After opting to sign with the Golden State Warriors in an earth-shattering decision last offseason, Kevin Durant has been no stranger to adversity in the NBA. Though Durant had the freedom to make his decision as a free agent, one of the marquee players on the move this summer in Kyrie Irving didn’t have that same privilege.
Irving requested a trade out of Cleveland midway through this offseason and has since seen his fair share of backlash, but also supporters. Durant should fully be considered the latter as the Warriors star voiced his thoughts on the Irving situation during his recent appearance on the Bill Simmons podcast. Durant talked about the lack of loyalty in the NBA and how players are often blindsided by the life-changing move that is an NBA trade:
It’s been happening for years. Guys have been getting traded in their sleep for years. Guys have been getting the s****y end of the stick for years. I mean, some guys have been f*****g over organizations too. It’s no loyalty. It’s business. There’s money involved.
Those relationships that you have with trainers and teammates and anybody in the organization, that’s loyalty. That’s friendship. That’s relationship. That’s something that’s gonna last forever. But when it comes to numbers on a paper, at the end of the day, that trumps everything.
Along with touching on the sparse loyalty in today’s NBA, Durant spoke on the Irving trade specifically, saying the explosive guard showed ‘courage’ when he made his trade request:
He did what he was supposed to do in Cleveland. It’s on to the next chapter. I can really appreciate what he did. He stood up for himself, he showed a lot of courage, man, because it’s hard to take that type of criticism. When you just want to play ball. I feel him on that.
It’s clear Kevin Durant can relate to the criticism Irving has been getting recently not only from a specific fan base but from people all over the NBA world. Playing with the league’s best in LeBron James already has an immense amount of pressure attached to it so wanting out will result in that much more backfire.
While the Irving trade may have some current complications, we should still fully expect Kyrie to be in a new uniform for next season and making that happen for his future was a courageous move no matter how you slice it.
