Kevin Durant lends Damian Lillard his support amidst Miami Heat trade saga: 'Bad practice? Cut it out!'
Kevin Durant has been in blockbuster trades for the past years and he just blasted a sports journalist for calling Damian Lillard's trade request to the Miami Heat as "Bad Practice" by NBA players.
Josh Eberley, a Canadian sportswriter, voiced his opinion on the most recent trade request of Damian Lillard. According to him, when stars request for a trade, teams on the bad end of the stick are left dry.
@JoshEberley Bad practice…😂😂😂😂 cut it out
In an era, where player empowerment has been heavily practiced, Kevin Durant lashed out at Eberly on his opinion about trade requests.
"Fans love the game of basketball, they will move on just like they do when the organization trades a fan favorite. In this case, Portland fans can't wait to watch Scoot's career. I don't see what the big deal is," replied the 13-time NBA All-Star.
@JoshEberley Fans love the game of basketball, they will move on just like they do when the organization trades a fan favorite. In this case, portland fans can’t wait to watch scoots career. I don’t see what the big deal is
"I don't think anybody involved is thinking about the fans when making these decisions. Fans will just deal with it and be happy as usual," Durant adds.
@JoshEberley Fans love the game of basketball, they will move on just like they do when the organization trades a fan favorite. In this case, portland fans can’t wait to watch scoots career. I don’t see what the big deal is
Currently, the Portland Trail Blazers are still looking for the perfect trade to send Damian Lillard to the Miami Heat. A third or fourth team may be in the mix to make the trade happen.
Kevin Durant and his history in blockbuster trades
Kevin Durant was once loved by fans for creating a winning culture in a small market team like the Oklahoma City Thunder. In his nine years with Thunder, he had a trip to the NBA Finals once only to fall to the Miami Heat's big three back in 2012.
Still failing to give a championship to Oklahoma, Kevin Durant looked elsewhere for the opportunity to win a championship, that is when he signed with the Golden State Warriors during the 2016 off-season.
His move was very polarizing after joining a Warriors' team that had just made the NBA Finals and won a record-breaking 73 games during the season. Durant grew a thick skin ignoring the hate he is getting, as the Warriors won two out of three NBA Finals in his short stay.
Moving forward in his career, Kevin Durant felt the need to win a championship without Steph Curry's Warriors in order to erase all doubts. KD signed with the Brooklyn Nets together with DeAndre Jordan and Kyrie Irving in 2020.
In the three years Durant spent in Brooklyn, the team underachieved even when they acquired former MVP James Harden. The two-time NBA champion first asked for a trade in 2022, but there was no success in finding the perfect deal.
Wednesday, 11 AM: Mat Ishbia starts his first day on the job as the new owner of the Phoenix Suns.
Wednesday, 11 PM: Mat Ishbia finalizes a trade for Kevin Durant. https://t.co/8XmzpHiulT
A year after, Durant finally moved his way out of Brooklyn to join Chris Paul and Devin Booker in the Phoenix Suns. Brooklyn got Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round picks for Durant and TJ Warren in February 9, 2023.