Devin Booker applauds Ishbia’s support of Kevin Durant amid trade rumors
Jul 7, 2024, 8:49 PM | Updated: Jul 8, 2024, 10:11 am
LAS VEGAS — Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker while at Team USA minicamp for the 2024 Paris Olympics on Sunday applauded owner Mat Ishbia’s post on social media before the 2024 NBA Draft that shut down trade rumors regarding Kevin Durant.
“Never seen an owner do something like that before,” Booker said. “It just shows you what type of guy Mat is. He’s all in to the group that we have. We believe in the group that we have and the talent that we have.”
Durant’s name circulated following the Houston Rockets making a trade with the Brooklyn Nets that involved Houston acquiring some of the Suns’ future draft capital that Phoenix sent to Brooklyn as a part of the original deal for Durant.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported part of the reasoning behind the move was because the Rockets wanted to trade for Durant. The reporting included Phoenix’s intention to run it back, which had already been publicly stated by general manager James Jones. Regardless, the toothpaste was now out of the tube.
The following day, on the morning of the draft and after ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith reported that the Suns “want out of Kevin Durant right now,” Ishbia shared his support to shut it down: “Phoenix loves Kevin Durant and Kevin Durant loves Phoenix, and we are competing for a championship this year because we have the team to do it.”
Durant shared his understandable frustration with Yahoo! Sports’ Vincent Goodwill, as this was the latest of several news cycles over Durant’s career that create wonder around his future based off reporting not from his side of the situation.
“Especially when you can just make up lies and everybody gonna believe you,” Durant said. “You can just press the ‘KD wanna leave’ button anytime you want some attention.”
Durant went on to share he is in daily contact with Phoenix about what is next.
What this offseason has been for the Suns is keeping their core players together and hoping for more success in Year 2 of this group, an initial struggle the league’s history suggests is necessary for most teams before becoming great.
“Yeah, you gotta do it,” Booker said of that notion. “Boston went through it. Obviously the addition of Jrue (Holiday) helps out a lot. Moving forward, you live and you learn. I think experience is the best teacher.”