Kevin Durant is pushing back against fans celebrating a “new era” of the Phoenix Suns following his trade to the Houston Rockets and the buyout of Bradley Beal.
The back-and-forth started when Durant posted laughing emojis on Beal’s first Instagram post since agreeing to a buyout with the Suns and signing with the Los Angeles Clippers.
When an X user captioned a screenshot of Beal’s post and Durant’s comment with “Good riddance, clowns,” Durant responded with more laughing emojis:
Durant later responded to a post that said keeping him and Beal was “unsustainable for the culture” in Phoenix.
“Most of yall in Phx want me off the team cuz of the toxic experience it was online for you while u live tweeted games,” Durant wrote. “KD Stan’s got most of Phoenix pissed, it ain’t bout nothing but that lol.”
This isn’t the first time Durant has pushed back against public criticism of the culture surrounding the 2024-25 Suns roster. He previously contested a report from DeMarcus Cousins that multiple fights had taken place in the Phoenix locker room last season.
The Suns traded Durant to the Rockets in June in exchange for a package including Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and the 2025 NBA draft pick that turned into former Duke star Khaman Maluach.
The franchise later negotiated a buyout with Beal, which will leave the Suns paying out $19.4 million in dead money in each of the next five seasons but allow the franchise to avoid trade and free agency restrictions by dipping below the second luxury tax apron.
The Suns will now have more flexibility to build around Devin Booker, who was recently extended through the 2029-30 season.
Phoenix will hope moving on from Durant and Beal while re-committing to Booker will allow the franchise to start rebuilding from finishing last season with a 36-46 record behind the highest payroll in the NBA.
