Thunder --- Nets

[Oklahoma City Thunder (Loren)]

Oklahoma City Thunder Get:

Johnathan Kuminga (SF/PF) - $4.84M (24/25 RFA)
2022 NYK 1st (DAL gets 2 best picks of NYK, BKN, MIA. I accept that this is the lowest of the two picks)


Brooklyn Nets Get:

Wendell Carter Jr. (C) - $6.92M (21/22 RFA)


***I accept. I love what WCJ has done for me, and it's awesome to see that him and Bamba can coexist, but I'm not sure that that's the long-term solution in Orlando. I love the Kum Bucket, and am excited to see him develop on the Warriors (hopefully they don't fuck this guy up and he follows the improvement Poole did). Plus I get a pick. New guy Nets is much better than Josh. Good luck to you, and I hope you do well.

[Brooklyn Nets (Andre)]

Nets accept

Think that Kuminga will take quite a while to produce alongside the Warriors and I want to try and win now. WCJ gives me confidence that he can provide numbers now.
Didn’t have many draft assets coming into the job so didn’t think there’d be too much value in holding onto a first.

Honestly thought this trade was decent but then the discord went bananas 😅😭😭

[Heat GM (Bryan)]

Veto
Saving the new guy I guess but it’s a vast overpay here. Contracts wise it’s crazy too.

[Chicago Bulls (Charlie)]

I will approve on the basis that his team is indeed loaded and this is not detrimental to the league. It saddens me that he may not have a complete understanding of contractual value and how important rookie contracts are in this league. But that's on Caleb and I as LM's, we may need to be better explaining rules and helping new guys for a bit. I'm sorry Andre, I really hope you don't look back at this pissed. The 1st is too much to add but it's going to be in the 20's, that's guaranteed.

I hope he can win a chip with WCJ or deal him for equal value that he can have for multiple years. This has been probably the toughest trade for me every on whether or not to veto and I hope ya'll don't crucify anyone else for expressing their opinion. I do not think this will hinder the league or cause us to restart or anything crazy, and I'll be better going forward if we get a new owner.

[Golden State Warriors (Caleb)]

Fucking helllllllll bro. I'm with Chuck I can't remember having a tougher decision on a trade.

Let's tackle the first aspect of this trade. Andre has legitimately been here 2 days. There is just zero chance to fully grasp everything here in two days. Like I think we can all agree that if any of the 29 other owners in here are GM of the Nets we aren't doing that trade. And again i'm not even saying that that alone should be basis of a veto, but it's not a coincidence that the one guy accepting this has been here for 2 days.

As for the actual trade itself, the hardest part for me is the contract situation. I've heard the argument that Kuminga could suck. He would have to pretty much not develop for the duration of his contract to not be worth 3+ more years of control at a really sustainable price. Let's say even Nets had a resign spot open then it make a little more sense. Buttttt, he has one of the more expensive re-signs in league history coming his way.

The other aspect of this is the first rounder. Yes, it's almost guaranteed to be in the 20's but let's not act like firsts aren't valuable. A first can generally buy you a productive player.

On the other hand Andre says he understands the ramifications around the deal, and I am of the school of thought of letting GMs run their teams.  Wendell has looked pretty good this year and this doesn't change the balance of power in any drastic way.  

With all that being said I am going to approve.  Andre looks like he is going to be here for the long haul, and I trust that regardless he'll be here and active so I'm not worried too much about his lack of assets especially with Luka and KD.   

[Denver Nuggets (Kevin)]

Approving based on the fact Wendell is having a great season so far. Aligns with his goal to win it all so not too bad. This deal could have been a straight swap of players but oh well. Could have dealt that first for another 20ish point scorer

[Milwaukee Bucks (Jacob)]

I veto. I agree with Caleb and Chuck that this is not league altering, however I don't agree that that should be the veto criteria for a completely new owner who is now competing with guys who have been in this league for 10+ years.

The first is what really did it for me. Kuminga for WCJ is already a great deal for Loren, but adding the first in my opinion is just capitalizing on the opportunity that a new owner who doesn't understand pick values presents.

I would approve this trade as Kuminga for WCJ straight up.

[Toronto Raptors (Perk)]

If this is still hanging in the balance (I think with 3 approvals and 2 vetos, it then needs 5 approvals?), I am going to chime in and approve. Agree that it's a late 1st rounder. If this was a guy coming in and salvaging the whole team for 1 year and who was gonna bounce in the years after, that would be unfortunate, but let's not pretend that WCJ is going to retire in a year or two. I think in the draft pick / draft happy outlook that we sometimes tend to share, Kuminga certainly has a higher ceiling that WCJ. Imagine a scenario where he doesn't reach the massive potential set out on him, and understand that it's possible he doesn't fully develop like countless other rookies, I'm OK with the new guy moving on from his draft pick. I agree with people that the first was definitely not necessary but I think approving this one makes sense. I understand the vetoes, Kuminga has some hype for sure.

Whatever happens Andre don't leave after a year or the league brass is going to make a rule about you (i.e. new owner's can't trade in the first 3 weeks or some shit)