While trade rumors swirl, Kevin Durant believes he can lift Suns: ‘I ain’t a regular 36-year-old’

DETROIT — Kevin Durant sighed because it seemed like he didn’t respect him, then turned his face to the side to remove all doubt about what he was feeling.

The idea that his age would prevent him from getting enough juice down the stretch of a grueling NBA season, and the suggestion that he was merely human by NBA standards was as laughable as it was preposterous — how dare someone.

“I’m not your average 36-year-old,” Durant told Yahoo Sports. “I’m preparing my mind and body to be a pro. So what am I going to do? Burn out?”

“How many people are playing at this level at my age? So you can’t compare me to anyone who’s burned out. It can happen, but does it feel like it now?

That didn’t happen Saturday afternoon, when Durant shook off an ugly first half to shut out the Detroit Pistons on the road — scoring 30 of his game-high 36 points in the final 24 minutes, along with seven rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals.

If there’s any belief that the Suns can be better than their current projections, it’s in the presence of two shot-makers, Durant and Devin Booker, who can create opportunities outside of the offense late in games.

“Tonight was scripted,” Durant said. “We weren’t just going out there, passing balls, trying every possession to figure out what to do. No, we knew exactly what we wanted to do, where we wanted to go, and make plays.

“That’s what confident teams do, in the fourth quarter especially when things are going bad, stay on the same page. Every play in the fourth quarter helps us.”

Its production and efficiency are two things to take into consideration. He still shoots over 50% from the field, 38% from 3-point range and is averaging 27.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists.

One assumes he has every right to feel any combination of adjectives that comes to mind, given his basketball excellence, even if the Suns are sitting in the muck of a Western Conference team that could go in a week from playing to making a home run. . Court in the first round.

The Sun is at .500 midway through the season, but that number seems a bit misleading. When Durant plays, the Suns are 20-12 — a mark that, if extended over an 82-game season, would put them with a home-field advantage in the first two rounds. But Durant missed an extended period of time after suffering a left calf strain and three more games due to a sprained left ankle. The Sun is 1-9 without him.

The Sun was 9-2, then it was 15-18. It’s hard to know which team the Suns really belong to, especially since it seems so clear that everyone is preparing for a big arrival — as in Jimmy Butler, who wants out of Miami for Phoenix, along with Durant and Booker. The sun Get multiple first-round picks In a not-so-quiet deal with the Utah Jazz, it was a clear signal that the franchise is ready to deal with the Heat and anyone else who wants to facilitate it.

That would, of course, involve Bradley Beal waiving his no-trade clause, and it could be a straight trade to the Heat. Sources told Yahoo Sports it could also include the Milwaukee Bucks, as Bell would go to Milwaukee in some iteration of a complex three-team deal that no longer seems impossible.

The Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors have been rumored to be involved as well, but the momentum seems to be geared toward getting that done soon, perhaps in the next few days. Sources told Yahoo Sports that Detroit and Charlotte could serve as facilitators for a blockbuster deal as well

Durant was asked if the restrictive collective bargaining agreement got him down, since he’s on a team desperate to compete with owner Matt Ishbia and has no problem showing how deep his pockets are, future be damned.

“I’ve seen a lot of crazy things happen in this league,” Durant said. “You know, regardless of the rules and the CBA situation, these guys get paid a lot of money to figure out ways and things like that. So it’s not frustrating. I mean we just added Nick [Richards]And it’s a good pickup.

Richards was acquired from Charlotte A few days ago, he showed his value in Saturday’s win. They won’t count on him to score 21 goals every night, but those 11 rebounds in 29 minutes mean something, plus going to the line nine times.

Finding Jusuf Nurkic will likely be next for the Suns, as his $19.3 million salary for next season will be attractive to teams wanting some cap relief. But, of course, the Suns being a second team limits their options to make the move.

“You’ve got guys, it’s a young league,” Durant admitted. “You can have youth and energy, and a good mix of veterans. All good teams have a good mix of young and old players. You see teams that only have young players, and sometimes they struggle. The older guys, they struggle too.”

Durant was reminded of why he introduced the idea of ​​time. A video circulated on X a few days ago, of a younger version of himself with the Oklahoma City Thunder facing off against his future rivals turned teammates with the Golden State Warriors.

That was before Jones broke his right foot a year later, before the Achilles injury in 2019 that would normally end his career, and before the MCL injury in Brooklyn that bookended his time in the East.

On that day 11 years ago, he lit up the Warriors with 54 points, one shy of the career high he set years later in Brooklyn.

But it was the most efficient game of his career, as he took only 28 shots and converted 19 of them. He had extra bounce and pop, and looked very fast and smooth — which he still is now, by the way — but it was amazing to watch the younger Durant in full bloom.

It shows how much work he put in to maintain himself at this level despite his atrophy, bad luck and bad vacations.

“Defenses are different. Look at those shots,” Durant said. “There’s not a lot of pressure. Not a lot of guys in the paint (wait). It’s a lot of individual things.

“I don’t get it these days, you know? I’m saying they got 16 years of film with me. I’m still playing at that level. It might look different, yeah, I’m not running down the lane, but I’m still taking the same shots, I’m still hitting Where I’m at is what you’re looking at. Will I still get to where I want to get to?

The answer is a resounding yes, even though it looks different. He continues to change his playing style, year after year, to remain effective – and until it’s explained to you, you think it’s always been that way.

It’s a mind trick as he continues to cheat the game as the Suns continue to build around him to maximize his time – perhaps coaxing him into a deep run if all goes well.

“At the time, I was trying to play the way I play now,” Durant said, “picking my spots, not rushing. But for these teams I had to score. I had to have more energy. Look at me in the second half tonight,” Durant said. I wasn’t tripping then, maybe I tripped tonight, I’m more relaxed.

“Maybe I don’t have… [grunts] dunk on a [dude]but I still got it a little. a little.”

Then that frown turned into a sarcastic smile. He’s got more than a little — Durant just wants it to be enough.