Kevin Durant has never been one to bite his tongue.
So when it came to Adrian Wojnarowski’s report that people around the Phoenix Suns organization are feeling his frustration, it was only a matter of time until the star forward responded.
The entire ordeal began on Christmas Day, with Wojnarowski discussing Durant’s status with the Suns during an appearance on NBA Countdown. With Phoenix sitting at an underwhelming 14-14 heading into their holiday matchup against the Dallas Mavericks (which the Suns lost), the ESPN insider reported that the former MVP’s dissatisfaction has become palpable.
“You talk to people in Phoenix and around that organization, they can feel the frustration with Durant,” Wojnarowski said. “Part of that, certainly, is the missed games for Brad Beal. This team was built around those three stars. The underwhelming supporting cast that comes from those massive trades for Durant and Bradley Beal that really gutted the organization and left them having to sign a lot of minimum players to fill out the payroll. And then understanding that they lack the assets, the draft picks, the trade capital to go out and really improve this team. This is something they’re going to have to manage in Phoenix with Kevin Durant.”
People in Phoenix are feeling Kevin Durant’s frustration 😳, per Woj
(h/t @16and0 ) pic.twitter.com/FsY7q4w7RV
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 25, 2023
Durant proceeded to respond. Only he didn’t do so in a press conference, post on X or even a podcast appearance, but rather in a reply to a fan on Instagram.
“Woj says somebody else ‘feels’ that I’m frustrated and it turned into me being mentally checked out,” Durant wrote in a since-deleted reply. “This s*** crazy, these people can flat out lie on my name and make s*** up and you people will believe it but when my teammates n coaches speak on how I am as a teammate, u ignore it lol.”
Kevin Durant has responded to the Woj report via IG.
Does this calm any concerns you had about KD? pic.twitter.com/rcqRyl1EK5
— PHNX Suns (@PHNX_Suns) December 27, 2023
Based on his response, Durant appears to be taking just as much issue with the response to Wojnarowski’s report as he is the report itself. And while he’s right that comments from his teammates and coaches shouldn’t be ignored, the reality is that such reporting via press conferences typically only tells you so much.
While Wojnarowski’s reporting has certainly received criticism in the past, it’s tough to tell what about this report Durant specifically has a problem with. It remains to be seen whether he’ll address the issue publicly or limit his response to temporary social media posts.
