"These soft cupcake players" - Kendrick Perkins blames Kevin Durant for Frank Vogel firing with bold claims
Kendrick Perkins made bold claims about Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns after head coach Frank Vogel's firing. The Suns parted ways with the 2020 championship-winning HC after just one season at the helm following their first-round exit in the playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves with a series sweep loss.
Perkins ranted about players who haven't shown enough accountability amid the firing spree for head coaches over the past season. That included Adrian Griffin, Darvin Ham and most recently, Vogel. While discussing Vogel's departure on Sports Center, the former player-turned-ESPN analyst claimed Durant hadn't spoken to Vogel for the past three months.
"I'm exhausted dealing with a lot of these soft cupcake players that lack accountability. Over this past season, we've witnessed Adrian Griffin get fired ... Darvin Ham got fired ... And now Frank Vogel gets fired after his first season.
"All because a two-time NBA champion, two-time finals MVP in Kevin Durant wasn't speaking to the man and listening to Frank Vogel for the last three months."
Kendrick Perkins said Frank Vogel didn't deserve to be fired in this situation since the Suns were not built the right way. He pointed out that the Suns had to choose between Vogel and Kevin Durant, and they weren't letting go of the latter amid the power struggle.
Perkins also blamed the team's top-heavy roster construction as the bane of all problems that will persist for the Suns with their next coach.
Kevin Durant's post-Warriors tenure has seen four coaches get fired
Kevin Durant's best days may be past him. Since the two-time NBA Finals MVP left the Golden State Warriors, he hasn't found success at the top level. Durant and his teams' struggles have now seen three coaches get fired. Kenny Atkinson also got fired while coaching a Durant team, but the latter wasn't active then.
However, Steve Nash with the Nets in 2022, Monty Williams in 2023 and Frank Vogel in 2024 got to coach Durant for a significant stretch, including the playoffs. Nash's tenure ended after Durant's reported dissatisfaction with him.
Durant and the Nets won a playoff series under the former NBA MVP in 2021. They lost in seven games in the conference semis against the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks that year.
Durant was then coached by Jaque Vaughn, who found tremendous success in the regular season with him. However, Kyrie Irving's move to the Dallas Mavericks prompted Durant to leave Brooklyn and join Phoenix at the 2023 trade deadline.
Durant was coached by Monty Williams for eight regular season games and 11 postseason games. After the Suns' second-round exit, Williams was fired.
Kevin Durant's next coach in Phoenix would be his sixth officially and fourth under whom he's actively played. Former Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer is reportedly in the running to secure the job.