Kevin Durant wants out. Again. But why? ESPN Senior NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski can point to at least one reason contributing to Durant’s frustration: the Golden State Warriors winning yet another NBA Finals.
After news of Durant’s trade request broke, Wojnarowski went on SportsCenter Thursday night to share his thoughts on what led to Durant’s decision.
“Golden State winning the championship this season and just the deluge of criticism and speculation that came down on Kevin Durant, I think that contributed to a tipping point,” Wojnarowski said.
(h/t @GSWdelivery)pic.twitter.com/rrWDQO8mLY
— Guru (@DrGuru_) July 1, 2022
After the Warriors beat the Boston Celtics in six games, there was indeed a barrage of criticism about Durant and his legacy. Many pundits questioned the legitimacy of his two rings, both of which came with the Warriors.
“[Durant]he’s going to have to win a championship as a bus driver,” said Charles Barkley, former NBA MVP and current TNT analyst. “He went along with it [Warriors] a team that already won a championship, so no disrespect, it’s just a fact. So until he’s the guy on the championship team, we’re not going to give him the respect that he probably deserves, and that’s just the way it is.”
Durant, who signed with the Golden State Warriors after they finished the 2015-16 NBA season with a historic 73-9 record and leapfrogged Durant’s Thunder in the playoffs before falling in the Finals, did not take Barkley’s words kindly.
“This is all bullshit, another terrible analogy from a hating old head who can’t accept that we make more bread than them,” Durant responded in a tweet. “Just timing Chucky, don’t hate Playa.”
It’s all nasty, another terrible analogy from a hating old head who can’t accept that we make more bread than they do. Just timing Chucky don’t hate the playa https://t.co/43BWSuijjV
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) June 20, 2022
Other people were even more outspoken in their criticism, tweeting things like “The Splash Bros didn’t really need Kevin Durant to win more rings” and “Congratulations to the Golden State Warriors. When do Durant’s ‘rings’ melt?’
One fan reduced Durant to “the guy between Harrison Barnes and Andrew Wiggins,” to which the NBA superstar responded by playing in the shot.
I’ve been dead since July 4th, 2016, but congrats to the dubs and my boy Steezy, a Fillmore legend, a man who’s been waiting a lifetime for a Market St. parade. https://t.co/LXtyvu7BwB
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) June 17, 2022
Durant has a history of battling online criticism, even sometimes turning to a burn account to deal with the hate. This time, however, it appears his decision is a trade request.
The former NBA MVP had other reasons, including alleged frustration with the Nets’ front office, but TV talking heads and casual fans also reportedly contribute to the trade request being amusing, if not terribly surprising.
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