Kevin Durant Gets Heated with Reporters over Looming Free Agency

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Kevin Durant, one of the best basketball players in the world, will be a free agent at the end of the season and he’s pretty pissed that the media won’t stop asking him questions about it.

Following a 141-102 win over the San Antonio Spurs, in which Durant scored 23 points, he spoke to writers for the first time since the Knicks traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks. Which much fanfare regarding where the All-Star will land next he just wants to be left alone to play ball.

“I have nothing to do with the Knicks,” Durant said. “I don’t know who traded Porzingis. They got nothing to do with me. I’m trying to play basketball. Y’all come in here every day, ask me about free agency, ask my teammates, my coaches. You rile up the fans about it. Let us play basketball. That’s all I’m saying. And now when I don’t wanna talk to y’all, it’s a problem with me.”

The journalist who sparked much of Durant’s anger is The Athletic’s Ethan Strauss who—along with many others—believes that Durant will be occupying one of the two cap spaces that the Knicks will have open this summer.

The 30-year-old didn’t hesitate to call Strauss out by name, too, saying, “It’s unnecessary. You got a dude, Ethan Strauss, who comes in here and just gives his whole opinion on stuff and makes it seem like it’s coming from me. And he just walks around here, don’t talk to nobody, just walk in here and survey and write something like that, and now you gotta pile on me because I don’t wanna talk to y’all about that.”

As much as Durant would like for the narrative to be focused on him winning his third championship, it’s not—especially after a blow-up with Draymond that was at least partially caused by his free agency.