If only ESPN would invite Kevin Durant to appear on "First Take" ... and if only then he would accept.
After the Thunder star said ESPN's Stephen A. Smith was "lying" for comments he made linking Durant to the Lakers when he becomes a free agent next summer, Smith fired back at the 2014 MVP, according to a Twitter post quoted by the Daily Oklahoman.
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"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)," Smith posted on his Twitter account. "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. His assertion that I was lying is not only FALSE, but totally uncalled for. Especially from a player who receives nothing but praise not only from me, but from practically every media member you can find."
Smith's tweet comes in response to an earlier Oklahoman interview with the superstar Thunder forward. Durant was responding to the following comments Smith made on "First Take:"
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"Regardless of how senseless it may [sound]," Smith said. "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."
Durant, meanwhile, wouldn't have any of it.
"I don't talk to Stephen A. Smith at all," Durant said via NBA.com. "Nobody in my family, my friends, they don't talk to Stephen A. Smith. So he's lying."
Apparently, Durant didn't like Smith making any inferences about him.
The NBA regular season can't come fast enough as ESPN should send Smith to cover Durant and the Thunder on Opening Night to clear the air.
The good news for Lakers fans is that Durant didn't deny any interest in them. The bad news is that Durant's comments weren't exactly a ringing endorsement for his admiration to play in Los Angeles, either.
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