NBA Trade Deadline 2023: Suns Get Durant as Power Shifts to the West
Hours before the Durant trade appeared, the Lakers agreed to trade Westbrook to the Jazz in a three-team trade that included a package of draft picks and players led by D’Angelo Russell of Minnesota. The Lakers are in 13th in the West but are just four games away from safety in the knockouts from their league entry.
With LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the Lakers’ roster, it stands to reason that a few tweaks could dramatically change their fortunes. Russell, who the Lakers drafted in 2nd overall in 2015 but changed course two seasons later, is a much better 3-pointer than Westbrook and will help in attack.
The addition of Durant, one of the best to ever play the game, could make the West a lot more open-minded.
On Wednesday, Ishbia woke up at 5 a.m. at her Detroit-area home and flew to Phoenix with his wife, three children, parents, and some close friends.
After meeting with some of the team’s staff, he took to the stage at the Suns gymnasium, the Footprint Center, for his introductory press conference. He stayed away from the podium, only using it to hold a bottle of water he had sipped on during the questions. He walks the stage with the energy of a startup founder giving a keynote speech, using his hands to emphasize his quick words.
“I’m not going to sit here counting dollars,” Ishbia said when asked if he would be willing to pay the league’s luxury tax penalty for going over the salary cap, adding, “Money follows success. not vice versa. “
Durant, 34, improved the team immediately and dramatically. He has been sidelined with a knee injury since January 12, but his health has been the only thing slowing him down lately.