Many suspected the beef between Kevin Durant and Dwyane Wade that was manifested over social media this week was just a promotion for Gatorade. After all, the two were featured in a commercial for the sports beverage last year. Now there seems to be definitive proof that this issue had nothing to do with Gatorade.
[Previously: Dwyane Wade and Kevin Durant in beef over top 10 slight]
ESPN’s Darren Rovell reported on Friday that Durant’s deal with Gatorade will expire next week and not be renewed. He also says the deal expiring has nothing to do with Durant’s issues with Wade.
I didn’t think the beef was manufactured for a few reasons. For one, the setup for how the whole thing came up was too random. Durant was asked by CineSport to evaluate a top-10 players list and said James Harden should replace Wade. That question would have had to have been planted by CineSport, which seemed unlikely. Secondly, Durant is a guy who speaks his mind, so it’s not too surprising to hear him set rankings the way he sees fit. Lastly, Durant was doing promotional work for Degree when he made his comments, not Gatorade.
I could be wrong about this one, but it seems like Durant parting ways with Gatorade is pretty solid proof that this whole thing was real and not staged.
Additionally, some Houston Rockets players like Dwight Howard and Harden said the beef was real.
Durant was asked on Friday about his feud with Wade and decided to offer some praise of the Miami Heat guard.
“Dwyane Wade is a great, great player, man,” Durant said via Eye on Basketball’s Royce Young. “I’m not discrediting anything he’s done or nothing like that. I just voiced my opinion. He’s a great, great player. Finals MVP and champion. I didn’t mean to disrespect that or take that away or anything. I just voiced my opinion as of today. I love you D-Wade, man. It’s just competition.”
Seriously, what’s the issue? Wade isn’t a top-10 player anymore. Why isn’t Durant allowed to say that without people freaking out?
