Suns’ Kevin Durant Makes It Clear He’s Keeping The Faith

January 11, 2025

On Friday, Kevin Durant spoke candidly about the Phoenix Suns’ roster-building strategy under the leadership of new owner Mat Ishbia, who has made a series of bold moves since taking over, including the trade for Durant himself in 2023.

The result? The Suns are now operating with a slimmer pool of draft assets, making further upgrades more challenging.

However, Durant expressed deep appreciation for Ishbia’s willingness to spend big and take risks in the pursuit of a championship.

“I appreciate people that want to put in the work to try to get on that road to a championship level,” Durant said during his media availability with reporters, including Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “It’s hard. As we’ve seen, it’s tough, but just putting yourself in a position to try to do something.

“A lot of people don’t even try to do stuff out here to be great. So I can appreciate somebody like Mat and the rest of the staff and the whole organization trying to put the players in successful positions to see what it’s like to go on the road to win a championship. Not a lot of franchises do that for their players.”

Durant’s comments come as the Suns have aggressively pursued roster upgrades — from trading for him to adding star power like Bradley Beal — but those moves have left them with fewer options in terms of future draft picks and limited flexibility for midseason trades.

Nonetheless, Durant’s mindset is one of appreciation for the direction Ishbia is taking, especially when it comes to putting the team in a position to contend at the highest level.

In addition to discussing the team’s broader roster strategy, Durant also addressed the shifting role of his teammate, Beal, who has recently moved to the bench.

Beal’s transition to a sixth-man role has raised some eyebrows, but Durant is not concerned, noting that Beal’s minutes (31.3 MPG off the bench) are comparable to what he was logging as a starter (33.4 MPG).

According to Durant, the change could actually benefit Beal by giving him more opportunities to score.

“I feel like he’s just comfortable and understanding where his shot’s gonna come from,” Durant explained of Beal’s new role.

Beal, who has posted two 25-point outings in his first three games off the bench, seems to be adjusting well to the change in role, and Durant’s belief is that the adjustment will allow Beal to thrive in a more defined scoring role, contributing in a way that could be crucial for the Suns as they look to make a championship run.