Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant is firing back at Mat Ishbia after Ishbia commented on trading for him. Durant departed the Suns in a trade with the Rockets in the 2025 offseason. In an interview with CNBC Sports, Mat Ishbia explained why he traded for Kevin Durant and how that thought process doesn't lead to championships.
“There was not a defined culture and North Star where we were going, and therefore bringing in super talented players like Kevin Durant doesn't necessarily lead to championships. You've got to find guys and people that are aligned with the vision of where we're going, the work ethic, the attitude, the care factor around winning, the grind every single day. Whether it's Kevin Durant, or not. It doesn't really matter. It's about the type of players that we have. And now we've defined it, and so now we only get those type of players,” Ishbia said.
Durant, who has limited his activity on X because he uses his Threads account more often, logged back into Twitter to respond to Ishbia.
Article Continues Below“#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 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂”
The Suns traded Durant at the 2022-2023 NBA trade deadline. Ishbia completed his acquisition of the Phoenix Suns from former owner Robert Sarver. But ultimately, the move didn't yield a championship, and the Suns traded Durant to the Houston Rockets in the 2025 offseason for Jalen Green, Dylan Brooks, the No. 10 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and other draft assets.