Kevin Durant is known for having thin skin when it comes to being criticized by fans and the media. Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has openly expressed that he wishes Durant would do a better job of ignoring the noise, but K.D. clearly doesn’t appreciate Kerr’s opinion.
Kerr was interviewed by Matt Sullivan for the author’s book “Can’t Knock the Hustle.” The Warriors coach spoke about how unhappy Durant was during his final season with Golden State, and he said he believed a lot of that stemmed from Duran’t inability to tune out criticism.
“I could see the strain on his face every day, especially that third year, just all day,” Kerr told Sullivan. “But it was, really, he was staring into that phone all the time.”
Sullivan further discussed that portion of his book during an interview with “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz” podcast this week. Sullivan said Kerr took Durant out for a drink one night during Duran’t final season with the Warriors and encouraged him stop paying attention to trolls. Kerr said he told Durant that NBA legends like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James all said “f— it” at one point during their careers and stopped caring what others thought about them.
Someone shared highlights of Sullivan’s interview with Le Batard on Twitter, and Durant — ironically — could not resist firing back at Kerr.
“I don’t see a problem with me interacting with basketball fans, it should be encouraged …Steve should’ve also said that I’m never late and I work through every rep in practice with game speed. That should be more interesting than what I do on Twitter,” Durant wrote.
It doesn’t sound like Durant and Kerr have the best relationship. Kerr made some comments earlier this year hinting at how the Durant drama made K.D.’s final season with the Warriors difficult, and Durant had a sarcastic response for that.
Kerr probably meant well when he encouraged Durant to stop spending so much time on his phone, but Durant reminded us once again this week that he is never going to stop acknowledging the haters.
