The Phoenix Suns just got swept out of the playoffs in the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves and there are already concerning reports coming out. The Athletic’s Shams Charania is reporting that Kevin Durant was not comfortable with his role in the Suns’ offense alongside Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
“Sources briefed on the matter told The Athletic that Durant never felt comfortable with his role in Phoenix’s offense alongside Booker and Beal this season,” Charania wrote. “Those sources said Durant had persistent issues with the offense, feeling that he was being relegated to the corner far too often and not having the proper designs to play to his strengths as the offense was built around pick-and-rolls.”
The report also states that Durant’s teammates and some individuals close to the organization felt that he needed to voice his concerns strongly to head coach Frank Vogel. While the 35-year-old should have ideally done that, he has never been that type of a character, so I am not surprised that he didn’t.
With Booker and Beal dominating the ball in an offense that revolved around pick-and-rolls, Durant was indeed just relegated to being in the corner a fair few times. When he wasn’t in the corner and had the ball in his hands, the 14-time All-Star almost always used to iso and shoot a difficult shot with a defender all over him.
Now whether that’s the Suns just not drawing up plays to get him open or Durant wanting to play that way, is something only the two parties know. While he was reportedly not comfortable, the 2014 MVP still put up great numbers this season.
In the regular season, Durant averaged 27.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game. He also shot 52.3% from the field and 41.3% from beyond the arc. It is incredible that he can put up those numbers while not being too pleased with the offense, but it isn’t a good look for Durant that this report came out right after the Suns got swept.
This very much is being viewed as the blame being deflected elsewhere for the team being blown away by the Timberwolves. Durant was probably the best player for the Suns in the series, as he averaged 26.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 0.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game. He wasn’t at his best, though, and Anthony Edwards did outplay him to lead the Timberwolves into the Western Conference Semifinals.
Kevin Durant Was Also Not Happy With The Motion Offense In Golden State
This isn’t the first time that we have heard about Durant having an issue with the kind of offense that was being run by a team he was on. After he joined the Brooklyn Nets in 2019, Durant himself stated he wanted more iso ball in Golden State.
“The motion offense we run in Golden State, it only works to a certain point. We can totally rely on our system for maybe the first two rounds. Then the next two rounds we’re going to have to mix in individual play. We’ve got to throw teams off, because they’re smarter in that round of playoffs.
“So now I have to dive into my bag, deep, to create stuff on my own, off the dribble, isos, pick-and-rolls, more so than let the offense create points for me.”
I suppose that might also tell us that Durant maybe was the one who wanted those iso plays that I was talking about earlier, but he didn’t get enough of them. You wonder if he might end up asking out of Phoenix over his unhappiness, but it would be a terrible look if he did.
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