The Phoenix Suns have not been able to put together a consistent stretch of winning this season without immediately giving it back, sitting at 19-18 on the year as we near the midway point of the season.
They are currently trying to find the balance between their three stars, as Bradley Beal is finally back on the court for the first real extended stretch of the season after missing a lot of time to start the year with a back injury. As is often the case in these situations, the play has been uneven and losses stacking up leads to frustration, particularly for a team that has title aspirations. On Christmas, we got a report from Adrian Wojnarowski that Kevin Durant was not only frustrated with the losing, but with the Suns roster and the overall situation in Phoenix.
Woj on ESPN talks about the #Suns and speaks about frustration from Kevin Durant with Brad Beal out and an “underwhelming supporting cast.”pic.twitter.com/Ap7k7LO7LG
— Trevor Booth (@TrevorMBooth) December 25, 2023
That sparked plenty of conversation about whether Durant was headed for another trade request, particularly considering the Suns don’t have the ability to really make upgrades to the roster given they emptied their asset clip to get Durant and Beal. This week, Durant decided he wanted to set the record straight in a conversation with Fox Sports’ Melissa Rohlin, and state, in no uncertain terms, that was not going to happen and that any frustration is with losses in the moment but has nothing to do with his desire to be on this Suns team and try to figure it out.
“I don’t want to get traded,” Durant said. “I’m not frustrated because Brad was injured. I wasn’t frustrated because of the role players on the team. That s— really was ignorant to me, you know what I’m saying? It’s like, yeah, we lose a game – you think I’m supposed to be happy after we lose a game? You know what I’m saying? I’m not frustrated with the whole situation. I may be frustrated at the moment, at a bad play or a tough stretch. But nah, I enjoy the grind.”
KD continued on to say people were trying to read into his body language and everything else, but weren’t considering some of his frustration might be with himself. He made it clear that he’s committed to figuring it out with the Suns, noting the struggles will only make it feel better when they figure it out.
We don’t often get players making these kinds of direct statements regarding rumors and rumblings, and it’s somewhat refreshing to hear someone address them in this way. It also only raises further questions about who was telling that to Woj, because he is just relaying things he’s heard and isn’t one to go on TV with stuff that’s not coming from pretty plugged in places. Still, this can hopefully alleviate some concerns from Suns fans that they were already in a tense place with their superstar less than a year into his arrival in the desert, but as always, the only real cure for concerns with star-studded teams is winning.
Source: https://uproxx.com/dimemag/kevin-durant-suns-doesnt-want-trade-not-frustrated-quotes/
