Kevin Durant on the scrutiny that comes with trade talks
Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant talked about the pressure involved in trade talks back in February after the trade deadline.
Suns star Kevin Durant vehemently denied Cousins’ claims on social media.Sources close to the Suns organization largely dismissed Cousins’ allegations to The Arizona Republic.
Kevin Durant immediately responded to this one.
Former NBA player DeMarcus Cousins said on FanDuel’s Run It Back that there were “a couple of” fistfights in the Phoenix Suns locker room this season.
“I don’t want to be the guy to report it, but I definitely heard the negative things in the locker room, it was a couple of fist fights,” Cousins said in a tweet that was posted June 20. “It was a lot going on that obviously carries over to the court.”
Durant responded to Cousins’ comments on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“I have to contest this 94-footer,” Durant posted June 20. This some bull—- to throw on us. Yea yea yea we were trash this year ha ha ha but we NEVER got close to this. NEVER.”
The claim by Cousins and Durant’s response came as the Suns have been working to secure a trade involving the NBA superstar, who was acquired by Phoenix during the 2022-23 season.
Cousins’ comments were largely dismissed according to multiple people familiar with the situation when contacted by The Arizona Republic.
The Suns declined to comment through a team spokesperson when asked by The Republic for a response to what Cousins said.
Cousins was initially defending Durant, saying he shouldn’t be blamed for how the Suns performed while he’s been there. The Suns went 36-46 this past 2024-25 season, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2019-20, which was the last time they had a losing record.
“I hate that a great player has received the type of negativity around his name when it comes to this Phoenix situation,” said Cousins about Durant. “Like I said, it was never meant for success. Even through all the chaos that happened in Phoenix, and there was a lot of things that happened. It was a lot of things that haven’t been reported.”
Cousins continued with his comments about “a couple of fistfights.” He concluded by saying, “for him to be the ‘so-called blame’ of the negative seasons they’ve had, I think it’s completely unfair.”
In reaction, Run It Back host Michelle Beadle said, “are you saying there was fistfights in the Suns locker room among the Suns?”
Cousins’ response?
“Absolutely,” he said.
Former NBA player Lou Williams chimed in saying, “that’s normal,” but then Cousins questioned if that’s common in today’s game compared to when they played.
“I’m not going to go into the details of who was fighting,” Cousins said.
Former Suns center Jusuf Nurkic used the word “chaos” back in January when talking about coach Mike Budenholzer, when addressing their relationship.
“We don’t have a relationship,” Nurkic said. “So, it’s fine. For me, just be a pro and do the best I can. Work and stay ready for whatever might be, but there is no chaos or bringing that to this team. They already have plenty of it. Trying to be as professional as I can and work my ass off for something else.”
Budenholzer was fired after one season.
Cousins was recently involved in a wild exchange with a fan sitting courtside at a game in Puerto Rico. He confronted the fan, had to be removed from the scene and was ejected.
Then he reacted to fans throwing liquids on him as he was leaving the arena through the walkway off the court.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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