Kevin Durant shuts down DeMarcus Cousins over false Suns locker room claim

The Phoenix Suns didn’t fall apart because of fistfights and drama.

Attention. Absurdity. That’s the currency now, and former players-turned-podcasters are cashing in, one hot take at a time. Friday brought yet another example, a fresh batch of baseless allegations served up with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, this time involving the Phoenix Suns.

And maybe I’m part of the problem, shining a light on noise that doesn’t deserve amplification. Maybe giving airtime to this nonsense only feeds the machine. But here we are. And my mission is to point out that vetting what you watch/listen to matters.

It’s like everyone’s chasing their inner Kendrick Perkins, not realizing that the Perk impression does more damage than good, at least among those who actually understand the game. The informed roll their eyes. The casuals? They click. And those clicks? That’s what keeps the lights on.

Truth doesn’t always sell. But outrage? Outrage pays in full.

DeMarcus Cousins. Remember this guy? Four-time All-Star. Two-time All-NBA selection. At his peak, he was a force of nature. Skilled, physical, and utterly unguardable. But you know who could stop him? His own mind. Cousins was a player ruled by emotion. He wore it on his sleeve, let it leak into his game, and eventually allowed it to define him more than his talent did. For all the promise he once held, his career fizzled into an 11-year run that ended without a ring, without a legacy, and with more “what ifs” than wins.

And now, like many stars who never tasted a championship, he’s taken his seat behind a mic, where disruption has become the new hustle. His latest target? The Phoenix Suns.

Look, nobody’s sugarcoating what last season was. It was brutal. Relative to expectations, it was one of the most disappointing campaigns in franchise history. The highest payroll in NBA history and not even a playoff appearance to show for it.

There were real problems: hustle, defense, communication, coaching. The core lacked connectivity. But fistfights? Come on. That’s not criticism. That’s fabrication.

The Suns didn’t implode because guys were throwing punches in the locker room. They imploded because the on-court chemistry never matched the star power on paper. Cousins spinning this into a tabloid headline doesn’t bring clarity, it muddies waters that are already murky enough. Say what you want about last year’s team. Just don’t mistake dysfunction for fiction.

“There was a lot of things that happened that haven’t been reported,” Cousins said on FanDuel TV’s Run it Back show. “I don’t want to be the guy to report it, but I’ve definitely heard of some of the negative things in the locker room. There was a couple of fistfights. There was a lot going on that obviously carries over to the court.”

Exactly. Because that’s the kind of story that, if it were true, we wouldn’t be hearing about it now. Not unless it leaked in real time, or surfaced in a credible postmortem from a plugged-in beat reporter. Instead, we get it months later, casually dropped by a former player trying to stay relevant in the news cycle.

These guys have platforms with real reach. They could be using them to pull back the curtain on what it actually means to be an NBA player. The grind. The locker room dynamics. The trust required to make five players move as one. They could educate. Illuminate. Inspire.

But instead? We get fight rumors. Gossip dressed up as insight. A locker room story about the Phoenix Suns that no one else has reported, and that players — including Kevin Durant himself — have flatly denied.

This isn’t journalism. It’s performance art. And the shame of it is that it drowns out the voices that do have something meaningful to say.

Yeah, maybe I’m part of the problem just by giving oxygen to this absurd story. But if nothing else, it’s a reminder — a loud one — that not everything you hear from a former player is gospel.

Sometimes, the same guys who once went to battle for this sport are now doing more to tear it down than elevate it. Trading credibility for clicks. Offering up fiction wrapped in bravado instead of real insight.

So here’s the rule: always check the source. Ask yourself, “Has this person ever delivered truth before? Or do they just drop grenades and disappear before the smoke clears?”

There’s enough noise in this league. We don’t need to amplify nonsense. We need perspective, experience, and honesty. If you’ve worn the jersey, act like it still means something.

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