Durant to Wizards fans: 'You should focus on who you have on your team'
After the Oklahoma City Thunder wrapped up a 124-103 rout of the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night, players went about their business in preparation for their next game.
They will face their next opponent, the Washington Wizards, on Tuesday in the nation's capital.
The District of Columbia not only houses John Wall, Bradley Beal and company, it is also where Thunder forward Kevin Durant cut his teeth as a young baller. Just 75 regular-season games - and a yet-undetermined number of potential playoff games - stand between the Wizards and the freedom to court the soon-to-be free agent in earnest.
"Free agency is like a season now, and it shouldn’t be that big," the 27-year-old superstar told USA Today Sports' Sam Amick.
To his credit, Durant has been cautiously, and sometimes defiantly diplomatic about the prospect of playing for his hometown team.
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"You should focus on who you have on your team," he advised basketball fans who cling to the hope of their favorite players joining their team in free agency.
"It’s easy to get your hopes up and expect a guy to come to your team or whatever - and I'm not talking about myself, I'm just talking about free agency in the past years and in the future - you get your hopes up as a fan, and then they let you down and you end up not liking the player. There's a little bit too much emphasis on that type of stuff, but it's part of the game."
To date, the former MVP, four-time scoring champ, and six-time All-Star has been fiercely loyal to the franchise that tabbed him as the face of the organization with the second pick in the 2007 draft.
In spite of the countless individual accolades he has amassed in a Thunder uniform, the poster boy for small-market success still hasn't grown fully accustomed to his hard-earned stardom.
"I'm really not good with attention," he said. "I really don't like all this stuff to be centered around me, but I know it comes with it, that it's a part of it. But I'm still getting used to it. I've learned to embrace it a little bit, but it's still a little awkward for me."
The attention, as he puts it, would likely increase exponentially if the were to head home to Washington, let alone any of the other big-market teams that will inevitably be clamoring for his services.
Durant realizes he cannot please everyone, so he remains grounded in the present and continues to express pride and respect for his Thunder teammates.
"I'm one of those guys where I don't care if guys in the stands respect me. I'm more so worried about guys on the court," he explained.
"So people lobbying to get me to a team or whatever, I can't please them. I'm sure they're the same ones who are going to cuss me out when we go in the arena as an opposing team. I try not to focus on that, worry on that. I'd rather have respect from my peers and my teammates and my coaches."