On Tuesday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder will be visiting the Washington Wizards. A matchup between two great teams competing for dominance in their respective conferences.
But beyond it being a game between two great teams, there is one storyline dominating the contest. The “KD2DC” narrative will be front and center for everyone to see. It’s something that can not be forgotten about anymore, especially with Kevin Durant’s free agency looming this summer but it’s something that Durant doesn’t enjoy. And he doesn’t enjoy how the Wizards treated his trip home last season.
Following from USA Today’s Sam Amick.
“(The Jan. 22 visit last season) was kind of disrespectful, in my opinion, because you’ve got a great team there already that deserves your full 100% support,” said Durant, who – among many other things – was featured on the Wizards’ jumbotron wearing a ‘Washington’ jersey during the game. “I wouldn’t like that if I was on that team. I didn’t like that, but it comes with it nowadays.
“Free agency is like a season now, and it shouldn’t be that big. Me, I feel, is you should focus on who you have on your team. It’s easy to get your hopes up, and expect a guy to come to your team or whatever – and I’m not talking about myself, I’m just talking about free agency in the past years and in the future – you get your hopes up as a fan, and then they let you down and you end up not liking the player. There’s a little bit too much emphasis on that type of stuff, but it’s part of the game.”
Wizards guard Bradley Beal echoes Durant’s sentiments, courtesy of Anthony V Slater of the Oklahoman.
Bradley Beal on the response to KD in DC: "It is disrespectful. He plays for Oklahoma City, not Washington."
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) November 9, 2015
Durant and Beal are both right. While the different things that the Wizards and their players are doing to recruit Durant is fun, it’s not right. Let Durant live his life and not have to worry about that stuff everytime he goes somewhere to play a basketball game and help his team get wins.
On the flipside, all this talk, from the Wizards, from other teams, from Stephen A. Smith, could have all been over if Durant decided to sign an extension anytime over the last few years.
It’s the price you pay when you’re the top free agent in the NBA.
