Popular NBA icon Kevin Durant finally gave his explanation over why the recent Phoenix Suns super team experiment failed. Durant requested a trade at the end of the Brooklyn Nets tenure and named two teams as his preferred destinations. The Miami Heat were the other team named, but the Nets opted to trade Durant to the Suns. Hopes of title contention with Durant and Devin Booker never saw them getting out of the second round.
Durant shared the following explanation on Boardroom Talk about why they couldn’t win:
“I always had fun out there. I don’t want to undercut my time in Phoenix because I feel like we have some great moments on the court. But I feel as though we were an older group who kind of stuck in our ways as veterans, and veterans kind of like to do their own thing a lot. When you’re a younger group, it’s more of a tight-knit group. They’re all learning together, it’s kind of like a college feel, and I think that’s the difference.”
The strange logic sees Durant believing the team had too many veterans that didn’t want to adjust things when they struggled. Phoenix initially had Chris Paul as the starting point guard when Durant joined, but they eventually moved him for Bradley Beal. Nothing worked as the Suns only won one series before KD was traded yet again.
Why Phoenix Suns Were Viewed As Failures
The trio of Durant, Booker, and Beal made Phoenix one of the top betting favorites in the Western Conference. However, they underperformed each year to cause the failure. Durant’s first year was most promising when they had a competitive second round elimination against the eventual champion Denver Nuggets squad.
The second season was when things started to get ugly when Beal joined the roster and failed to fit in. A disappointing regular season saw the Suns finishing sixth in the West and getting destroyed in the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Things somehow got worse the following year as Phoenix failed to even make the play-in as the eleventh seed. Durant then got traded to the Houston Rockets to completely end the experiment after three failed seasons.
Does Kevin Durant Make A Fair Point?
It is hard to pinpoint what exactly caused the Suns to underperformer after fans and media viewed them as the next super team. Toughness was lacking and many believe that Dillon Brooks joining the roster this season improved that for better overall success.
Durant has failed to be a leader on the past few teams he’s played for to see his reputation taking a hit. Adding Beal from the Washington Wizards turned out to be the biggest mistake since his massive contract blocked them from making any other moves.
Phoenix decided to trade Durant to retool the roster and start a new timeline. Booker remains the face of the franchise, and the Suns are still rumored to want another star. However, the recent failure with KD could see them more selective about when and who they add to the roster.
Kevin Durant Shares Why Phoenix Suns Super Team Failed