After not speaking to beat reporters for nearly a week and a half – before the Knicks traded Kristaps Porzingis – Warriors star Kevin Durant broke his silence on Wednesday after the Warriors’ win over San Antonio. As Nick Friedell of ESPN.com relays, Durant sounded “angry and frustrated” as he explained why he had avoided the media since the Porzingis deal.
“I have nothing to do with the Knicks,” Durant said. “I don’t know who traded Porzingis. They got nothing to do with me. I’m trying to play basketball. Y’all come in here every day, ask me about free agency, ask my teammates, my coaches. You rile up the fans about it. Let us play basketball. That’s all I’m saying. And now when I don’t wanna talk to y’all, it’s a problem with me.”
As Durant alludes to, speculation about his free agency destination has heated up since the Knicks traded Porzingis. That move appeared designed to clear two maximum-salary slots for this summer’s free agent class, which KD will headline.
There’s an “overwhelming sense” around the NBA that Durant is destined to sign with the Knicks, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. Ethan Strauss of The Athletic conveyed a similar sentiment earlier in the week, writing that insiders around the league believe the former MVP will leave Golden State for New York.
Whether or not that’s the case, Durant doesn’t want to talk about it now, as he made clear on Wednesday night, when he singled out Strauss’ piece as an example of the type of article that irks him.
“It’s unnecessary,” Durant said of the speculation about his free agency, per Friedell. “You got a dude, Ethan Strauss, who comes in here and just gives his whole opinion on stuff and makes it seem like it’s coming from me. And he just walks around here, don’t talk to nobody, just walk in here and survey and write something like that, and now you gotta pile on me because I don’t wanna talk to y’all about that.”
Durant won’t become a free agent for nearly five more months, so there’s still time for plenty of speculation and analysis on his upcoming decision. But his comments on Wednesday suggested he’ll probably try to avoid addressing the subject.
“I just don’t trust none of y’all,” Durant told reporters, including Friedell. “Every time I say something it’s getting twisted up and thrown out and in so any different publications, trying to tear me down with my words that I say. So when I don’t say nothing, it’s a problem. I just wanna play ball. I wanna go to the gym and go home. That’s all. Is that a problem? All right then.”
ya’ll know he is grabbing the biggest dough possible!
The lady doth protest too much, methinks
Misuse of phrase. The meaning that is intended is NOT complaining about someone else’s complaining; it is accusing someone of hiding something or of a complicity. Look it up.
If Durant is hiding something indicate what. With no context provided for the deeper correct Shakespearean meaning, I have to assume ignorance, or secretly intending to mean “shut up bitch”.
Look up that phrase please before throwing it out there.
Leave the man alone.
Kd isn’t a snake. The media is.
He will sign with the Knicks, win a championship there and be greater than LeBron.
Knicks are never winning a championship dude
You know that it’s the media’s job to ask questions right? When will athletes learn that.
You are right. He may legitimately not have a team that he prefers. He may want the most money from whomever may give it. He may want to evaluate a team’s management, coach, current talent and future draft picks, but… Those three athletes (LeBron, Bosh and Wade) changed the game and the media’s investigating of it. The reporter now assumes there is a story or scheming players trying to create the next support team behind the scenes, whether there are or not.
Super Team, stupid autocorrect
Wrong. It wasn’t just the hovering rude stupid repeated questions, it’s when they write like he said something he did not or believes something he does not. A clever writer can do that, and then get rewarded for it with attention.
Durant’s humanism is offended by having to talk to reporters like children, not as fellow humans on a journey, which includes humor, complaint, multiple facets. He’s not just a horse in a race.
There are no actions being contemplated, so why the complaining about the complaining?
Not sure how I am wrong. But I don’t really care enough to argue about it. Pro hockey is a better sport anyway. Thanks for the conversation though.
jleve618 which you said was right, was reductive. I did not actually address your points. On this site, margins come out differently on different media. Android shows indentations until the convo completely disappears, but desktop chrome halts at 2.
I agree with you on the surface, but it’s not always a good-enough excuse… depending. Of course Durant would pick the worst example. Regardless, people should have the right to complain, at least about excesses.
Players are not seeing why they can’t do what GMs do, moving them around. It’s normal American rights to widen one’s choices. But problems with a) breaking contracts, and b) movement from small markets to big, make it all a mess.
C) competitive media doesn’t help & doesn’t have to, but it would work better if they’re not driving their sources to silence!
Creating rumors and then asking players to respond to them is not part of the job. KD is currently playing for GS. Asking him to comment about other players, other teams and his plans for the future is unfair and can cause in-house distractions.
KD is a biznatch.
Just as Durant is “doing his job” so are the writers, their job is to get eyeballs on their publications, if Durant doesn’t want any of the attention, then retire and disappear, other than that, you’re a public figure, and I’m sure part of your job is to speak to the media, if you don’t like that, maybe take it up with your employer
Eh, have you met the media? They’re not exactly doing their job when they’re writing w/ out facts.
All they are doing is reporting what they hear. They aren’t reporting that Durant is leaving for NY. They are reporting that Todd Whatever in Oakland California expects Durant to leave for NY. Technically, that is accurate reporting.
Do some overdo it and create unnecessary drama? Sure. There are bad reporters just like there are bad NBA players. But that’s their job and their job shouldn’t be held below Kevin Durant’s job. They are both jobs, and he needs to stop being a baby and realize that people other than him also enjoy doing what they are doing, and have a right to continue doing so.
Facts are nobody knows where KD is playing next year. More likely be staying with GSW. Even GSW owner said money is not a issue in resigning him. Its more of NY writers have nothing to write about now until NYY take the field in April. Has KD said he wants to play in NY? NO Its boring right now in the NBA since everyone knows that GSW most likely winning another championship.
I’ve seen what the media has become, and they’ve adopted to their audience, rumors and speculation is what people click on, I mean, we’re here on a rumor site, this is one of the only days that they report on facts, confirmed trades made, otherwise, they speculate on rumors and the better the headline is written, the more clicks it will get
The problem is that Durant hasn’t done anything to help his case. He knew (or at least should’ve known) that he was going to get bombarded with free agency related questions this season. If he wanted to avoid it, he should’ve come out in the beginning of the season and said he’s not talking about free agency and then repeat that during the season when he inevitably gets asked again. Instead, he remains quiet and doesn’t fan the flames and then does something like this that causes more media attention.
He’s doing just what you say he should do, so it’s odd to blame him.
And yet he still doesn’t say he is going to stay a warrior. Durant is good as gone!
Enough of Durant trying to play victim.
Kevin Durant reminds me of my pet cat.
Well at least we know he’s not going to the Knicks. If he can’t handle Bay Area media he would never make it in NY
Good point. He’s getting a taste of NY media already. It’s like they’re trying to warn him! Stay away!
Myers will probably be fine with moving Green and/or Cousins to get Durant to stay.
Squash it all and say “I’m re-signing with the Warriors”.
He should have just reeled off the list of teams w max space to sign him, then ended with, oh yea and I can re-up with the defending Champs for the same amount. But if you really put my feet to the coals, I’d say Atlanta Hawks.
Durant didn’t deserve to be dragged into the Knicks FO’s attempts to justify the KP deal. If the Knicks’ FO really believes they made a good deal, then they wouldn’t need to float the names of specific FAs or stories with no context that seek to paint KP in a bad light. Part of their return in the trade is cap space this summer, we get it. It’s worth what remote cap space is generally worth (as it trades at fairly consistent prices across the league), no more, no less. Stop trying to distinguish it value-wise from other purchases of cap space by associating it with two max FAs. Go sign them, if you can, and let the deal and your performance generally be judged on its own merits. Amateur hour.
Yes the message came to be, here’s why we should not like him anymore.
There is motivation in competitive media for editors to tell writers to replace “increasing capspace” with “making room for Durant”. That gets more eyes.
Well IDK, I read HR which gets it right by over-explaining and sort of using formulas.
What a little girl.
If you professional athletes
Media will find you
That part of your job
Handle the media