“He is more of a follower than a leader” Skip Bayless slams Shaq for recent comments made on Kevin Durant
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Skip Bayless bats for Kevin Durant as he gave some reality insights to Shaquille O'Neal
Kevin Durant is looking for a trade away from the Brooklyn Nets. After crashing out of the 2022 playoffs earlier than expected, KD’s desire to part ways with the franchise has been heavily criticized since Day 1. On the same note, Hall of Famer big man Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t particularly fond of Durant’s request. He questioned his retraction from the decision of making the Nets a championship team while thrashing him in the process. Incidentally, Skip Bayless came ahead to support ‘poor’ Kevin Durant.
On the Rich Eisen Show, megastar center said, “When you put a house together, you should live in it … You, as a leader, should make it work. But, you don’t want to make it work. I guess, you go buy another house.” But Bayless countered Shaq’s comments in his show.
Longtime NBA pundit and staunch Durant supporter Skip Bayless, on FOX Sports’ “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed,” stated, “I don’t think Kevin put this house together at all. Kevin is more of a follower than a leader, and for reasons beyond me, he made one huge mistake in his career. He followed the wrong ‘leader.’”
Skip Bayless shows support for Kevin Durant who is in midst of a difficult trade situation.
Kevin Durant’s trade request came as surprise to many, especially after signing a 4-year extension with the Nets. 2-time NBA Champion played 90 regular season games for the Nets in 3 seasons so far but was very effective on the court. He averaged 28.5 points per game, with 6 assists and 7 rebounds per game for the franchise.
Not only he was impressive on the court, but his presence also helped the Nets rope in some of the elite stars in a small trade window. But the team couldn’t deliver a title in those 3 seasons and Durant requested a trade a few hours before the beginning of the free agency moratorium on June 30th.
While siding with KD in the case of Shaq’s comments, Skip thrashes his teammate Kyrie Irving for misleading Slim Reaper in this situation. He said, “Because Kyrie was the dominant personality and the force in that ‘besties’ relationship of theirs, and we saw at the All-Star game as they were standing up the tunnel, and he was talking about the Brooklyn Nets.”
Bayless also said Irving affected Durant’s decision back in 2019 when many expected him to sign with New York. Skip continued on the same point, “I think Kevin was intrigued about playing for the Knicks in Madison Square Garden, the mecca of basketball in New York City, but at the last second, Kevin said ‘… I will follow you, Kyrie, to the Nets,’ and at the opening press-conference, what did he say? … He did it because Kyrie wanted to do it.”
Bayless claims that Durant has been more of a follower than a leader contradicts the narrative around KD for most of his career. Durant was the franchise cornerstone while playing at Oklahoma City, although he had very interesting and talented youngsters like Russell Westbrook and James Harden as teammates.
Durant led the league in scoring four times, helped Golden State Warriors clinch back-to-back titles, and even won multiple Finals MVP awards. Statistically, Durant looks like a leader for any franchise; but maybe he needs to work on his thought process and decision-making to have better opportunities in his career. Durant’s nonchalant attitude may lead some to conclude that he’s not a leader. However, he has unequivocally been the best player on every team he played in.
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Kunal Chawda
(600 Articles Published)