Justin Terranova of the Post chronicles Kevin Durant’s battles across social media with trolls, haters and hot takers and asks whether with presumably a lot more time he’ll become even more active than he famously has been.
Terranova says that while we’ve seen some high profile feuds —with Daymond Green and Magic Johnson— it’s “actually pretty quiet” by Durant standards. (Remember the burner account controversy back in March?)
But he sums up the big feuds that have flowed out of his Wall Street Journal interview last week.
First the Warriors offers...
Durant said he never felt like he was treated the same as the players — Draymond Green, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson — who were drafted by Golden State. He also took a shot at Steve Kerr’s motion offense, suggesting you needed to rely more on iso ball as the postseason went on. That is coincidentally the type of offense in which Durant thrives and stands out in.
Curry mostly took the high road when recently asked about it last week with Thompson and Kerr following suit.
“I wasn’t at all offended what Kevin said because it’s basically the truth,” Kerr told The Athletic. “You look at any system, I mean, I played the triangle with Michael Jordan. The offense ran a lot smoother all regular season and the first couple rounds of the playoffs than it did in the conference finals and Finals. It just did.
“That’s why guys like Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant are who they are ...”
And then, there’s Green’s response to the article that suggested that Green was a bit of an irritant...
While not commenting on the WSJ interview, Green did pop up in Durant’s brother’s Instagram comments. Tony Durant posted a photo of him, a woman and Kevin holding a newborn child with “the American Dream” as the caption. Green, who had an on-court feud with Durant that has long been squashed, chimed in as only he can.
“You talked a lot of bulls–t about me…. all good doe… This pic brings me great JOY…. however this is not the American dream… it’s OUR dream,” Green wrote.
Then there’s Magic Johnson. The two had a short tit-for-tat last week over the nature of happiness.
The Lakers legend discussed recently why Durant left the Warriors for the Nets on ESPN’s “First Take” and Durant’s feeling as the odd man out in Oakland.
“KD, I hope that he finds happiness, if you can’t find happiness at Golden State, where are you going to find it at?” he said.
Nope, nope, nope.
“Horrible take. Just regurgitated bulls–t,” Durant wrote in a since-deleted tweet.
But Terranova wrote that the high-profile battles can be less problematic than sniping with lesser lights.
Durant’s biggest issues have seemingly always been with the critics off the court. Feuds he has embraced head on or through Instagram burner accounts. Durant, again to WSJ, said that he had felt a “toxic” atmosphere from Thunder fans after he left Oklahoma City for the Warriors in free agency in 2016. That led to an online spat with a fan.
Meanwhile, KD engaged with fans Thursday on the role of analytics and where it’s best used...
Nah I agree with that 1000% but I’m talking about using the eye test when you’re evaluating players. Analytics definitely helps with a game plan and scouting and also evaluating the direction the team is going. I get that
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) September 26, 2019
Another thing that’s different. Enjoy!
- Differing levels of Kevin Durant’s many feuds: Trolls, legends and ‘bulls–t’ - Justin Terranova - New York Post