Durant on Suns: fewer double teams for him and Booker, just doesn’t want to mess up what the Suns have done

In a new exclusive with his own Boardroom media company written by Shlomo Sprung, new Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant told all regarding his expectations coming into this new opportunity.

The pairing between Durant and Devin Booker continues to be at the front of everyone’s minds, and Durant detailed how he’ll help make Booker’s lives easier, and vice versa:

“I can probably provide him a little bit more space than he’s used to with my shooting ability... He gets double-teamed a lot... So, I can help provide him a little bit more space, which would make him even more efficient, and vice versa. I played against a lot of double teams as well with the Nets, so having another shooter out there at the wing position can help me, too.”

After spending the vast majority of his career with score-first point guards like Russell Westbrook, Steph Curry, and Kyrie Irving, a true pass-first maestro like Chris Paul is going to take some adjusting from Durant:

“I think CP is looking to get the assist more than he’s looking to get the bucket. When he has to score, he will, but he’s trying to look for other guys first instead of shooting. I’m looking forward to seeing how that works. I’m used to scoring point guards and I know how to play off them, so I have to take some time to adapt to that, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Durant acknowledges the fact that James Jones and Monty Williams have already built Phoenix into a contender and an elite basketball program. His only job is to fit in:

“It’s on me to come in and not f*** up what they’ve done, basically. I think stamina is what separates the great teams. But it comes down to all of us staying on the same page on both ends of the floor and then having that stamina, wanting to be efficient every possession until July.”

While many view this as a championship-or-bust moment for Durant and the Suns, he’d prefer to not look at it that way:

“Hopefully, we get there, but I don’t even like talking about championships, because none of that means anything. If you’re going to put the work in today, tomorrow, and then the next day, and we keep stacking those up, that’s when we get there.”

KD sees opportunities to grow off the floor in Phoenix as well. Durant’s Thirty Five Ventures (35V) is set to blossom with a growing bond between Durant and new Suns governor (and business mogul in his own right), Mat Ishbia.

“The longer the new governor (and former Michigan State hooper) is around, Durant said, the more their bond will build, and his passion for the team will always allow him to look for new, innovative ways to make an exciting core even better.”

35V, led in part by Durant’s long-time business partner and agent Rich Kleiman, recently bought a Major League Pickleball expansion team, the Brooklyn Aces; Booker is one of the new owners of Arizona’s expansion team, AZ Drive.

On the possibility of Phoenix being Durant’s final destination, he explained that “the organization has grown leaps and bounds in terms of its presence in the community, the brand of basketball they play, the people they hired to run the day-to-day,” making it worth the move now.

Durant also talked about how he can envision being here in Phoenix long-term and at least play out the rest of his contract (three years remaining after this season) and decide then what to do for what would likely be the final contract of his career when he enters free agency at 37 years old:

“I’m having a good time in the moment, and I can see myself being here for the rest of my career, but who knows? I said the same thing about Brooklyn.”

In case you missed it, here’s Durant’s intro presser in Phoenix from Thursday afternoon: