Kevin Durant has often been the subject of trade rumors and has even been involved in some big ones. But in his case, it has never been on the scale of what happened this morning with Luka Doncic’s move to the Lakers. However, KD also led an operation that changed the landscape of the NBA, such as when he landed in San Francisco to win the ring with the Warriors.
In any case, ‘Durantula’ was one of the most surprised by the news. First, by how he found out about it and then in his reflections that should make more than one person think.
As can be seen in the video, Durant and Bradley Beal learn of Doncic’s trade to the Lakers on the bench, during the game that the Suns played in Portland and lost, 127-108. KD can be seen alongside Beal and several other teammates commenting on what they see on the mobile phone that they are given, at first incredulous, and then digesting the surprise, resigned.
At the end of the game, KD reflected on the trade and the path the NBA has taken over the years: “It’s crazy, crazy. I never would have thought Luka Doncic would be traded at this age, in the middle of the season. The NBA is a crazy place, because if they can trade him, anyone is at risk,” Durant told reporters in the Suns’ locker room. “Players are held to a different standard of loyalty and commitment to a program, but organizations are not held to that same standard from the outside.”
The Suns star then pondered whether other teams could follow Dallas’ example and make major trades before February 6: “Definitely. If you start seeing stuff like that, as an organization, you might have a little bit more courage to do some things. You see another team trade somebody like that. This has to be the biggest trade I’ve seen since I’ve been in the league or since I started watching this sport. This is crazy. So yeah, every other team could have confidence and say to hell with it, I’ll trade some of my best players if this doesn’t work.”