Kevin Durant Calls Out Stephen A. Smith Amidst Lakers Rumors
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — NBA superstar Kevin Durant has refuted ESPN reporter Stephen A. Smith's claims that if he leaves the Oklahoma City Thunder next season, his primary destination is the Los Angeles Lakers.
Earlier in the week, Smith made comments on his ESPN show about Durant possibly leaving Oklahoma City in the off-season
"In one breath I'm hearing that if Kevin Durant doesn't stay in Oklahoma City, L.A. is his primary objective and landing spot as opposed to South Beach or even his home of Washington D.C," Smith said.
When asked about Smith's comments, Durant seemed shocked to hear that Smith had made the comments in the first place.
"I don't talk to Stephen A. Smith at all. Nobody in my family, my friends, they don't talk to Stephen A. Smith. So he's lying," Durant said.
Smith took to Twitter to defend himself and his sources, saying "At NO time did I ever say I SPOKE to K.D. Or his family. Or his brother, friends, teammates, etc. (although I can assure you all I have on several occasions in the past). I said I HEARD from folks I know -- in a league I've been covering for 19 years -- that if he were to leave OKC as a free agent, these are the cities I was told he was considering. OKC. LA. Miami. DC. NY. I stand by it all. And that is that."
Click here to read Smith's full response.
These reports come at a time when reporters like Smith have been receiving harsh critiscism for their alleged "sources".
A few months ago, Mark Cuban called out ESPN reporter Chris Broussard for telling the public false information about his pursuit of DeAndre Jordan.
Oh, and don't worry, Smith isn't done talking about this.
Oh, BTW......don't think for one second I will avoid addressing this on @FirstTake on Monday morning. I can't wait!
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) October 2, 2015
I'm sure Smith will take this whole weekend to plan a carefully scripted monologue about how he was in the right and his credibility should never be questioned.