‘HELL NO, OF COURSE NOT’ 📣 Stephen A. isn’t buying Mat Ishbia’s comments on KD’s future | First Take

‘HELL NO, OF COURSE NOT’ 📣 Stephen A. isn’t buying Mat Ishbia’s comments on KD’s future | First Take

raid rumors have been swirling around Phoenix after the Rockets recent moves but son’s owner Matt ishia has doubled down on the franchise’s intention of keeping their core together and running it back for another shot at a championship here’s what ishbia had to say NBA draft night is the best everyone talking about the drama and storyline some are right and some are just wrong my turn Phoenix loves Kevin Durant and Kevin Durant loves Phoenix and we are competing for a championship this year because we have the team to do it got to love draft night go Suns it’s a party here in Bristol we got Tim legler joining us as well hello Tim with the blue suit there looking all Dapper like he running for office I thought it was just Wy running for office look at look at look at legs now you you want you want to vote for legs button leg we approved this message legs we approved this message I appreciate that I appreciate that all right Stephen A are you buying isia’s comments about KD hell no hell no of course not first of all let’s understand something from what I’m being told uh uh Kevin Durant ain’t too keen on staying in Phoenix he ain’t demanding no trades or anything but he wouldn’t mind being up out of there that’s number one number two don’t tell me Matt isbe is all sold on this after you just got bounced out via a sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the dagone playoffs you think about the ass assets that you could potentially get for a superstar the likes of Kevin Durant you can’t tell me that’s something that Matt espier is not going to entertain just because he’s committed to him being in Phoenix it all depends on the assets that you can get I know they don’t want to let go of Devin Booker I know Devin Booker doesn’t want to leave Phoenix if he were to leave Phoenix he wouldn’t mind being a Nick but he doesn’t want to leave Phoenix he’s the face of that franchise and we homegrown he we get all of that but in the end what it comes down to is this Kevin Durant even at the age of 35 is still a superstar in this game but he’s not there for the Long Haul and unless you talk about winning the title in the immediate future which I don’t think the Phoenix shs should be thinking about when you just got swept even though Mike buen hose is your new coach I think the bottom line is you got to entertain all options I’m not saying he’s gonna trade Kevin Durant but if the opportunity presents itself you damn righty well well look I I think before I before I comment on this current thing that Matt isia said I want to revisit something because Stephen A do your point let’s go back to the end of the season and I said this at the time and it was a good line and I’m going to use it again because I like it Matt ispia said when they got swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves and run out of there that you remember the press conference he basically said no we’re good never been better everything is great and I compared that to a survivor of the Titanic saying it’s the best cruise they’ve ever been on in their life okay because that’s what it sounded like at the time you’re like you were just sitting there listening to it and just total disbelief right uh you’re going to believe him or My Lying Eyes that’s kind of what it came down to so listen we have a reason to be skeptical when he says certain things but now let’s get to these comments I I think this if you’re if you’re in that position of the Matt ish is in I think it’s foolish to ever publicly go on a record with any of this stuff because first of all in the NBA the winds change in a hurry now I don’t have a reason to think that Kevin Durant is is unhappy there or once out there okay so he says Kevin Durant’s happy now they’re happy with him he’s not going anywhere we’re committed to him going forward like why do you even need to do that based on any team I think it’s their responsibility to go out there and you’re always going to entertain conversations so a conversations should be entertained in this case too if somebody’s willing to come to you and blow your doors off with an offer you always need to be listening so I don’t even understand why a front office person has to go out there and say those kind of things you can say those kind of things in private to Kevin Durant and as long as there’s an understanding there that’s all you really need to do so the one thing I’ll say about moving them be careful what you wish for because it’s not easy to replace that kind of talent and you still do have Deon Booker there you got Bradley Beal and you got to be careful what you get back if you start talking about moving a guy like Kevin Durant who is still proving every night he is an elite level player in this league they’ve got to work more on the margins around those guys get them a point guard get them some Defenders on the wing and get more shooting you know what I I call that tweet cap right I’m not saying that they’re going going to trade Kevin Durant but the part of Kevin Durant loves Phoenix and Phoenix loves Kevin Durant that’s not true they like each other they like each other but last year Kevin Durant Kevin dur Kevin Durant was pissed off Kevin Durant it was times where he was walking in the locker room and didn’t say a damn word to anybody including Frank vogle that was the beef right and when you have your top dog your champion ship uh your Championship player your your your finals MVP a guy that been there and won championships in that locker room who’s supposed to be your leader and he’s not seeing eye to eye with the with the with the head coach the rest are going to follow that’s why Frank voger is gone now I talked to my guy James Jones a good brother of mine I talked to him yesterday he said that they’re not trading Kevin Durant they’re not trading Bradley Bill they’re not trading Devin Booker not this season right they said that they feel like Mike buen hoser is the right coach for them they’re going to give it a shot for us going in the training camp and this season and here’s the thing with all that going on with the Phoenix Sun legs Christine Stephen A last year they still won 49 games right and like they didn’t even have Bradley Bill Devin book and KD available majority of the time so you think about the Oklahoma City Thunder what they won 53 games right so they wasn’t far off again you want to engage Kevin Durant and we we we have witnessed what coaches could do the right coach in that seat what they could do for a player we just watched Kyrie Irving turn the corner right because J kid a guy that he respects right organization that has catered to his every need and made him feel comfortable they got the best version of Kyrie Irving we we hear reports about with how uh Derek white and and jayen brown and and Jason Tatum how they’re saying like Joe Missoula has has been so impactful outside of basketball in their lives my Boos is a champion so you got to respect that I know Frank voger was a champion but that was not K that that was not someone that KD wanted I believe that they’re in a great place right now if somebody kicked in the door with a blockbuster offer wouldn’t you trade him then I mean to sit up there and say we ain’t trading him this year that’s not a statement you should make as an executive I mean to me it’s like listen we have no intentions of trading him we have no intentions of moving him you know understanding we like our team let’s see how it goes that is as far as you could go particularly in this business climate that we’re living in ain’t nobody buying that that’s number one number two when you talk about an Engaged Kevin Durant kendri Perkins put KP up on that screen please I want see him when we talk about an engage Evan Durant who you think you talking to let’s not let’s not let’s let’s not let let’s not be slick Kendrick Perkins Kevin Durant on the basketball court is always engaged he’s a superstar one of the greatest offensive players this game has ever seen destined for a shire first ballot Hall of Fame and belongs in that first room in the Hall of Fame this brother spectacular but when we talk about engaged and we use the name Kevin Durant to address engaged we’re talking about the dude that can be teammates with people and not speak to folks a weeks at a time not speak to the coach weeks at a time not even want to get on the on the team bus with the starters you know what I’m saying with the that’s what we’re talking about here we’re talking about little nuggets of things and I’m not I’m only looking at you Kendrick Perkin not because you don’t know but because you do know better than me you know it there we’re talking about a guy with regardless of his magnificence and boy is he magnificent as a player besite that we’re talking about a guy that can find other ways unintentionally by the way to just alienate others because he’s living in his own world that’s what we talking about but but I say let me let me say this to you when it comes down to James Jones how much respect do you have for Pat Robin I have great respect I have profound respect for Pat Ry and I have great respect for James J right right especially you know when it comes so if Pat rowy was to call you and tell you that he’s not trading Jimmy Butler and Bam out of the bio you’ll believe him right um no Pat Ry would tell you that Pat Ry go like this Pat Ry knows I would say to him yeah that’s how you feel today he knows I would say that here here’s what I’m saying the one thing I Shar a locker room with champ that’s what we call James Jones he grew up and was B and was raised and mentored in that heat culture the one thing I know about him is that he’s straight up and down it is what it is with him and when you what you have to realize is that ke Kevin Durant is a top 15 greatest player of all time legs Christine he’s arguably still today the the best offensive player in the league right when it comes down to getting a butt people are going to knock at the door if they hear that he’s just gruntled if they hear that he’s having move swings wouldn’t you be knocking at the door if you was the Houston Rockets but it takes two to tangle what I’m saying is is that they’re not entertaining those people not no I’m not saying it wouldn’t happen at the trade deadline or the end I’m talking about but that’s all I said perk I said what he said we’re not trading him this season you I’m saying you don’t know meaning James Jones you don’t know that you can say right now but you don’t know if that’s going to last the whole season based on what may transpire and what offer you might get that’s all I’m saying nothing more which is why I said what I said in the beginning I just don’t even understand why certain statements even need to be made publicly because you don’t know how the wind is going to change and you and and everything could change based on one phone conversation where some team calls you pick picks up the phone and makes you an offer you never saw coming so I I don’t think you put paint yourself paint yourself into Corners by doing that here’s one thing can I give you guys one reason that we should have hope in Phoenix this year M Mike buher we barely touched on it okay now you look at some of the coaches that like that Kevin Durant has had in the past and there was always like questions and skepticism and everything else including Frank vogle who I love and a guy that has won in this league but there was lot of skepticism from day one that should not be there with Mike buen holer and I think he’s got great regard from the players around the league he’s a great communicator he’s got great rapport with his guys he’s a champion I think he any I think he’s also a guy that’s going to understand how to max out the parts that they have so I I’m hopeful with more continuity amongst their stars and Mike buher I’m more hopeful for Phoenix right now going into the season certainly than I was at any point over the last three months of the season last year here’s the last thing we can say here’s the last thing we can say Mike who Mike Bueno is gonna be in Phoenix longer than Kevin Durant let me ask you hold on talk about but let me ask you a question let me ask you a question yes sir if you know the things that’s been going on behind the scenes things with the Phoenix Sons and Kevin Durant and why he dis grunt I know him you don’t think the rest of the league knows him right now how do like what is so what is Kevin Durant trade value right now I can sit up here to be honest with you I could say that a team wouldn’t give up a package that the Knicks just gave up for Mel Bridges for Kevin Durant I agree point of his career per huh I agree with you I agree with you I can’t argue yeah you’re right you’re right perk you’re right I legs I agree I that too per makes a good point along those lines here’s where here’s where you guys are both making a great point this is true now when you start talking about playing trading a player like Kevin Durant first of all he’s only going to be a guy that’s of high value to a team that feels like they’re close and the reason they’re close is because some of the younger pieces that they currently have which is what it’s going to cost you to get them and so now you’ve taken your your organization that you think’s moving in the right direction you think he’s the guy to get you over the top the problem is you got to give up key pieces of what you’ve already built to that point to get him and that’s where the risk comes in [Music]

‘HELL NO, OF COURSE NOT’ 📣 Stephen A. isn’t buying Mat Ishbia’s comments on KD’s future | First Take

On First Take, Stephen A. Smith, Kendrick Perkins and Tim Legler join Christine Williamson to discuss Kevin Durant’s future with the Phoenix Suns.

0:00 Mat Ishbia’s comments
4:24 What Perk has been told
6:50 Stephen A. on KD’s future
10:55 Why Legler has hope for Phoenix

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