Kevin Durant Discusses ‘Heated Conversations’ with Devin Booker amid Suns’ Struggles

Kevin Durant acknowledged the Phoenix Suns have held some “heated conversations” internally amid a 15-15 start to the 2023-24 NBA season.

Devin Booker, Kevin Durant combine for 86 points, keep Suns afloat - ESPN

One such moment arose in Wednesday’s 129-113 victory over the Houston Rockets, with Durant, Devin Booker and others having what The Athletic’s Kelly Iko described as “an emotionally charged conversation between like-minded individuals.”

Durant thought it was merely part of a process.

“So, tonight, it was good for us to go through some stuff early in the game to have those heated conversations where we can be like ‘All right, this is what we’re both supposed to do,’ and come back into the locker room and talk it over again,” he said, per Iko.

“Sometimes, heated conversations are good for teams because you can be honest and real with one another, and then, you talk it over and move on. We’re all figuring it out. It’s hard with a new team, new group of guys, guys in and out of the lineup. You want to get comfortable with those conversations, and I think we’re on our way there.”

Of course, it’s impossible to separate those comments from both Phoenix’s record and a recent report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Wojnarowski said on NBA Countdown the Suns as an organization “can feel the frustration [from] Durant,” which stems partially from “the missed games for Brad Beal” and “the underwhelming supporting cast.”

Durant pushed back on the report in a since-deleted Instagram post (warning: image contains profanity):

Every single championship winner experiences adversity in some form, and impassioned dialogue can undoubtedly be beneficial toward resolving any issues on the court or inside the locker room.

But frank conversations don’t always do the job; otherwise, players-only meetings would be considered a much more productive exercise than a sign of impending doom.

Public clashes between teammates can also point toward what are larger schisms behind the scenes, with Durant’s 2018 argument on the bench with then-Golden State Warriors teammate Draymond Green one example.

The rest of the season will largely determine how the discussions referenced by Durant are framed.

Should the Suns right the ship and make a deep run in the playoffs, this part of the year will likely be cited as a time when they hit rock bottom and came out on the other side. If the struggles continue and Phoenix falls well short of its goal, then the team’s critics will say the warning signs were there all along.

Related Posts

Funny fashion fails that prove the Royals are just like us as Queen Camilla wears mismatched earrings

THE Queen Consort is famed for her more conservative dress sense so she raised a few eyebrows this week with a quirkier fashion choice. 9Queen Camilla made…

‘Princess Diana would NOT have liked Meghan Markle. It would be difficult for any mother-in-law to’, claims royal author

Prince William is said to have also branded Meghan ‘difficult’ A ROYAL author has claimed that Princess Diana would not have liked Meghan Markle as the duchess…

Queen told me the secrets of her speech after Diana died – critics were so wrong about it

Watch our video above to see Arthur Edwards revealing what the Queen said to him about the famous speech… MILLIONS watched around the world as the Queen…

William and Harry were ‘nervous’ and ‘going through the motions’ at Charles and Camilla’s wedding, body lang expert says

Body language expert Judi James analysed three pictures from Charles and Camilla’s 2005 wedding WILLIAM and Harry were “nervous” and “going through the motions” as they watched…

REWIND: Astonishing moment Princess Diana threw royal protocol aside to compete in the mums’ race at Prince Harry’s sports day

The fascinating footage captures the much loved royal going full throttle towards the finish line in front of stunned spectators PRINCESS Diana once shocked parents at Prince…

Diana used Harry & William as a PR tool to hurt Charles – I saw it first hand, says royal photographer

Watch The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show above PRINCESS Diana used Harry and William as a PR tool to hurt the then-Prince Charles, claims a royal photographer.Speaking on…