Kevin Durant Sets Record Straight on Mat Ishbia’s Reign After Sending Strong Message to Bradley Beal

Kevin Durant has been balling in the NBA for 18 years. In the last decade, he has played for four big teams, finally landing with the Phoenix Suns. Could this be his last stop? Maybe. But things in Phoenix are heating up. Has Bradley Beal’s benching reduced his time on the court? The rumor mill’s been buzzing. Media’s in overdrive. So, KD stepped in to clear the air—and he didn’t stop there. The 36-year-old also gave a big shoutout to his boss, Mat Ishbia.

As you know, HC Mike Budenholzer benched the 31-year-old shooting guard along with Jusuf Nurkić not too long ago. There had been speculations that the Phoenix Suns did this to force Beal to waive his no-trade clause and leave the team. But wait, these are just speculations, so need to worry about it (too much). However, the question is: Since Beal’s benching and his leading the second unit, what has changed?

Kevin Durant appeared before the media on Friday to talk about the matter. “To be honest, coming into the game now, I think we’re giving him more opportunities to have the ball in his hands. I think I don’t know if it’s minutes, I mean minutes, the difference between the minutes coming off the bench when we started, around the same,” KD remarked.

Well, Bradley Beal is playing his usual 30 minutes on the court and scoring with his usual aggression. Durant further added: “You’re still playing a lot of minutes. You’re still, you know, getting the shots up. So the last three games, I feel like it just comes with understanding where the shots are going to come from.” 

In the last three games, Kevin Durant’s $251 million teammate played for 30, 31, and 33 minutes respectively. He scored 25, 10, and 25 points respectively. So, nothing much has changed in Beal’s role in the team. In reality, he’s getting his minutes and scoring, the only difference is the rotation.

Therefore, as of now, neither is Bradley Beal leaving the Phoenix Suns, and the procedures to bring Jimmy Butler to the team have yet to begin (that is if he’s coming). Meanwhile, KD has some words of praise for majority owner Mat Ishbia.

Kevin Durant sends out a message for Mat Ishbia for his contribution to the Suns

Both KD and Ishbia joined the Suns franchise in 2023. Since then, a lot has changed. The team has become stronger- playoffs level, to be precise, and the growth is visible. Therefore, Kevin Durant, who never hides away from appreciating efforts, had to say a lot about Mat Ishbia’s role in the organization.

KD said: “I think the franchise has grown. I mean, the league has grown. The franchise has grown.
We have more fans watching us play. I mean, we didn’t win the championship. I know that’s where, you know, that’s the main goal, but…People in the building and people within the organization can kind of see those small wins that we’ve accomplished up until this time, trying to build our identity.” 

It’s all about the efforts and the Suns are putting in the right amount of effort to bring the changes. Kevin Durant believes that since Ishbia’s arrival, the team has been seeing the small wins and accomplishments as big steps toward building the identity. Durant added: “I can appreciate somebody like Mat and the rest of the staff and the whole organization trying to put the players in a successful position to see what it’s like to go on a road to win a championship. “

Amid the struggles to maintain consistency, Kevin Durant focuses on the positives. Standing 12th in the West isn’t ideal. But it’s all about experimenting with rotations. Giving the stars their minutes. Rebuilding. And the Phoenix Suns are doing exactly that.