West Notes: Suns, Kevin Durant, Clippers, Woj, Shams, Nuggets

Suns

Star forward Kevin Durant shot down rumors that he’s grown frustrated with the Suns.

“I don’t want to get traded,” Durant said. “I’m not frustrated because (shooting guard Bradley Beal) was injured. I wasn’t frustrated because of the role players on the team. That s— really was ignorant to me, you know what I’m saying? It’s like, yeah, we lose a game – you think I’m supposed to be happy after we lose a game? You know what I’m saying? I’m not frustrated with the whole situation. I may be frustrated at the moment, at a bad play or a tough stretch. But nah, I enjoy the grind.”

• Nonetheless, it’s safe to say the Suns have been one of the league’s most disappointing teams. Despite the addition of Beal, they haven’t looked like a championship contender, as many expected. But yes, some of that may have to do with injuries. Maybe not, too, though.

Clippers

In a strange twist, news of Kawhi Leonard‘s contract extension with the Clippers was broken by … the Clippers. Shockingly, that means it wasn’t broken by heavy-hitting insiders Shams Charania of The Athletic or Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, as noted by Robby Kalland of Dime.

“It was an extremely rare major signing where the team got to break the news themselves, and none of the NBA’s big newsbreakers had a clue it was happening or what the details were. Adrian Wojnarowski, Marc Stein, Shams Charania, Chris Haynes, and everyone else who is plugged into every agency and front office in the league was left in the dark, only able to tweet some form of ‘Kawhi Leonard has signed an extension, the team says,’ without any details on length or how much money it was for,” Kalland wrote.

He added that in today’s “media climate” it’s almost unheard of for insiders not to be the first to report something. Translation: It may be time to put the Clippers on your X/Twitter alerts. Clearly, they’re good at this news-breaking stuff.

• Both Shams and Woj did report the details on Leonard’s contract extension, as we relayed here.
• Along with that, Wojnarowski reported that the Clippers are also working on an extension with fellow star forward Paul George. (Full post)

Nuggets

Forward Aaron Gordon indicated he’s a big fan of guard Jamal Murray, particularly Murray’s approach to the game.

“It’s the mentality. He really got a (Kobe Bryant) type of mentality. He is focused, disciplined. He only cares about hoops. He eats, breathes, sleeps all hoops,” Gordon said on the Knuckleheads Podcast. “The way he gets his buckets is nasty. He’s just a problem on the court just because he’s so locked in mentally. I think that’s what he doesn’t get credit for around the NBA.” 

• Added coach Michael Malone on Murray: “His energy and his will to win really is infectious. When he sees that ball go in, he’s really unguardable.”