Kevin Durant will soon begin a new chapter in his NBA career after a disastrous stint with the Phoenix Suns.
During last season’s NBA trade deadline, reports surfaced that the Phoenix Suns wanted to trade Kevin Durant.
KD remained with the Suns until the end of the season, but was traded to the Houston Rockets during the summer.
Speaking of trades, Durant revealed how he forced the Suns to trade him to the Rockets.
During an episode of Season 2 of Netflix’s “Starting 5,” Slim Leeper talked about the Suns wanting to trade him last season.
He explained how he immediately blocked the team from trading him to any destination other than the Rockets.
“When the Suns decided they wanted to trade me, they asked me which team I wanted to go to and I gave them a few options. It was an expiring contract.
“I had more power, so I was able to use it to go to Houston,” Durant said (h/t Duane Rankin).
Not only that, but the two-time NBA champion also expressed a desire to have his jersey retired by the Rockets.
“In a perfect world, we would win some championships. I would retire my jersey here,” he added.
Durant has no immediate retirement plans, so it’s no wonder he wants to win a few NBA championships with the Rockets. But what does it take for that dream to become a reality?
The Rockets currently have a great roster with players like Durant, Alperen Sengan, and Armen Thompson.
Thompson is a defensive giant, while Durant and Sengan are capable offensive players. With that in mind, Durant credits his offense as the main driving force behind winning the NBA title.
“If you want to win championships, you’ve got to score at the basket. If you’re playing defense, you can get everyone here, bend your legs, don’t touch the basketball, slide from side to side and make them compete for shots. It’s easy.”
“But when you’re talking about winning at a high level against the best teams, you don’t win basketball games just by doing that,” Durant said (h/t Omer Osman).
It’s no wonder Durant, one of the most prolific scorers of all time, feels that way. While many would agree with him, others may think defense is a more important contributing factor to winning games.