As future Hall of Famer and Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant is embroiled in yet another social media controversy, his former team along with its owner have “turned that page.”
That’s what Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia had to say in response to Durant’s viewpoint that he voiced in early January, according to a piece from The Athletic’s Sam Amick (subscription required). Durant hit a game-winning 3-pointer against the Suns on Jan. 5 prior to his post-game comments regarding his exit from Phoenix. Durant said he was "kicked out" and “scapegoated” by the Suns as the primary reason for the team’s shortcomings.
The Suns traded Durant to Houston for a package including Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green and No. 10 overall draft pick Khaman Maluach last offseason.
In Amick’s article, which breaks down the Suns’ collective shift from being star-chasers to creating a college-like atmosphere of building a culture rooted in grit and hustle, Ishbia said the following when asked about KD’s feelings toward his former squad.
‘We turned that page,’ Mat Ishbia comments on Kevin Durant’s exit
“What Kevin thinks about his time here is fine,” Ishbia said. “We weren’t successful. And guess what? When things don’t go well, I’m going to make changes to get it to go well — by any means necessary.”
“We’re focused on our guys now. I love our team. I love Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green, Khaman (Maluach) and Rasheer (Fleming), who we got in place of Kevin,” Ishbia said.
“So, I’m just focused on us. I’m really not focused on what happened last year anymore, because we turned that page. I know how it went. I know every detail of how it went, and now I know what we’re gonna do going forward. So, how Kevin feels about that, that’s his own problem, and his own thoughts.”
How it went in 2024-25 was not meeting expectations. With Booker, Durant and Brad Beal in tow under championship-winning head coach Mike Budenholzer, the Suns finished 10 games under .500 and missed the playoffs for the first time in five years. Durant believes he was “scapegoated” for those shortcomings, but it’s clear the problems in Phoenix went well beyond KD.
It comes across as sour grapes from Durant, but that's "his own problem" to use Ishbia's words.
The Suns' KD chapter is closed, likely for good, and Phoenix is moving forward with a new culture and identity that has them 10 games above .500 at this year's All-Star break. They're only two games back from the Rockets in the Western Conference standings.
NBA teams are finally starting to figure out — thanks in part to the Oklahoma City Thunder — that a cohesive team that's deep and talented is going to perform better than a top-heavy roster of a few stars rounded out with guys on minimum contracts.
Durant's tenure in The Valley didn't work out how anyone envisioned, but KD compounding it all with hard feelings is a tough look all around.