Stephen A. Smith says that if he were a General Manager of an NBA team he’d sign an injured Kevin Durant to his ball club.
Appearing on Hot 97’s Ebro in the Morning with hosts Ebro Darden, Peter Rosenberg and Laura Stylez, Smith tells the hosts that KD is worth the money.
“And then you got KD who I just did the boardroom with,” he said.
“His show, The Boardroom on ESPN+, we taped it Friday, I don’t know when it’s coming out, it’s coming out soon; you don’t wanna miss that! It’s me and KD one on one so it was like with Jay Williams moderating, you know?! And so, you don’t wanna miss that. But KD, look this notion that he’s just going to miss the whole season next year, technology has advanced. KD ain’t gonna be 100% but he’s KD. Does he really need to be 100% to drop 25 a night? You know who this brotha is? This brotha is a career 27 points per game scorer.” Smith stated.
After pouring out praise for Durant as a player, Smith proceeded to state that even after the injury, he’d “give him the max” (contract). The NBA analyst specifically cites he’d do so as an executive with the New York Knicks, but also with any NBA team.
“If I were the executive of the New York Knicks; so any NBA team and KD had torn his Achilles, I’d still walk up to him and give him the max. There was no jeopardizing his money. This brotha is all-world. He’s a career 27 point per game scorer, 49% shooting from the field, 38% shooting from 3-point range, one of the most efficient offensive juggernauts the game of basketball has ever seen. And that’s what I think people are missing.”
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Cites LeBron James, Russell Westbrook in Kevin Durant Argument
Smith continued his analysis of the debate on Durant during the segment on Hot 97’s Ebro in the Morning. He goes on to detail why he’d offer the current Brooklyn Nets star a max deal, pointing to the impact a team losing LeBron James or Russell Westbrook would have in comparison.
“If LeBron were to go down, if Russell Westbrook were to go down, entirely different effect because their athleticism and their overall physicality contribute mightily to their greatness. Kevin Durant is 6’11 with a 7’6 wingspan who’s a sniper. So even if he’s not 100%, people don’t understand that what are you going to do when he’s pulling up from 3? You ain’t gonna block it! You ain’t gonna block it! To think that he has to be 100%…if KD can run up and down the floor and be 70%, KD can average 23 [points] a night. It’s that easy for him and that’s what people are missing.”
Kevin Durant joined the Brooklyn Nets after many thought him joining the New York Knicks was a done deal.
Kyrie Irving & Kevin Durant a Package Deal for Nets
He was surely the team’s primary target in free agency and it was believed that he and Kyrie Irving were a packaged deal.
Durant had many ties to the organization. His business partner, Rich Kleiman, the co-founder and partner in The Durant Company and Thirty Five Media, grew up a huge Knicks fan.
Durant also mentored Knicks forward Allonzo Trier, a Seattle, Washington native, when Trier was in high school. At that time, Durant was a member of the Seattle Sonics before they moved to Oklahoma and became the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Knicks assistant coach, Royal Ivey and Durant are best friends. A Harlem native, the two were Texas Longhorns teammates in college and played together on the Thunder for three years in the NBA.
KD is also the godfather of Ivey’s daughter, Lyric Ella.
The Nets begin training camp this month while the NBA’s regular season begins in October.
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Kevin Durant Contract: Analyst Sounds off on Deal With Nets