Rockets star Kevin Durant took issue with Suns owner Mat Ishbia’s framing of the forward’s short tenure in Phoenix, which produced only one playoff series victory in 2½ seasons.
“#blameKD even though KD stayed on top of his game at 36 and got you back this ‘culture’ you love so much,” Durant posted on X on Saturday. “Aye, Matthew acts like I got arrested for a DUI or sumn.”
In a response to the post, Ishbia said he didn’t blame Durant for the Suns failing to meet expectations but that he is “happy with the culture we are building here in Phoenix. We got the right guys and right focus now and are excited for this season. Good luck this season in Houston.”
On the day Ishbia purchased the team for a valuation of $4 billion in February 2023, the new owner completed a blockbuster trade for Durant that included sending forwards Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson to Brooklyn, along with four unprotected first-round picks and a first-round pick swap.
In a recent appearance on CNBC Sport, Ishbia described the acquisition of Durant as a lesson learned early in his tenure as an NBA owner.
“When I bought the team, the team was I think the eighth or ninth seed,” Ishbia said. “We had some good young players [and I was] like, ‘Can we get over the top?’ I was basically told like, ‘Hey, as an owner, stay out of it.’ And so, I said, ‘Listen, we’ll go into the luxury tax. Go do whatever it takes to try to win a championship.’ We did that.
“What I’ve learned, my biggest lesson is it’s not positive or negative on Kevin Durant,” Ishbia added. “We have to define what we’re about in Phoenix, stick with it and believe in our vision and our path. I didn’t do that at the beginning. I kind of just threw money at the problem.”
Durant averaged 26.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists over 62 games during his final season in Phoenix, before the Suns traded him to Houston in the 2025 offseason as part of the first seven-team trade in NBA history. The future Hall of Famer has averaged at least 25 points, 50% field goal shooting and 40% on 3-pointers in four straight seasons, the longest streak ever in the NBA, according to ESPN Research.
Ishbia said that ultimately, the acquisition of Durant “was not aligned with my vision.”
“We had a couple years, and it did not succeed as we’re well aware at this point,” Ishbia said. “After that year, I decided to trade Kevin Durant, bring in my GM [Brian Gregory], bring in a coach [Jordan Ott] and get extremely involved personally with the type of guy and type of person we want in our organization, not just on the court, but off the court.
“There was not a defined culture and North Star where we were going. Therefore, bringing in super-talented players like Kevin Durant doesn’t necessarily lead to championships.”
Culled from ESPN
