Kevin Durant defends Damian Lillard’s decision to ask for trade

Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Durant defends Damian Lillard's decision to ask Blazers for trade

By Jeff Smith | Last updated 7/13/23

While the looming trade request handed down by Damian Lillard to the Portland Trail Blazers has brought a wide range of reactions, one player who stepped up to defend the star guard is a man who's dealt with his own fair share of scrutiny in Kevin Durant.

When the trade request officially came out, most didn't blame Lillard for trying to make the move to win a title while the Blazers were building a strong young core of players. But after Lillard's reported focus on only landing with the Miami Heat, it's led to some opting to feel a bit differently about the situation.

Following a comment from HOOP Mag's Josh Eberley calling it "bad practice" for the league and stating fans get "hosed" when stars cripple a team over the return package that comes via trade, Durant laughed it off and said to "cut it out."

Bad practice… cut it out
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) July 7, 2023

He then proceeded to respond to Eberley's comments on the topic by highlighting the excitement in Portland surrounding the potential upside of No. 3 overall pick Scoot Henderson. To wrap it up, Durant then got brutally honest in explaining that he doesn't think "anybody involved is thinking about the fans when making these decisions," in relation to potential trades of star players.

I don’t think anybody involved is thinking about the fans when making these decisions. Fans will just deal with it and be happy as usual
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) July 7, 2023

It's a fair take on the topic, even if it's not ideally what most fans think or want to believe in these situations. Both the player and team are going to try to do what's in their best interest more often than not, and you can't fault either side for approaching a trade that way.

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