put “them trash a** teams together” should be the ones met with the brunt of the force regarding all of these recent firing rumors.</p><h2><b>Futures of Darvin Ham, Frank Vogel uncertain</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Whats-stopping-Lakers-from-finding-better-replacement-for-Darvin-Ham-1.jpg"><figcaption>Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Both Ham and Vogel led their teams to the playoffs this season. In fact, the Lakers won a total of 47 games, and the Suns won a total of 49 games. Whereas Vogel won a championship in Los Angeles before arriving in Phoenix, Ham has an In-Season Tournament championship to his name as well as an appearance in the Western Conference Finals during his first season with the Lakers.</p><p>A decision by either organization to fire their head coach would be shocking in the sense that these two organizations have found success during the regular season this past season. The problem is that NBA coaches only seem to be judged based on how their team performs in the playoffs, which is sometimes out of their control.</p><p>The Lakers are set to review what exactly went wrong this season, and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-fire-ham-goes-viral-after-brutal-series-loss-vs-nuggets">Ham’s job security</a> is very much a question mark at this time. Recent reports suggest that the team’s stakeholders believe <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-darvin-ham-immediate-lakers-future-serious-doubt">Ham will be fired</a> after just two seasons with the organization.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sources-suns-kevin-durant-trade-not-in-plans-mull-firing-frank-vogel">Vogel and his future</a> with the Suns appears to be a little bit more optimistic after owner <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-matt-ishbia-frank-vogel-monty-williams-admission-catch-phoenix-fans-attention">Mat Ishbia spoke to reporters</a> on Wednesday, shutting down recent rumors suggesting that the team has already begun discussing whether or not they will be making a change on the sidelines.</p><p>“Here’s how I think about it: Coach, GM, players — I’m not going to specifically get into each of them,” Ishbia stated. “I have not had one discussion. I know there are media reports and stuff that is just not true. Not one discussion about my GM, my coach; we are trading players now supposedly in the media. Not one discussion has even been had, let alone a decision to be made.”</p><p>The Suns owner also claimed that “it’s not even close” regarding whether Vogel did a better job than Monty Williams would have done if he wasn’t fired by the organization at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season.</p><p>The Lakers and Suns both have huge decisions to make regarding who the figurehead on their respective sidelines will be, a decision that could make or break their chances of winning a championship during the 2024-25 season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Charles Barkley’s true feelings on Darvin Ham, Frank Vogel firing rumors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-devin-booker-camp-stephen-a-smith-knicks');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Devin Booker’s camp fires back at Stephen A. Smith’s Knicks claim');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Devin-Bookers-camp-fires-back-at-Stephen-A.-Smiths-Knicks-claim.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Devin Booker’s camp fires back at Stephen A. Smith’s Knicks claim</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-04-30T09:21:33-07:00">April 30th, 9:21am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-04-30T09:21:33-07:00">April 30th, 9:21am</time><address><a>Preston Byers</a>Preston Byers is an experienced writer and journalist who currently serves as an associate editor for ClutchPoints and as a staff writer at The Vindicator and Tribune Chronicle, where he covers sports in the Mahoning Valley. Previously, Preston worked as an associate editor for Dot Esports and a site expert for FanSided's Union and Blue.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Knicks are reportedly targeting <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-2-devin-booker-musts-as-suns-look-to-build-around-6-players">Devin Booker as a potential</a> Jalen Brunson backcourt partner, but the Phoenix Suns’ star is reportedly quite happy staying with the only team for which he has played. And a source from his camp has now <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-stephen-a-smith-devin-booker-knicks">hit back at Stephen A. Smith</a>, who recently claimed that Booker “wants to be in New York.”</p><p>After the Suns were swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Stephen A. Smith said on ESPN’s “First Take” that he had heard “scuttlebutt” that indicated Booker wanted to join the Knicks.</p><p>“From what I’m being told, and probably I don’t know if it’ll ever happen, but Devin Booker wants to be in New York,” Smith said. “That’s what I’m being told. Now, he might deny it, I haven’t spoken to him, but I’m just telling you, the scuttlebutt in the NBA circles is that brother wants to be in New York.”</p><p>According to PHNX Sports, though, <a href="https://gophnx.com/devin-booker-loves-suns-new-york-knicks-rumors-false/">that’s not true</a>.</p><p>“But beyond that, a source from Devin Booker’s camp who’s intimately familiar with the situation told PHNX Sports that these rumors are unequivocally false,” Gerald Bourguet wrote. Bourguet also reported that the Knicks do have interest in Booker, who was represented by Knicks president Leon Rose before he joined New York’s organization, and “recently put out feelers” about Booker becoming a Knick.</p><p>“However, the Knicks’ interest in Devin Booker is one-sided, and the source was adamant about squashing this latest, unfounded rumor,” Bourguet wrote.</p><h2><b>Where do the Suns and Devin Booker go from here?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Devin-Booker.jpg"></figure><p>It’s going to be a long and possibly transformative offseason for the Phoenix Suns, who became the first team to be eliminated from the 2024 NBA Playoffs on Sunday. The one-sided series sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves seemingly shined a spotlight on Phoenix’s issues, which are hardly simple to resolve.</p><p>Last year, the Suns pushed the Denver Nuggets, the eventual NBA champions, to six games in the second round despite relatively little time for Devin Booker, Chris Paul, DeAndre Ayton, and new acquisition Kevin Durant to gel. In the offseason, new Suns owner Mat Ishbia greenlighted a trade with the Washington Wizards to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-lakers-warriors-betting-favorites-bradley-beal-trade">bring in Bradley Beal</a> and send out Paul and a trove of first-round pick swaps and second-round selections.</p><p>The addition of Beal, despite being much younger and generally considered a better player than Paul at this point, did little to solve some of the problems the Suns had encountered in playoff exits against the Dallas Mavericks in 2022 and Nuggets in 2023. In part, bad luck could partly be to blame for some of the woes this season; injuries kept Beal out for 24 of the first 30 games, and even after returning, Durant and Booker struggled with their health, limiting the trio’s playing time together.</p><p>After earning the No. 6 seed in the playoffs, the Suns met the Timberwolves in the first round. What appeared to be a favorable matchup for the Suns — they swept Minnesota in the regular season — turned into a nightmare for Phoenix. The Wolves’ stifling defense largely suffocated the Suns’ offensive firepower as no Phoenix player other than <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-real-reason-why-phoenix-big-3-never-meshed-2023-24-per-grayson-allen">Booker, Durant, and Beal</a> averaged more than 8 points per game in the series.</p><p>Following three decisive defeats, Booker and Durant did everything they could to extend the series at least one game. Booker, who had struggled to that point, exploded for 49 points, while Durant scored 33. However, no other member of the Suns reached double figures, including Beal, who went 4-13 from the field, 1-5 from three, and fouled out in a nine-point, six-turnover performance.</p><p>What the Suns decide to do this offseason remains to be seen, but a few trades seem inevitable and even a coaching change seems possible. But as long as Booker is committed, Phoenix is better off than most other teams still searching for a star.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Devin Booker’s camp fires back at Stephen A. Smith’s Knicks claim

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-2-devin-booker-musts-as-suns-look-to-build-around-6-players');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: 2 Devin Booker musts as Suns look to build around 6 players');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/NBA-rumors-2-Devin-Booker-musts-as-Suns-look-to-build-around-6-players.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: 2 Devin Booker musts as Suns look to build around 6 players</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-04-29T19:04:33-07:00">April 29th, 7:04pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-04-29T19:04:33-07:00">April 29th, 7:04pm</time><address><a>Peter Sampson</a>Peter Sampson is ClutchPoints' Portland Trail Blazers reporter and also serves as an Associate Editor. He has been covering all things sports (with a focus on the Blazers) for more than a decade, most recently hosting "The Pulse with Peter Sampson" in Afternoon Drive for 750 The Game. Prior to that, he hosted an NBA wrap-up show that aired immediately at the conclusion of every Trail Blazers game. Peter had previous stops at Blazer's Edge and XRAY.FM - where his show "Blazer's Edge Radio" was named "Portland's Best Sports Radio" in the 2017 Willamette Week reader's poll. When he's not telling the stories of your favorite sports team, Peter can be found recording the next garage rock classic in his basement studio, whipping up an authentic Italian meal in the kitchen, or trying to figure out the appeal of Minecraft with his 9-year-old son in the living room.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After a shocking first-round sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Phoenix Suns head into the NBA offseason with more questions than answer surrounding their top-heavy roster that’s headed by Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal.</p><p>The Suns are locked into their top six players, but<a href="https://theathletic.com/5456932/2024/04/29/phoenix-suns-season-end-frank-vogel-kevin-durant/" rel="noopener"> need to figure things out</a> from there, per Shams Charania and Doug Haller of The Athletic.</p><h2><b>Suns need to Devin Booker to lead and not play point guard</b></h2><p>Said Charania and Haller, “The Suns now enter the summer planning to build around their top six players in Booker, Durant, Beal, Allen, Nurkic and Royce O’Neale. Allen signed a four-year, $70 million contract extension before the start of the playoffs, and Phoenix officials hope to retain O’Neale as a free agent this offseason. Booker remains at the center of everything, and will be tasked with continuing to embrace an enhanced role as a leader and a return to his usual assassin self once he’s being set up by a proper point guard again — two things the team considers musts for the 2024-25 season. The Suns could also look to bring in additional locker room presence, which was filled late in the season by Isaiah Thomas and Thaddeus Young.”</p><p>That all makes sense and is clearly what the Suns need. But the challenge will be making everything work under the NBA salary cap.</p><h2><b>Suns are stuck in salary cap hell</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Booker-Beal-Durant.jpg"><figcaption>© Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The current cap projection for next season puts the second apron line at $189.5 million and the Suns owe their projected starting five a whopping $184 million, only $5.5 million under than that level. That means a huge tax bill will come due from just filling out their roster with minimum contracts.</p><p>All of this is due to the $150 million owed next season just to Booker, Beal and Durant. The salary of those three players is more than 14 teams’ total payroll in 2024-25.</p><p>Even more critically, the front office will have only a few methods to improve the roster in the offseason as teams over the second apron cannot use the midlevel exception or take on money in trades along with other restrictions in the new collective bargaining agreement.</p><p>Their first round exit exposed Phoenix’s lack of depth. The Suns will need to find creative ways to obtain players who complement their big-3. But it’s going to be difficult.</p><p>Because of the apron restrictions, Phoenix is not allowed to take back more money in a trade than it sends out. The Suns also cannot aggregate contracts to trade for a single player who makes more. For example, combining the salaries of supporting players like Grayson Allen, Jusuf Nurkic and Nassir Little in a trade is not allowed even if the Suns take back less money.</p><p>Allen is also not allowed to be traded at all until Oct. 16 because he signed an extension with the Suns. Phoenix also cannot send out cash in a trade, use the $5.1 million taxpayer midlevel exception or acquire a player in a sign-and-trade. The $6.5 million trade exception created in the Cameron Payne trade is frozen. If the Suns finish the 2024-25 season over the second apron, their 2032 first-round pick is not available in a trade.</p><p>It’s going to be a difficult turnaround for the Suns, with their financial hands tied and owing the Nets three first-round picks (plus pick swaps). Phoenix’s hands are seemingly tied. Perhaps the best they can do is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-real-reason-why-phoenix-big-3-never-meshed-2023-24-per-grayson-allen">run it back and hope</a> that Booker, Durant, and Beal are able to stay healthy and play at an All-NBA level.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: 2 Devin Booker musts as Suns look to build around 6 players

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-stephen-a-smith-devin-booker-knicks');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Stephen A. Smith claims Devin Booker ‘wanna be in New York’');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Stephen-A.-Smith-claims-Devin-Booker-wanna-be-in-New-York.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Stephen A. Smith claims Devin Booker ‘wanna be in New York’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-04-29T09:54:53-07:00">April 29th, 9:54am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-04-29T09:57:45-07:00">April 29th, 9:57am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from a small town in Southern California. Mistretta graduated college with a degree in broadcast journalism from Biola University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Rumors are already swirling after the Phoenix Suns were swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Kevin Durant was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-kevin-durant-unhappy-with-suns-role-alongside-devin-booker-bradley-beal">reportedly not content with his role</a> on the team. Frank Vogel is rumored <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-suns-frank-vogel-on-hot-seat-after-losing-locker-room-getting-swept">to be on the hot seat</a>. And now Stephen A. Smith is <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1784964120132878624" rel="noopener">linking</a> Devin Booker to New York.</p><p>“From what I’m being told, I don’t know if it will ever happen, Devin Booker wants to be in New York,” Smith said on ESPN, via ClutchPoints. “That’s what I’m being told. That’s what I’m being told. Now, he might deny it. I haven’t spoken to him. I’m just telling you the scuttlebutt in the NBA circles is that brother wanna be in New York. So if you’re Phoenix, you got at least two people, probably three who are all getting paid about $150 million combined, don’t want to be there.”</p><p>It should be noted that Smith is a New York Knicks fan. Smith did not specifically mention the Knicks in his quote, but he probably is not talking about the Brooklyn Nets. Although that is possible.</p><p>Nevertheless, if the rumors about Durant’s frustration and Booker’s desire to join another team are true, then the Suns may be in trouble. Of course, these are also only rumors. Only Durant and Booker truly know their honest feelings at the moment.</p><h2><b>Will Devin Booker leave Suns?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Devin-Booker-after-Game-4-of-the-Timberwolves-Suns-series.jpg"><figcaption>Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Booker is under contract through the 2027-28 season. His contract is <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/player/_/id/17841/devin-booker#" rel="noopener">set to increase annually</a> over the next few years, per Spotrac. So with his average salary sitting around $55 million until 2028, would a team be willing to take on his contract should Booker request a trade?</p><p>Booker will not turn 28 years old until October. He is already a four-time All-Star. Booker averaged 27.1 points per game on 49.2 percent field goal and 36.4 percent three-point shooting in 2023-24. He added 4.5 rebounds and a career-high 6.9 assists per outing.</p><p>In other words, teams will probably be interested in acquiring Booker if he requests a trade.</p><p>Booker may still end up remaining in Phoenix, though. Rumors do not always result in change.</p><p>The Suns have disappointed in the postseason ever since reaching the NBA Finals in 2021 and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-devin-booker-kevin-durant-nba-playoffs-timberwolves">Booker wants to win a championship</a>. If Phoenix continues to fall short in the playoffs, then perhaps he will consider leaving at some point down the road.</p><p>“I want to win (a championship),” Booker said after the Suns’ Game 4 defeat. “It’s a tough league. At the end of all this, there’s gonna be one winner, and everybody that doesn’t win is gonna go into somewhat of a panic mode and feel like they have to make changes… I think over time, experience is the best teacher. The more that you can spend time together, feel this hurt together and go through it together, the better off you are in the future.”</p><p>For now, the assumption is that Booker and Durant will lead Phoenix once again during the 2024-25 campaign. However, anything can happen during the offseason. If one of the stars requests to be moved, the other may follow.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Stephen A. Smith claims Devin Booker ‘wanna be in New York’

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-kevin-durant-unhappy-with-suns-role-alongside-devin-booker-bradley-beal');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Kevin Durant unhappy with Suns role alongside Devin Booker, Bradley Beal');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Kevin-Durant-unhappy-with-Suns-role-alongside-Devin-Booker-Bradley-Beal.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Kevin Durant unhappy with Suns role alongside Devin Booker, Bradley Beal</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-04-29T06:34:21-07:00">April 29th, 6:34am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-04-29T17:49:24-07:00">April 29th, 5:49pm</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>Rexwell Villas is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football. He's a Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, and he claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>There were high hopes for the Phoenix Suns entering the 2023-24 NBA season. After all, they formed a scary new Big Three  in the NBA when they acquired star shooting guard Bradley Beal last summer <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bradley-beal-net-worth">via a blockbuster trade</a> with the Washington Wizards. Beal joining the duo of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker was supposed to make Phoenix an even bigger threat to the rest of the league.</p><p>But the Suns’ dreams of bringing an NBA title this season to The Valley <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/kevin-durant-praises-timberwolves-star-anthony-edwards-following-playoff-series-sweep">went up in flames</a> in just the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs, as they succumbed at the hands of Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves in just four games. What went wrong? For the T’wolves to win that easily and shut out such a talented squad like the Suns in the Western Conference quarterfinals round, there had to be a lot of things that did not go as planned for Phoenix.</p><p>It appears that one of the causes of the Suns’ downfall <a href="https://theathletic.com/5456932/2024/04/29/phoenix-suns-season-end-frank-vogel-kevin-durant/" rel="noopener">was the unhappiness</a> of Durant within the offensive ecosystem of the team, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.</p><p><i>“Meanwhile, Durant, among the best scorers in NBA history, was not always happy with how he was used. Sources briefed on the matter told The Athletic that Durant never felt comfortable with his role in Phoenix’s offense alongside Booker and Beal this season.”</i></p><p>It may not show in the basic stats that the former league Most Valuable Player put up in the 2023-24 NBA season, but some close to Phoenix believed Durant felt he was not used optimally in Phoenix. During the regular season, the former No. 2 NBA Draft overall pick averaged 27.1 points on 52.3 percent shooting from the field, 41.3 percent shooting from behind the arc, and 85.6 percent success rate from the free throw line across 75 games.</p><p><i>“Those sources said Durant had persistent issues with the offense, feeling that he was being relegated to the corner far too often and not having the proper designs to play to his strengths as the offense was built around pick-and-rolls. At the same time, some teammates and people close to the organization believed Durant needed to voice his concerns more adamantly and directly with Vogel and his coaching staff.”</i></p><p>Durant was still productive and efficient at the same time on offense during the first-round clash with the Timberwolves, as he averaged 26.8 points on 55.2 percent shooting from the floor and 41.7 percent from deep, but the Suns clearly struggled offensively as a team.</p><p>This isn’t the first time that rumors of Durant’s frustration with the Suns came into the picture. He even <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-kevin-durant-fires-back-at-frustration-rumors-i-dont-want-to-get-traded">refuted rumors</a> of his supposed disappointment over Beal’s injury and underwhelming support back in January. But with the Suns getting shown the door out of title contention so early in the postseason, it’s convenient for such rumors involving the biggest player on the team’s roster to manifest once again.</p><p>There are no games or series featuring the Suns to talk about anymore. The attention now shifts to what lies ahead of Durant and the Suns, who might have to make some big decisions in the offseason given the way things ended for the franchise.</p><p>Durant, who arrived in Phoenix in 2023 via a four-team trade involving the Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers, and Milwaukee Bucks, has two more years left on his current contract that will get him $49.86 million in the 2024-25 campaign and $53.23 in the 2025-26 season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Kevin Durant unhappy with Suns role alongside Devin Booker, Bradley Beal

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-suns-frank-vogel-on-hot-seat-after-losing-locker-room-getting-swept');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Suns’ Frank Vogel on hot seat after losing locker room, getting swept');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Suns-Frank-Vogel-on-hot-seat-after-losing-locker-room-getting-swept.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Suns’ Frank Vogel on hot seat after losing locker room, getting swept</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-04-29T06:30:13-07:00">April 29th, 6:30am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-04-29T08:14:05-07:00">April 29th, 8:14am</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Phoenix Suns have thrust themselves into a period of great uncertainty for the second consecutive offseason, following yet another postseason pitfall. Despite raising their intensity and performance level in Game 4, they fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves at home, 122-116. Their NBA Playoffs experience ends unceremoniously <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/kevin-durant-praises-timberwolves-star-anthony-edwards-following-playoff-series-sweep">in a sweep</a>.</p><p>Now, fans are wondering if the head coaching tenure of Frank Vogel will <a href="https://theathletic.com/5456932/2024/04/29/phoenix-suns-season-end-frank-vogel-kevin-durant/" rel="noopener">end the same way</a>.</p><p>The Suns are going to “take a hard look at making a full coaching change or, at the very least, discuss adjustments to Vogel’s staff,” The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Doug Haller reported. General manager James Jones is expected to retain front office control heading into the 2024-25 campaign, but one has to wonder how much longer the three-time champion can sit comfortably before his own seat turns scorching hot.</p><p>Although Vogel just completed his first year with the Suns, his potential dismissal might be the only major action the organization could take. The star trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal will earn a combined $150 million next season. Phoenix also has limited future assets after trading away a slew of draft picks to acquire both Durant and Beal in 2023. Sacrificing Vogel is not going to thwart fans’ anger, but it could buy owner Mat Ishbia some more time.</p><p>Though, the biggest factor working against the former NBA title-winning head coach is that he might not be commanding the necessary amount of respect from his locker room.</p><h2><b>Suns players might not be gelling with Frank Vogel</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Suns-stars-Kevin-Durant-and-Bradley-Beal-high-five-each-other.jpg"><figcaption>Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Vogel reportedly ripped into the Suns late in the season in an attempt to light a fire under them, but there was little effect. Players rolled their eyes, and one even had to fight the urge to break into laughter, per The Athletic. This compounds the bad optics that were on display during Game 4, as Beal ostensibly <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-did-bradley-beal-slap-frank-vogels-hand-away-out-of-frustration-game-4-vs-timberwolves">slapped away Vogel’s hand</a> while jogging off to the bench.</p><p>When a team that is woefully underachieving does not take its coach seriously, it is natural to assume that management will make some leadership changes. But wait, there’s more.</p><p>In the aftermath of Phoenix’s bitter defeat, it is coming out that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-did-bradley-beal-slap-frank-vogels-hand-away-out-of-frustration-game-4-vs-timberwolves">Durant disagrees</a> with how he was being utilized in this offense. At minimum, it is clear scheming modifications will likely be made. The question is, however, who will be making those tweaks?</p><p>It is one thing to fall short against a Timberwolves squad led by Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, but being swept is generally considered unacceptable for a team with the kind of talent and payroll the Suns possess. Apparently, <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/suns/phoenix-suns-could-fire-frank-vogel" rel="noopener">that sentiment is shared</a> by many around the league.</p><p>“Losing in six to Denver last year in the second round cost Monty Williams his job,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on NBA Countdown ahead of Game 4, via Sports Illustrated’s Donnie Druin. “You’ve seen Mat Ishbia, the owner, he’s made rapid change in his short tenure at owner. Frank Vogel’s job very much may be in jeopardy now.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">.<a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@wojespn</a> on Frank Vogel's future with the Phoenix Suns: <a href="https://t.co/153lglBJmH">pic.twitter.com/153lglBJmH</a></p><p>— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/1784649319452189074?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Can Frank Vogel survive?</b></h2><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-frank-vogel-drops-confident-claim-on-job-security-amid-0-3-deficit-vs-timberwolves">Vogel himself is publicly expressing confidence</a> about his job security and believes he has Ishbia’s support going forward. No voice tends to resonate more loudly than a star’s does, however. If there is truly discontent brewing in the locker room, then there might be nothing that can save the veteran head coach from a harsh fate.</p><p>Phoenix flipped the switch far too late. A strong effort in the Footprint Center followed an insufficient one in Game 3. Yes, there were depth concerns all yearlong, and Grayson Allen’s injury definitely made the Suns’ uphill battle much steeper, but the final result is likely to be the main talking point in Vogel’s end-of-year meeting with management.</p><p>While those contextual matters could earn him another year in the desert, the pressure to succeed with this group will only intensify. Further humiliation and disappointment is not an option. And yet, it might also be unavoidable.</p><p>The questions surrounding the compatibility and health of this big three are multiplying, while the competition grows fiercer. Retaining Frank Vogel might be a difficult decision for ownership, but convincing another candidate to brave these challenging conditions won’t be easy, either.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

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