Kevin Durant hasn’t even played a full season yet with the Phoenix Suns and he is reportedly already getting frustrated with the team he forced a trade to in the spring.
When future Hall-of-Famer Kevin Durant was able to find an exit from Brooklyn earlier this year, the assumption around the league was that the Phoenix Suns were now a serious threat to get their first NBA title very soon.
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At points last season, the combo of Durant and incumbent superstar Devin Booker seemed like a dynamic duo with serious potential. Even when they were eliminated in the Western Conference by the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets, the setback was written off as merely a lack of chemistry after limited time playing together.
- Kevin Durant stats (2023-24): 30.3 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 5.5 APG, 0.8 SPG, 47% 3PT
When they surprisingly traded for Wizards great Bradley Beal this summer, it seemed like they had a three-headed monster that would strike terror in opponents this season. However, things have not worked out that way in 2023.
Beal has played in only six games and Booker also dealt with injuries early in the season. Yet, even when Durant and Booker have been on the floor together, they are not as dominant as they were last year.
Phoenix Suns record (2023-24): 14-15
Heading into the week, the Suns are surprisingly a game under .500 and currently outside the playoff picture. Their disappointing start to the season is apparently getting to the 13-time All-Star and he is already unhappy less than a year into his Phoenix Suns tenure.
“You talk to people in Phoenix and around that organization, they can feel the frustration [from] Durant,” ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski said Monday on NBA Countdown. “Part of that, certainly, is the missed games for Brad Beal. This team was built around those three stars. The underwhelming supporting cast that comes from those massive trades for Durant and Bradley Beal, that really gutted the organization.”
The Suns also added center Jusuf Nurkic when they traded Deandre Ayton and signed veteran six-man Eric Gordon. However, their lack of depth — an expected problem — has been the Achilles heel many assumed it would be this season.
