Much has been said about the online back-and-forth between Phoenix Suns owner Matt Ishbia and former-Sun/current Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant.
It all started when Ishbia claimed that bringing star players, such as Durant, does not guarantee championships and referenced the owner’s infamous introduction into the NBA ownership world by swinging a massive trade to land Durant from the Brooklyn Nets.
“I kind of just threw money at the problem,” Ishbia said during an interview.
“There was not a defined culture and north star where we were going and therefore bringing in super talented players like Kevin Durant doesn’t necessarily lead to championships.”
“You gotta find guys and people that are aligned with the vision that we are going, the work ethic, the attitude, the care factor around winning, the grind every single day and that’s what we’re looking for in Phoenix. Whether it’s Kevin Durant or not, it doesn’t really matter, it’s all about the type of players that we have and now we’ve defined it and now we only get those type of players.”
The facts are that Durant didn’t equal success in Phoenix and considering what the Suns had to give up to bring in the likes of Durant, and Bradley Beal, it’s more than fair to consider those moves a complete failure.
But don’t let the truth get in the way of Durant’s online criticism of Ishbia’s comments.
Durant responded, even taking a shot at Suns forward Dillon Brooks who landed in Phoenix (along with Jalen Green) when the Suns pulled the plug on the Durant experiment and traded him to Houston.
“#blameKD even though KD stayed on top of his game at 36 and got u back this “culture” you love so much. Aye, Matthew acts as if I got arrested for a DUI or sumn. Back to threads,” Durant wrote on ‘X.’
‘Mathews acts like I got DUI or something,’ clearly referencing Brooks being hit with a DUI [driving under influence].
Durant, for whatever reason, firmly believes he was treated as a scapegoat in Phoenix, clearly dismissing the numbers that prove his addition wasn’t a success.
Brooks, who has been a revelation in Phoenix and a fan favorite, jumped right in with an epic clap back; “Thanks Mat for cleaning up that stench in the locker room before I came #culture.”
Maybe Durant can team up with some other Hall of Famers to get a dub over Brooks in this social media exchange.
Suns’ Dillon Brooks Claps Back at Kevin Durant