Mat Ishbia, the owner of the Phoenix Suns, sent a strong message to Kevin Durant during his team’s Media Day, making it clear that the marriage between his franchise and the sharpshooting forward was destined to fail.
“Kevin Durant’s a great player, there’s no one that can ever question that,” he told ESPN’s “NBA Today” on Sept. 24. “[But he] just wasn’t a fit for what we’re doing going forward.
“Obviously, he’s had an amazing career, but he’s not a fit for what we’re gonna do going forward,” added the Suns owner.
As part of a multi-team trade also involving the Houston Rockets and Brooklyn Nets, the Suns received Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Khaman Maluach (No. 10 pick in 2025 NBA Draft), Rasheer Fleming (No. 31 pick in 2025 NBA Draft), Koby Brea (No. 41 pick in 2025 NBA Draft), Daeqwon Plowden and two future second-round picks.
Ishbia expressed excitement about the haul his team landed.
Was Ishbia Out of Line?
“We got great players back,” Ishbia stressed.
“Dillon Brooks is a tough-minded, winning type of guy. We love that, that’s what we have to build out here. Jalen Green, a 23-year-old with upside. Then we got the 10th pick, Khaman Maluach. It takes time, it’s not gonna happen overnight, but we feel great about what we got here in Phoenix going forward.”
Ishbia’s comments were seen as a veiled shot at Durant, given that the 2014 NBA MVP has always been viewed as a plug-and-play piece by scouts, coaches and players. Unlike many superstar players, Durant isn’t known to monopolize the basketball court and can thrive within any system, playing with other stars, as he demonstrated with the Golden State Warriors alongside Stephen Curry and the Brooklyn Nets alongside Kyrie Irving.
Durant Was Unhappy With Suns
Shortly after his trade to the Rockets, Durant didn’t hold back on his true feelings about his time in Phoenix, confirming reports that he did not see eye-to-eye with several coaches and players, including former head coach Frank Vogel.
Furthermore, Durant noted that the Suns made a concerted effort to trade him during the February 2025 trade deadline, which created a distraction in the locker room and negatively impacted their on-court performance. The Suns would ultimately fail to make the playoffs.
“I would say around February, the Suns had pretty much let the league know that I was on the market,” Durant said, via ClutchPoints. “Initially, I was a little upset because I felt like we built a solid relationship, me and the Phoenix Suns. And to hear that from a different party was kind of upsetting. But that’s just the name of the game. So, I got over that quickly and was trying to figure out what the next steps were.”
Durant added that he knew the Suns would revisit trade talks in the summer, hinting that even he was excited to find a new home after his disastrous stint in Phoenix.
“We knew we would revisit that right around the summertime, and Houston kind of jumped on it. And it happened pretty fast from there,” he concluded.
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