Kevin Durant made his long-awaited Suns debut on Wednesday night, shooting 10-for-15 from the field and finishing with 23 points and six rebounds in an easy win over the Hornets.
Meanwhile, up the east coast, the Knicks were throttling the Nets, Durant’s former team, 142-118, as Brooklyn is still stuck on one win since Durant and Kyrie Irving were traded.
The Nets’ starting five included four players who weren’t even on the team when Durant was dealt, reinforcing his decision to put his trade request back on the table after Irving was shipped to Dallas following his own trade request.
“I looked up, like what am I gonna do? I don't know who's gonna be my teammates, so I was a little nervous with that happening,” Durant told Yahoo Sports about the end of his time in Brooklyn. “And we were able to work something out.
“I was thinking about who’s in the building, then when s--t started happening. We’re not playing well. Kai requested a trade. It felt like a lot of s--t wasn’t happening for us. But I was locked in. I felt like my play showed people that I was really committed to the organization.”
Durant had recommitted to the Nets after his initial trade request over the summer, but when Irving left, there was no clear path to contention anymore in Brooklyn. So Durant switched teams for the third time in his career, and criticisms from outside continued again, with many saying he couldn’t lead a team to a title on his own. But Durant could care less about those narratives.
“At this point, they’re saying, ‘Go play with Scoot Henderson and win a championship and then we’ll give you credit,’” Durant told Yahoo Sports. “I don’t need no credit from y’all, no credit from [Barkley], no credit from Shaq. Y’all don’t ever have to watch me play ever again, don’t talk about me if you don’t [rock] with me. I’m not gonna stop doing what I do. Everybody has their opinions, man. It’s not gonna stop me and how I approach the game.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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