"He's got to be extremely angered" - Skip Bayless thinks Adam Silver was livid with the KD trade taking spotlight away from Game 7
"He's got to be extremely angered" - Skip Bayless thinks Adam Silver was livid with the KD trade taking spotlight away from Game 7 originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Rivalry and tension between certain NBA players and veteran media members have been brewing for years, but Skip Bayless's animosity toward stars like Kevin Durant seems to exist on an entirely different level.
On a recent occasion, the 73-year-old analyst went as far as accusing KD of intentionally trying to steal the spotlight away from his former team. Right before the youthful Oklahoma City Thunder squad was about to experience the most significant moment in their history—winning the 2025 championship—the news about the Houston Rockets snagging Durant went out, which Skip believes frustrated him and even Commissioner Adam Silver.
Leading up to Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, reports had already begun circulating that Durant was certain to be on his way out of Phoenix in the initial days of the offseason. While his destination wasn't certain, it was almost expected that Kevin could be the first of many players to be traded.
However, for Bayless, the fact that the news broke just before the tip-off of a title-deciding game wasn't just poorly timed. To him, it exposed KD's insecurity and unwillingness to let the spotlight shine on the franchise that he once led.
Skip even raised a conspiracy theory about how Adam would be as frustrated as he, especially when the league had two deserving teams battling it out on the grandest stage. Still, Kevin dominated the pre-game headlines.
"I'm now convinced that Kevin Durant pushed to have his trade to Houston announced or leaked to upstage Game 7 of the NBA Finals in Oklahoma City, where, of course, he began his career. Adam Silver doesn't like major moves being announced during the Finals. Not only does he frowns on it (but) he's got to be extremely angered by what happened on Sunday afternoon," Bayless said. "
That' Kevin bleepin' Durant, guy that operated burner accounts, the most thin-skinned, oversensitive superstar I've ever closely observed. I think Kevin couldn't stand that the Thunder were about to win a championship (that) he failed to win," he added.KD addressed the trade during his appearance at Fanatics Fest, making it clear that he'd been aware of a trade to Houston but wasn't sure when it would be announced. Moreover, Kevin's reaction was subtle but telling — relieved more than anything to start a new chapter. Put simply, rather than hijacking the media headlines, the two-time NBA champion appeared to finally have clarity about his future.
However, for naysayers like Bayless, who rarely miss a chance to scrutinize stars or float conspiracy theories, this situation was just another excuse to paint Durant negatively. For someone as emotionally invested in OKC's journey all year long as Skip was, the news of KD's trade breaking around the time of the Thunder's crowning moment felt like an unnecessary distraction that robbed the team of its deserved spotlight, and he is surely letting the veteran know about his disdain of the moment.This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
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