On Wednesday night, Kevin Durant was a little more silent than usual, and the media hated it. After dropping the hammer on the San Antonio Spurs and picking up a commanding victory of 141 to 102, Durant met with reporters at the post game interview. When pressed about why he wasn’t talking as much, Durant went on a tirade about how he doesn’t trust the media and how his words are often twisted. Before leaving the interview in a heat of frustration, Durant urged the media to grow up. While fans may be quick to call him dramatic, Durant may have a point.
Not so fast, KD.
Now, Kevin Durant has a lot to be on the hook for. As many strongly hold on to, Kevin Durant ruined the NBA. By joining a team that won 73 games without him, Durant created a power shift that has allowed the Golden State Warriors to monopolize winning in ways previously unseen. Moreover, the rich simply kept getting richer, as the Warriors added Demarcus Cousins this season to make a real-life version of the MonStars from Space Jam. Of course, Durant is allowed to make his own decisions. The fans perception of those decisions is another thing entirely. However, Durant may have a point about the media’s role in all this.
“Don’t Ask me that Again.”
When it comes to things like free agency and trade discussions, its easy for us who aren’t going through it to constantly make it a conversation point. However, for the players, it’s understandable that they don’t want to constantly be bombarded with inquiries about their next destination. A lot of players, particularly Kevin Durant, are focused on the here and now, with a special emphasis on winning. He has made it abundantly clear that his free agency decision is off limits for now, a sentiment shared with his fellow player and friend, Kyrie Irving. Perhaps Durant said it best, these guys just want to play ball.
There is another side to this argument that player’s like Durant invite these inquiries. Durant is no stranger to cryptic tweets and in person subs. He has made more than one controversial statement over the years. In fact, he has been viewed as a figure who might actually like being at the center of these kind of discussions.
We all have a job to do.
The reality may be that players want to control their own narrative. It makes sense. Players like Durant, or Irving, or even LeBron have certainly reached a position where they want to tell their own story. They’re champions, players at the top of the game, and quite frankly, it is their lives. If Durant wants to call himself as the villain, then that’s what he is. If he doesn’t want to talk free agency than maybe that’s his right not to.
At no point is Durant under an obligation to answer questions that he doesn’t want to answer. So, if he makes it clear that he doesn’t want to talk about something, then perhaps reporters should leave the topic alone. Now, of course, we all have a job to do. That includes KD, and the reporters that interview him. However, Durant’s frustration is about the job itself, but about the way the job of these reporters is being done.
In Conclusion
Durant just wants to play basketball. Maybe its unrealistic for him to believe that in his role he’ll be able to do that without garnishing certain kind of questions. Fans may not be so inclined to believe the hype surrounding his drama. Fans may be even slower to show sympathy to a man that fans liken to a snake. Whether Durant has a point or not is purely up to us. Until Durant ultimately makes a decision or decides to talk about it himself, reporters and fans should prepare for more of these kind of reactions by Durant.
The Soapbox 