Kevin Durant has left the building, this is not a drill. Yet while he was on his way out the door, none other than DeMarcus Cousins gave the franchise yet another body blow, who had that on their bingo card? But that's exactly what happened as Cousins recently went as far as to claim that there were "fist fights" in the locker-room this season.
Not only is that an extraordinary claim - and one which Cousins did not back down from either when challenged - the play of the Suns on the court never looked like it got close to having the kind of energy and caring that would have resulted in that kind of tension behind the scenes. All joking aside however - and whether this is true or not - it highlights one crucial aspect of where Phoenix is.
The Phoenix Suns are the laughing stock of the NBA right now.
The fact Cousins came forward with this at all - and that it wasn't immediately shot down by everybody - gives you an idea of where the Suns are at. They're viewed throughout the league as a team where this could in theory happen, which is in stark contrast to how the best run organizations are viewed. If this claim was made about the Oklahoma City Thunder, would you believe it?
This is yet another low point since Mat Ishbia bought the team, and you could argue the Suns are as far away from contention as ever since that run to the NBA Finals four years ago. To make matters worse, it was the departing Durant of all people who felt the need to respond to Cousins. Then again - given his history of going at anybody and everybody on social media - we shouldn't be surprised.
NBA: KD rips Boogie's Suns claim. Durant fires back after Cousins said Phoenix had multiple fistfights during season pic.twitter.com/fMBkPqq4iL
— Alain Keith Cabardo Daguio (@keithdaguio) June 21, 2025
But the fact that the player who just left The Valley - and has now decided what direction the Suns will go with what they got back for him - was the one to jump to the defense of the team was also not a good look. Obviously nobody expected Devin Booker to address these rumors - that is not his style and he is right to avoid altogether - but it being Durant just adds to this mess.
Whether or not it was true, Cousins feeling comfortable enough to speak on this publicly shows how far the Suns have fallen. To claim an teammate of Durant's was also the source is interesting, and it is also fair to point out that the former Sacremento Kings franchise center is not on television every day saying outrageous things as a media personality.
It is hard to see where the Suns go from what is another unwanted distraction, but moving on from Durant and letting head coach Jordan Ott go back to basics seems like the move here. We haven't even hit July yet, and already this has felt like a long and eventful offseason in Phoenix, for all the wrong reasons. Feels like there's only one direction this franchise is going right now.