In The Most Predictable Move Of All Time, Stephen A Smith Went On TV And Suggested That Kevin Durant Is Now "Unhappy In Phoenix"

Christian Petersen. Getty Images.

There was a time when people thought that once we got to mid-May, we'd be able to talk about the Suns' second round matchup and perhaps how they were knocking on the door of the WCF. Unfortunately, they got waxed by the Wolves in a quick 4 games, which immediately led the Shams standard leak/hit piece, which then led to the team firing their coach after one season and hiring Coach Bud to a 5/50M deal. Basically, we were checking off every box that tends to come when a superteam underachieves.

But you know what we were missing? The "sources are saying" routine from Stephen A Smith. You knew it was coming, you knew he couldn't sit back and not enter the arena once again to put out some baseless KD nonsense, which is exactly what we got today

Hell yes. We're so back baby! 

I can't help but laugh every time a take/report like this comes out from Stephen A involving KD given their history

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It's one of the best NBA player vs media beefs we have going (with Broussard vs KD a close 2nd). I mean, this is as tried and true a formula as you're going to get, especially when there's no way to actually back up what you're claiming. Sort of like how it wasn't too long ago that Stephen A was going on TV suggesting that Devin Booker is dying to be in New York

You know what's going to gain traction online? Talking about how unhappy KD is, comparing it to his GS days, and essentially suggesting that KD is already plotting his next move. Normally this stuff happens in July, but since the Suns were swept and just hired their new coach, it's very predictable that this stuff is coming out now. 

Really, it's a masterclass approach from Stephen A here. It's not such a hot take that you hear it and instantly rule it out, but it's also something nobody is able to really prove. Talking about how "everyone who covers the league" knew about this all year long, despite nobody, including Stephen A, talking about it during the year until the Suns were knocked out is as textbook as it gets. 

We all know what comes next right? It's only a matter of time before KD responds on Twitter in some fashion, and we'll do this dance for what seems like the millionth time. KD is in that weird spot where he'll never win in the court of public opinion, and any response he gives will probably be met with "soft!" type responses, but if there's one thing that does appear to make KD happy it's shitting all over these talking heads who keep playing around with his name

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Given he has all this time on his hands, there's no way he can sit this one out. As of the writing of this blog, there's still no response from KD, but you know a guy who is online as much as he is won't hold his tongue.

But let's also take a minute and actually try and understand what Stephen A is suggesting. Why would KD be unhappy? He picked PHX, he got to go where he wanted, the team went all in to build a contender (with moves I'm sure he was consulted on), and you're out of your mind if you think he wasn't asked about what they should do about the coach. The Suns issues were because James Jones built a terrible roster around his 3 stars and their new owner would rather blow his load on big name moves and splashes than actually build a sustainable organization. 

Last time I checked, KD still has $51M and $54M fully guaranteed in his deal. I'm sure he lives in Scottsdale or some shit which is a solid place to live, the weather is awesome (it's not that hot, grow up) and for the most part KD's basketball legacy is already written in stone. Nothing he does from here on out is going to change how people view him, so how unhappy could he be? I'm sure he hates losing like all the greats do, but he's about to enter his age 36 season and is still playing some of the best basketball of his career on a team that he hand-picked. Seems like a good life to me.

Now, maybe you're of the thought that this is the exact thing we saw in BKN and KD wasn't happy there/demanded a trade, but I would disagree. When you look around the situations of Harden/Kyrie during that era, no shit KD decided it was time to get the hell out of there. The Nets disaster isn't quite the same as what's going on in PHX, despite the narrative around KD somehow being the same.

A part of me feels for Suns fans. The season was brutal enough given all the injuries and underachievement, followed by an offseason that already feels like the front office has no clue what the hell they're doing. Now it's time to include the speculation surrounding their two best players which is always going to be focused on how they want to leave, are unhappy, etc. That shit is exhausting as a fan to deal with day in and day out, so that's a bummer.

But it just goes to show, that when it comes to Stephen A vs KD, the more things change and the more time that goes by, the more things apparently stay the same. 

Now we just have to wait for the response.