KD Burner Gate

Hilariously, perceptively, focused on unfairness

This All Star weekend Kevin Durant, once again, found himself in some sort of burner account controversy. From Bill Simmons, reacting to the allegations in real time:

[There are] a lot of signs that it's him... I assume there’s probably some smoke with the fire on this one. If this is all true and he’s talking about guys he’s playing with... A social media scandal of revealed tweets/text of somebody disparaging people on his team that he then has to go play with.

The publicized messages, which include comments from a group chat, were hilarious. The account was called “‘getoffmydickerson.” Former co-star Devin Booker and former coach Frank Vogel are referred to as “Stalin and Hitler.” Current teammate Jabari Smith Jr. is deemed “lowkey retarded.” Steph Curry and Steve Kerr drew fire as well.

Readers reached out, asking for my thoughts on the most amusing outcome of All-Star Weekend. I personally wouldn’t want my group chats leaked, so I’m wary of commentary here, but I also know Kevin to be pretty loose with security on his takes. It seems like the man, who’s spoken of opening future burner accounts, prefers a slight buffer between his thoughts and publicity but not necessarily total discretion. He’s a natural takesman. At some level, he wants people to know what’s on his mind, even if he doesn’t crave every bit of scrutiny that comes with that. I can relate. Many of the chat statements, verified or not, sound exactly like the guy I remember from my days on the Warriors beat. Plugged in NBA people are certainly reacting as though the yet to be denied leak is true.