“Kevin Durant is NOT a leader. He is a follower, and followed Kyrie Irving!” : Skip Bayless reacts to Shaquille O’Neal’s recent thoughts on Nets star

Kevin Durant’s future has been the biggest topic of conversation in the NBA off-season.

With the Nets superstar demanding a trade, the NBA landscape changed suddenly. KDs future shall undeniably affect the early odds for contention for the 2022-23 NBA season.

Despite coming off an Achilles injury only in 2020-21, KDs status as the league’s best offensive weapon remains intact. The 7 ft tall sniper is a prized commodity and has teams sprawling to form trade packages that meet the Nets’ demands.

Also read: 4x NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal slams Kevin Durant’s $196M worth decision to leave Brooklyn

However, not everyone is a fan of KDs decision to demand a trade from the Nets. Kevin Durant had joined the Brooklyn Nets with his friend Kyrie Irving in the 2019 off-season.

The Nets came close to usurping the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks but failed to do so. More recently, the Nets were swept by the eventual finalists, Boston Celtics. At this point, the furor surrounding the future of the Nets hit a fever pitch.

KDs decision to demand a trade under the circumstances has drawn mixed opinions. Shaquille O’Neal is someone who made his perspective clear in this regard. Big Diesel stated that KD has to act as a leader and stay put at Brooklyn while helping them contend with Kyrie and Ben Simmons.

However, all-time Kevin Durant defender Skip Bayless believes otherwise.

What did Skip Bayless have to make of the situation?

Skip Bayless, renowned for his support of Kevin Durant, came through for KD even at this time of criticism. Skip was of the opinion that KD had made a huge mistake following Kyrie’s steps and that the whole Nets plan wasn’t KDs brainchild.

Kevin Durant is the best player in the league, but that doesn’t mean he has to be the greatest leader. More @Undisputed, now on FS1 https://t.co/1w3dB5Tc63

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) August 3, 2022

Skip made the statement while reminding his followers that KD is the best player in the league in his opinion. However, for once, a flaw was acknowledged too, pointing at KDs lack of leadership skills.

Kevin Durant has been a superstar in the league from the day he set foot in Seattle. However, the recent noise has definitely cast him in bad light. Wherever he is, the Slim Reaper looks set to be on a mission to prove the haters wrong in 2022-23.

Is Skip right on putting the blame on Kyrie Irving? Or is Shaq’s demand of KD the right way to process this situation?

Also read: Skip Bayless shockingly justifies Kevin Durant’s giving up before playoffs, would have buried 6’10” LeBron James alive for the same