Kevin Durant a 'problem' for Phoenix Suns, break up 'Big 3,' ESPN's Stephen A. Smith says
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said Kevin Durant is “a problem” when it comes to the Phoenix Suns in addressing the team's situation since the hiring of new head coach Mike Budenholzer last week.
“Kevin Durant in Phoenix is a problem,” Smith said on Monday’s First Take. “It is a problem. We don’t see it 'cause the stats are there. Him and (Devin) Booker average 27 points a game and what have you, but they say Kevin Durant is never happy. They say he went more than a month without even talking to the head coach (Frank Vogel). They say he doesn’t look happy there. All he wants to do is play when the game starts and tip-off time arrives, but when it comes to ingratiating yourself with your teammates and getting along with everybody and stuff like that, he just lives in his own world.”
Smith believes the Suns need to dismantle Phoenix’s Big 3 of Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Durant, as those three are due to make a combined $150 million in the 2023-24 season. The Suns went 26-15 in the 41 games they played in the regular season with Booker, Durant and Beal in the lineup.
“They’re not a Big 3,” Smith said. “They’re a Big 3 in money. They’re a Big 3 in name, but they’re not a Big 3 in level of production. They were the worst fourth-quarter team in the NBA.”
The Suns announced Thursday the firing of Frank Vogel after just one season as head coach. They were in the final stages of securing Budenholzer, who agreed to a five-year deal for $50-plus million.
The Suns finished 49-33 to land the sixth seed in the West but were swept in the first round by Minnesota, becoming the first team eliminated from the playoffs.
Phoenix officially named Budenholzer the franchise's 22nd head coach on Saturday morning. Like Vogel, Budenholzer won an NBA championship. He coached the Bucks to the 2020-21 title as they beat the Suns in the finals in six games.
Smith said the Budenholzer hire “moves the needle” for Phoenix, but he isn’t sure the veteran head coach can handle Durant.
“I have all the faith in the world in Budenholzer as a coach in terms of Xs and Os and knowing and dissecting who should be responsible, allocating responsibility to this person or that person,” Smith said. “I have all the faith in the world of him, but if you have somebody that distances himself from everybody around him, and basically isolates himself, that’s hard to overcome.”
Smith earlier said Durant isn’t “hated” or “despised” or “two-faced” or “doing anything negative,” but keeps to himself.
“Why does that matter?” Smith continued. “It’s similar to what he was doing in Golden State before he ultimately departed, which is what was driving Draymond Green crazy, which is why he ultimately got into it on the court in that Clippers game. You hear stuff, you hear stuff, you hear about the level of unhappiness and you get tired of it and you don’t want to talk and you don’t want to answer questions, you don’t want to lead in a very visible way, that forces other people to have to step up and take on a level of culpability that they don’t want to stomach.”
The Suns acquired Durant in a blockbuster deal right before the trade deadline during the 2022-23 season as they moved Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and multiple first-round draft picks to Brooklyn. This past 2023-24 season was Durant's first full one in Phoenix as he played 75 games, the most in a regular season for him since before he suffered an Achilles injury during the 2019 finals with Golden State. Durant didn't play the entire 2019-20 season with the Nets.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ESPN's Stephen A. Smith: Kevin Durant a 'problem' for Phoenix Suns
