Kevin Durant Defends Rockets Teammate, Discredits ESPN's Top 100 List

When the Houston Rockets held Media Day on Monday, Rockets fourth-year forward Tari Eason seemed to be bothered by something. Eason has had a very clear and understandable reason to be disgruntled, as his contract situation hasn't quite gotten ironed out, making it all the more likely that he'll have to play out the final year of his deal.

The Rockets haven't typically operated that way with their young prospects, dating back to the rebuild.

But he didn't offer much to say when asked about the contract negotiations. In fact, he didn't say anything about it, other than that he won't be commenting on the situation. 

He did, however, elaborate on feeling snubbed by ESPN's panel of basketball experts, who left him off their top 100 list. Eason added that his numbers in the minutes that he's received should pencil him in as an automatic top 100 player in the league. 

His teammate, Alperen Sengun, who did crack the list, downplayed player rankings altogether.

Another one of his teammates, Kevin Durant, who ranked ninth also dismissed the list. Durant was speaking to the media in a post-practice media availability and defended Eason.

"A lot of people don’t watch basketball that in-depth. And Tari is one of those players who you have to sit and watch to truly understand what he brings to the table. But I think people in real basketball circles, who value the game and understand the game, they know what he brings to the table.”

Durant continued, adding that Eason will likely use the omission as motivation.

“I think he’s going to have a great year. Somebody who’s excited to come out here and showcase what he can do. A chip on your shoulder is not necessarily a bad thing, especially at this age. He wants to prove that he’s an established player in this league, and that’s always good."

Eason is one of the league's better two-way players. There's not really a debate there.

The knock on him is the amount of missed time in his short NBA career thus far. He's missed 85 games in three seasons, due to injury. 

That's an entire NBA season.

Players can't be blamed for injuries, but they do factor into player rankings and lists. 

Usually. 

Eason will have ample opportunity to prove his value and worth this season, especially with Dorian Finney-Smith's injury that's likely to cause him to miss time. Durant should also be expected to miss a chunk of games, based on his recent history.