The Suns need more from Kevin Durant.
Maybe you think that’s ridiculous from a guy averaging 29 PPG and 10 RPG in the NBA playoffs while still having moving boxes in his house.
I’m not talking about more in the box score.
The Suns need more from Kevin Durant everywhere else.
Watch a Lakers game and Lebron James’s level of involvement in all aspects of the game. He’s leading, he’s following, he’s delegating, he’s directing. He effectively has taken ownership of all things Lakers.
I realize Lebron has been with the Lakers for more than 18 games and that his championship equity is partially a result of winning one as a Laker but I’d still like to see more Lebron and less Deandre Ayton in Kevin Durant’s on court personality.
We have all celebrated and enjoyed Devin Booker’s ascension to a superstar but we can’t confuse Booker’s excellence with championship achievement.
Booker needs Durant but so far this postseason it’s been Durant leaning on Booker.
Kevin Durant shows up, plays hard and gets his buckets and shots. I want more. The Suns need more.
Part of this feels like the result of the professional trauma he experienced after leaving Oklahoma City. Durant has adopted a zen approach of “I just want to hoop”. He seems to view anything more as a burden. He’ll talk comfortably about he’s just a basketball player and he shows up and does his job.
But with the Suns the job requirements have changed.
I need more leadership. More contagious energy. More on court wisdom. More “I’ve got this” when things begin to slip.
I also feel comfortable asking for this because I know he’s capable of it. If we’ve learned anything about KD in the few months he’s been a Sun, it is that comfort is paramount to his ability to maximize his talents.
You can relax in Phoenix, KD. We don’t have the knives out. We have the red carpet out. You’re somewhere that appreciates greatness and craves the full experience of it.
Your place in history is mostly set. Your resume speaks for itself. If you want, you can show up, do your job and live with the results.
Or you can pick up where you left off in OKC. You can lead. You can win. You can demand more from your teammates and yourself.
This isn’t just an opportunity for the Suns and its fanbase, its an opportunity for Kevin Durant.
Its just going to take more than we’ve seen so far.