Kevin Durant shuts down rumors suggesting frustration with Suns
ESPN NBA insider said in late December that Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant was growing frustrated with the Suns organization and the team’s roster construction. Over two weeks after those remarks were made, Durant dispelled those rumors of any frustration in an interview with NBA reporter Melissa Rohlin of Fox Sports.
“I’m not frustrated because Brad was injured. I wasn’t frustrated because of the role players on the team,” he said, according to Rohlin. “That s–t 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.”
The Suns are currently the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference at 19-18. They are 2.5 games behind the Dallas Mavericks for the No. 7 seed and 3.5 behind the New Orleans Pelicans for the sixth-and-final non-play-in position in the conference.
Phoenix is 5-3 since Christmas with the NBA’s 11th-best NET Rating (4.0)–accumulating the ninth-best offense with the 19th-best defense. All in all, it’s been a rocky start to the season in Phoenix, but they aren’t the only team in the West playing well below expectation–good afternoon, Lakers and Warriors!
In all fairness, the Suns have only played six games with their newfangled trio of Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, who it acquired in the offseason but whose ability’s been limited due to a plaguing back injury. They have a plus-7.6 NET when all three have been on the floor, but have gone 2-4 in those games, as it continues to find continuity within the rest of its roster.
“I love that we’re struggling almost because we can learn from it and get better and move forward from it,” Durant said. “Obviously, I don’t love struggling. But I like finding good things out of winning basketball games. The more film we watch, the more pride we take. The tougher it is, the better we’ll become from it. That’s my mentality the whole time.”
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