Knicks grandpa Clyde Frazier disparages Kevin Durant on radio

There is very precious little I care about less than hearing old athletes talk about their modern counterparts. So when I heard that Knicks god Walt “Clyde” Frazier had made some slightly disparaging remarks about Kevin Durant’s accomplishments in a radio interview, I was sure everything was being blown way out for proportion. Still, let’s have a look (per Stefan Bondy):

“Durant, as great a player he is, I would still hold back (giving him credit) because he joined a team that really didn’t need him,” the Knicks legend told SiriusXM NBA Radio on Tuesday. “He’s right there with LeBron, probably would’ve surpassed LeBron as the best player in the game soon, but for him doing that I still don’t give him the full credit that he probably would’ve deserved if he stayed in OKC and won a title with that team.”

Asked where Durant will land on his rankings, Frazier said, “He’s going to be down the list for me because of that. There will be an asterisk next to his name.”

Before we begin, it is important to note that Clyde friggin’ literally wrote the book on cool, whereas Durant is a certified nerdlinger.

There remains an odd backlash to the righteous annoyance to come out of Durant’s decision to join the Golden State Warriors. I wouldn’t go as far as Clyde as to put on asterisk on Durant’s accomplishments in Golden State, but dammit do I ever respect his right to trash-talk Durant.

But what does this mean for the Knicks’ potential courtship of Durant during the 2019 free agency period? Let’s just put it this way: If Durant rebuffs the Knicks because a 73-year-old man said some slightly critical things about him, then he’s every bit as lame as his haters believe.

In conclusion: 36 points, 19 assists, 7 rebounds and 5 steals in Game 7.