The Warriors are buckling down in hopes of making a run at their fourth title in five years, yet for some reason, Kevin Durant is being asked questions about his future — specifically as it relates to teaming up with LeBron James.
Surprisingly, though, Durant had no problem sharing his thoughts on the environment on James’ teams, and he was pretty candid in doing so.
KD sat down with Bleacher Report’s Rich Bucher for an exclusive interview, and he had this to say about the topic:
“So much hype comes from being around LeBron from other people,” Durant said. “He has so many fanboys in the media. Even the beat writers just fawn over him. I’m like, we’re playing basketball here, and it’s not even about basketball at certain points.
“So I get why anyone wouldn’t want to be in that environment because it’s toxic. Especially when the attention is bull—t attention, fluff. It’s not LeBron’s fault at all; it’s just the fact you have so many groupies in the media that love to hang on every word. Just get out of the way and let us play basketball.”
“Toxic” is the key word there. It almost seems like KD is sending a message that he wouldn’t want to play with James, just to squash some of the free agency talk as it begins to heat up in 2019.
Durant’s not the only one who seems to feel this way, as Kawhi Leonard and Paul George both had or will have opportunities to play alongside James, yet each player seems to want to be elsewhere. Not only does James run the show on his teams, but he also creates a drama-filled environment, as he seems to feed off the attention. Durant is the type of player that can be sucked into negativity, bringing him down, and he may be aware of the fact that playing alongside James may not be good for his psyche.
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