Kevin Durant put up solid numbers in the Suns’ 125-116 win over the Mavericks, but not everyone’s convinced he’s still locked in. Dropping 21 points, grabbing nine boards, and dishing out eight assists while shooting 53.3% from the field, KD did his part to keep Phoenix in the Play-In hunt.

With just 19 games left, the Suns can’t afford to slip up, and they needed their stars to step up against an injury-depleted Mavs squad. Durant, playing the most minutes of anyone on the floor, made sure they walked away with the W.

But Skip Bayless? He’s not buying it. The veteran analyst thinks Durant is mentally checking out, pointing to his off-court projects as proof. “The more I watch him at the age of 36, the more he looks mentally semi-retired to me,” Bayless said on his show. “He is participating in a documentary about his life, and it just feels to me that he is winding down his basketball. It is reflecting in the Suns’ win-loss record because they started 8-1 this year. Since then, they have gone 20-31; think about that. That’s four games behind the Play-In.”

If you know KD, he’s not the type to hold back. He even called Stephen A. Smith a clown. The Slimreaper clapped back on Twitter with a sharp jab: “F— it, we’re both washed, it was a great run.”. That wasn’t just a throwaway line. Bayless, whose time at Fox Sports ended last season, has since taken his takes to YouTube. Durant’s message? If people think he’s past his prime, then Bayless is too.

The Suns aren’t just struggling on the court—their locker room is a mess too. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne didn’t hold back, calling the situation “toxic.” She described a tense atmosphere where players were on edge, unsure of what moves the front office might make. Trade talks involving Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal only added fuel to the fire, creating uncertainty within the team. Despite their attempts to shake things up, Phoenix is stuck with the Durant-Beal-Booker experiment for now, not necessarily by choice. How they regroup from here remains a massive question.

One thing is almost certain, that is KD’s departure from Phoenix.

Will Lakers form a Big three of Kevin Durant, LeBron and Doncic?

With the regular season winding down, the Phoenix Suns are dealing with more than just playoff uncertainty—there’s also a huge question mark over Kevin Durant’s future. Trade talks swirled around him at the deadline, and while the Suns tried to move him, KD reportedly shot down a deal that would have sent him back to Golden State for Jimmy Butler.

With only one year left on his contract, speculation is running wild. Many expect Phoenix to trade him this summer, and teams are already lining up. The Lakers were recently linked to Durant, but The Athletic’s Jovan Buha isn’t buying it. “I have not heard anything about the Lakers being interested in Kevin Durant,” he said on his podcast. “That might just be someone throwing the Lakers out there to stir up buzz.”

If L.A. did make a move, it would cost them nearly everything—Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Dalton Knecht, Gabe Vincent, Maxi Kleber, a first-round pick, and pick swaps. That’s a steep price, and Buha believes Phoenix could get better offers elsewhere.

Durant will have no shortage of suitors, but the idea of him teaming up with LeBron and Luka feels like a long shot. Then again, this is the NBA—superstars switching teams overnight isn’t exactly unheard of. Just ask the Lakers, who somehow pulled off the trade for Doncic.