Suns owner Matt Ishbia on trading for Kevin Durant in recent quote to CNBC Sports

"I kind of just threw money at the problem... Bringing in super talented players like Kevin Durant doesn't necessarily lead to championships."

Kevin durant then claps back on Twitter:

"#blameKD even though KD stayed on top of his game at 36 and got u back this "culture" you love so much. Aye, Matthew acts like I got arrested for a DUI or sumn. Back to threads 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂"

Matt Ishbia Response:

"You obviously didn't watch the clip. Didn't blame you @Kdtrey5, but am happy with the culture we are building here in Phoenix. We got the right guys and right focus now and are excited for this season

Good luck this season in houston"

Kevin Durant claps back:

"U should be giving Thanks every chance u get. You don't have to pay me an absurd amount of money to play for another team."

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7697858/2026/10/17/lebron-james-helicopter-commute-comments/

Screenshot

Which seems to be a reference to an earlier social media interaction between Kevin Durant and Suns owner Matt Ishbia

Context

Edit: small mistake in the title, he said "before I came" not "before I got here". sorry

One of the main subjects the documentary explores is Philadelphia's heartbreaking loss to the Atlanta Hawks in Game 7 of the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals.

Simmons faced intense criticism after passing the ball instead of attempting an open dunk late in the game. The moment quickly became one of the most discussed plays of his career and intensified the pressure surrounding the young star.

"How did I feel? I was like, 'What a piece of 'shit,'" Simmons said in the documentary about his head coach at the time, Doc Rivers.

Simmons added: "When you have a relationship with somebody, and they have your back, I think certain things are supposed to be handled certain ways. But then you also gotta look at it from the side of 'he's got a job.' You know, he's making his money."

"He ain't trying to lose his job or anything like that. So, when times get tough, people start panicking. People throw people under the bus, and that's just, it's just what happened."

Source: https://basketnews.com/news-257527-ben-simmons-used-an-expletive-to-describe-doc-rivers-in-his-new-documentary.html

The New York Knicks are waiving Bruce Brown, sources tell ESPN. James Wiseman is set to make the Knicks regular season roster as a reserve center

https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/502f1113f1029

Full quote via X:

#blameKD even though KD stayed on top of his game at 36 and got u back this "culture" you love so much. Aye, Matthew acts like I got arrested for a DUI or sumn. Back to threads

Ishiba's initial comments:

"I kind of just threw money at the problem...Bringing in super talented players like Kevin Durant doesn't necessarily lead to championships."

Yes this is a few days late but the Los Angeles Dodgers join the likes of the 2025 Kansas City Chiefs and the 2023 Tampa Bay Lightning as the latest failed attempts to achieve the ever elusive threepeat, with the Brewers sweeping them after repeated blown leads in every game.

I won't pretend to know much about non-American sports leagues - i'm sure Real Madrid has done it once or twice since 2002 - but as far as the NBA is concerned, I do at least know a few times that a 3peat was thwarted for one reason or another...

• 2017-2018 Warriors: The most recent failed threepeat is, of course, the KD Warriors who were lacking the snake in the Western Conference Finals and all but one game of the 2019 Finals, ultimately losing in 6 games to the Toronto Raptors.
  • The Warriors would eventually win another ring while Durant has, to date, yet to get back to the Conference Finals in either the East or West.
  • Before anyone points to the 2016 Warriors for another failed 3peat between 2015-17, I don't think Kevin Durant joins the Warriors if they don't blow that 3-1 lead so even if Durant doesn't stay in the East, they probably lose in 2017 as that year's Cavaliers team was straight up better than the year before.
• 2012-13 Miami Heat: Four Finals, two rings. Take your pick of LeBron not choking in the 2011 Finals or the Spurs not being one of the all-time best teams in 2014 due to forces beyond mortal comprehension ^{(I really don't see a world in which that Heatles team wins in 2014 barring injury. The Spurs that year were historic by every metric one measures success.}). Point being, the Heatles repeated but LeBron failed to match the feat Jordan did. Twice.
  • Regardless of the tiresomeness of the GOAT debate, his performance in the 2011 Finals still remains the biggest blemish of James' career.
• 2009-2010 Lakers: Did you know the Lakers, despite their history of success in the BAA/NBA have only threepeated twice in their entire existence?
  • The first time they did so was back in the segregation era of the league (1952-54) so it shouldn't count but then there's the dominance of the Kobe/Shaq threepeat.
  • The Kobe/Gasol duo did their best in 2011 but Dirk's Mavericks dominated throughout the second round and swept them on their way to the franchise's first & thus far only championship. They'd also have threepeated if they won in 2008 but I digress.
  • After this failed repeat, well we all know what L.A. tried to do with the botched Chris Paul 3-team trade and the infamous pivot via a Dwight/Nash/Kobe Big 3. The only reason one can't say they're the worst example of a failed superteam? At least they (barely) made the playoffs in 2012/13. You can't say the same for the Westbrook Lakers of 2021/22...even if both failed contenders did eventually give out a lottery pick (It was Dyson Daniels for the Pelicans, Mikal Bridges for the Lakers).
• 2003-07 Spurs: This is an interesting case because San Antonio had two chances to threepeat. Or I suppose they had one chance to 4-peat like the 1997-2000 Houston Comets or 5-peat (Quinpeat?).
  • As they won in 2003, 2005 & 2007, winning in 2004 or 2006 would have edged out Shaq and company as the most recent threepeat amongst the major leagues, with one of those rings potentially coming at Shaq's expense in the 2006 Finals.
  • The Spurs would likely be favored in 2004 and 2006 - thought it's worth mentioning that same Pistons team from 2004 sans-future All-Star Mehmet Okur took them to a tight 7 games in 2005 beat the Kobe/Shaq Lakers in 2004 in 5 games.
  • Ultimately, we'll never know how either series would play out as the Spurs lost in the 2nd round to the eventual Western finalist Dallas Mavericks in 2006 in a hard-fought 7 game series
  • In 2004, they were trounced in 6 by the final gasp of the Kobe/Shaq Lakers with the new additions of Gary Payton and pedophile Karl Malone who, I kid you not, thought it was a good idea to flirt with Kobe's wife. Truly a class act, that ringless creep.
    • Still, 3 rings in 5 years is nothing to sneeze at. That's more than Karl Malone got in his 19 years of being the statistically largest choker in playoff history.

Given that no team in the NBA has even made it back to the Finals in the 20s aside from the Celtics (which was non-consecutive in 2022 and 2024), it's likely we won't see one occur for quite some time.

https://espnpressroom.com/bio/baxter-holmes/

He's posted a bit on his personal Instagram but no where else. Ramona Shelburne was MIA for a couple of weeks after the NBA hammer came down but she returned eventually. Don Van Natta defended the article in a statement to Puck News but he's also been MIA since.

Source: https://www.nba.com/blazers/news/trail-blazerswaivejeremy-sochan

It's time for him to learn Chinese?

Shams Charania:

The Philadelphia 76ers are signing 7-foot-6 center Tacko Fall to a two-way NBA contract, sources tell ESPN. Fall enters his fourth NBA season after the 76ers convert his exhibit 10 deal.

https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania

Kevin Durant's response:

"#blameKD even though KD stayed on top of his game at 36 and got u back this “culture” you love so much. Aye, Matthew acts like I got arrested for a DUI or sumn. Back to threads 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂"

https://i.imgur.com/hJrckKy.png

Derozan had a fantastic dunk against the Lakers but the ESPN announcers didn't give him the credit it deserved. Thought I post the same clip from the Lakers announcers. I would have kept the highlight in the other thread but my first time editing a clip and now I'm coming after Buck Bucks throne.

KD on the suns: “They were actually a 500. Team with internal problems before I got there but you’re a Knicks fan, u wouldn’t know.”

This is not This isn’t the first time Durant has taken shots at the Suns since he was traded to the Houston Rockets. He did it after hitting a game-winning three to beat the team back in January after he felt the team had disrespected him in his final season. However, Durant’s reactions to the poorly contextualized quote appear to be misaligned with what Ishbia was actually saying in the interview.

A few days away from their highly anticipated matchup to kickstart the brand-new NBA season, the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers have already made history together.

The October 20 regular-season opener between the two teams has officially become the most expensive NBA season-opening game in history on the secondary ticket market.

According to SeatGeek, the average price for a seat at Madison Square Garden has surged to approximately $2,600, which is a staggering 282% increase compared to last year's home opener of the New York Knicks against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Ultimately, the mind-boggling prices are dictated by several key factors. The opener will begin after the Knicks raise their 2026 NBA championship banner.

LeBron James will also officially play for the first time as a member of the star-studded Philadelphia 76ers, and it will put both the Knicks and the 76ers for an intense rematch after last postseason's second-round encounter.

Source: https://basketnews.com/news-257511-knicks-and-76ers-make-nba-history-in-highly-anticipated-season-opener.html

During a video on his personal YouTube channel Russell detailed that he wants to follow the example of other NBA players, who had associations in China and even exceed their legacy.

"For me, I think what Stephon Marbury did was something that I really want to try to inspire, to be and if not even better, you know, and treat people right on the way, you know, and I think that'll leave my legacy behind in a way that I could never even imagine," he said.

"I thought it was just make it get paid to do it. And now I see it's bigger and it's more inspiring to the next group. You know, there's basketball everywhere. There's opportunity everywhere. You just got to open your eyes and be willing to take what you want. I'm trying to be the biggest ever, bro. Still got a lot of game left in the tank."

Source: https://basketnews.com/news-257560-dangelo-russell-sets-clear-goal-for-playing-in-china.html

This is not what you want to hear from your leader. For this Sixers team to achieve their ultimate goal of making it out the 2nd round, these guys must be willing to sacrifice.

Source: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/50199797/lebron-james-76ers-working-our-rhythm-opener-nears

Valencia Basket, Paris Basketball, Dubai Basketball and PAOK Thessaloniki are reportedly set to become the first four clubs approved as new EuroLeague franchises. According to Encestando, the announcement could come in early November, with the four clubs paying around €300 million in total entry fees.

Valencia and Paris would reportedly pay around €50 million each, Dubai €70 million and PAOK as much as €130 million. The fees could be paid in installments, with the first payment expected in December following final approval. The move would be part of EuroLeague’s long-term plan to generate around €1.2 billion from incoming franchises.

Partizan and Virtus Bologna are also said to have advanced talks, although their financial situations could delay admission. Crvena Zvezda and Hapoel Tel Aviv remain among the leading candidates for a later wave, while Napoli, the two newly created Rome clubs, London Lions, Hapoel Jerusalem and Aris have also reportedly submitted bids.

Source: https://sportando.basketball/en/euroleague-reportedly-set-to-approve-valencia-paris-dubai-and-paok-as-first-new-franchises/

After Ochai Agbaji, Jeremy Sochan, Malaki Branham, Blake Wesley and Dalen Terry were waived the last couple days, there are only 17 players from that years first round still on an NBA roster. For comparison, the 2018 draft class still has 20 active players.

The Utah Jazz have claimed center Tony Bradley off free agency waivers, sources tell ESPN. Bradley was the Jazz's No. 28 pick in 2017 and now returns where he spent his first 3 NBA seasons.

https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/1d489d1b16008