Kevin Durant wants to go out on his terms.
The Kevin Durant story will come to a close on his terms. The Phoenix Suns star has been in a bit of a rut this season. Despite likely making an All-NBA team barring any injuries, it’s been quite the season. Players were benched, and Phoenix sits four games below .500. However, the Suns included Durant in a trade offer close to the NBA trade deadline, which opened a can of worms.
Although the All-Star has made it clear about his intentions to stay in Phoenix, the NBA is mysterious. Still, he explained on the Draymond Green Show how he wants his career to end.
“I want to be healthy, and make that choice on my own, and be able to leave the game the way I want to leave it,” Durant said. “I want to keep building with the young players in the league.
“Just want to be respected as one of the guys who poured back into the younger generation of players, but still hooped on that level with them too though. That’s how I want my career to end, I want to still be nice.”
Suns’ Kevin Durant wants to still make an impact
Considering that Durant is going on 37 and was an All-Star starter, that alone is impressive. Even after a threatening Achilles injury in the 2019 NBA Finals, he’s added more depth to his game. The explosiveness isn’t as solid as it was. However, his skill has actually been heightened.
He takes advantage of taller players with his quickness, but is too big for guards and forwards. His game has him averaging 26.9 points per game, the highest mark on the Suns. Even with a guy like Devin Booker on the team, it’s clear that Durant can be unguardable at certain points.
Regardless of that, Durant simply wants to hoop. He added more on what he could be if his effectiveness starts to dip.
“I could come off the bench in a Jamal Crawford-type of role,” Durant said. “If I’m doing that, that wouldn’t be too bad but I can’t give you the goddamn 7 or 8 minutes a night. I can’t be the 10-minute-a-night guy.”
Even at age 36, he’s performing better than players currently in their prime. The accolades are great for the Suns star but he wants to keep playing. As free agency awaits, he could re-sign with the Suns or go elsewhere. Either way, any team would be fortunate to have a future Hall of Famer on their team, regardless of the productivity.