(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
The Phoenix Suns let their fans down once again.
This time, however, it wasn’t much of a surprise.
Despite having two elite scorers and a solid player in Bradley Beal, the Suns never truly meshed.
Beal’s constant injuries and their lack of a traditional point guard set them back over and over, and Jusuf Nurkic didn’t exactly step up as the dominant rim protector Frank Vogel’s teams have thrived with.
They lost games they were supposed to win, and the coach never seemed in true control of the team.
Now, a report by Shams Charania of The Athletic sheds even more light on what went down behind the scenes.
Apparently, Kevin Durant was never truly comfortable on offense with Beal and Devin Booker.
“Durant, among the best scorers in NBA history, was not always happy with how he was used. Sources told The Athletic that Durant never felt comfortable with his role in Phoenix’s offense alongside Booker and Beal this season,” Shams Charania and Doug Haller reported.
Kevin Durant faced challenges in Phoenix’s offense following the Bradley Beal addition, feeling underutilized and not playing to his strengths, sources tell @ShamsCharania and @DougHaller.
More https://t.co/RPZ6pj7JJ2 pic.twitter.com/nUVRQAmuC6
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) April 29, 2024
He felt like he was often caught ball-watching and standing in a corner, as opposed to being featured in a free-flowing offense.
That makes sense, and the Suns have only themselves to blame for that.
They gave Chris Paul up to get Beal, and while Paul was already in the backend of his career, they never addressed their glaring need for a floor general.
The Suns averaged the fifth-most turnovers per game, and their offense was stagnant late in games, blowing leads and struggling to get to their sets.
Iso-heavy teams rarely find any sort of success in the playoffs.
Beal still has a no-trade clause, Durant is still elite but not young, and Booker, as good as he is, continues to underperform in the playoffs, so they’ll have to figure out what to do and who to trade.
The post Insider Reveals Concerning Report About Kevin Durant’s Role With Suns appeared first on The Cold Wire.