Now that he’s with the Phoenix Suns, one of the most heavily scrutinized players in the history of the NBA is under immense pressure to win a championship. A lot of the pressure on Kevin Durant is coming from external factors and former league All-Stars at that.
One of those former NBA greats is Gilbert Arenas, who believes Durant is facing more pressure now with the Suns to deliver a championship than he did with the G0lden State Warriors or the Brooklyn Nets. Durant was traded to the Suns ahead of the NBA trade deadline earlier this month. The blockbuster trade — arguably one of the biggest deals in league history — marked the official end of the Nets’ “superteam.”
When asked about the Suns’ odds to win the 2023 NBA Finals, Arenas sounded off on Durant.
“Chip, chip with the dip,” Arenas said On Fubo Sports’ “No Chill with Gilbert Arenas” this week. “I don’t even know why we’re playing. This is not even a question. You have two guys that’s capable of 50, 60, 70 [points]. Both half-court players. Both mid-range players. Both players you can’t actually play one-on-one, they’ll eat you alive.”
The Suns, according to Arenas, were already having trouble scheming for just Devin Booker himself. Now, they’ve added arguably the best scorer in today’s game in Durant, in addition to who Arenas considers as the best-assist-to-turnover ratio guard in NBA history, Chris Paul.
Durant wasn’t able to win in Brooklyn with Kyrie Irving or James Harden, but there were several factors at play behind the scenes. Now that he has Booker, Paul and DeAndre Ayton as his teammates, Arenas no longer wants to hear the excuses for Durant.
“If they don’t win, **** the Nets’ group” Arenas said, “this would be the biggest failure for Kevin Durant.”
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.