The Suns’ season was summed up by a 116-98 home loss to the Timberwolves and an assessment of the game by Kevin Durant.
“We didn’t play up to our standards at all,” Durant said. “We embarrassed the fans and we embarrassed ourselves the way we played. I want us to be better.”
He later added, “When adversity hits, we start floating a little as a team,” Durant said. “That’s tough to deal with it.”
Phoenix tied a season high 22 turnovers and gave up a season-high 40 points from those turnovers.
Phoenix’s ‘Big Three’ Durant, Booker and Beal combined for 14 of those and KD wasn’t happy about it.
“That’s why we lost,” Durant said. “Forty points off turnovers, tough to overcome that. They didn’t overpower us on the glass, we just gave them the ball.”
Defense didn’t help the Suns either. The franchise has had the worst defense in the league over the last 14 games and a -7.8 net rating in that time – the third worst rating in the entire NBA.
As the Suns season continues to fail, the trade rumors about KD grow stronger by the day.
On Sunday, Shams Charania reported that KD and Phoenix “would work together on any potential trade to a contender in a trade scenario” and 4-6 contending teams are expected to become seriously involved.
Meanwhile, Stephen A. Smith thinks OKC should explore bringing Durant back to the franchise where he spent the first nine years of his career.
“The Oklahoma City Thunder should go and get Kevin Durant back,” Smith said. “If you lose this year, if you don’t get it done this year, they should go back and get Kevin Durant. They’ve got so many assets, they have stuff to give away. They can’t possibly use all of them. Phoenix is in desperate need of assets now, obviously that’s something that could potentially alienate Devin Booker, because he’s not trying to be a part of a rebuilding or reclamation project. But if you are the Phoenix Suns and you’re trying to get what you can for an aging Kevin Durant, albeit a superstar, who is aging, then you call the Oklahoma City Thunder.”
READ MORE: Devin Booker Addresses Report About Relationship With Mike Budenholzer
