As he prepares for his 20th NBA season, Kevin Durant hasn’t given much thought to retirement, Matt Young of The Houston Chronicle relays in a subscriber-only story. The Rockets star addressed that topic and several others, including his willingness to spar with fans online and in person, during a 68-minute interview on Boardroom Talks, which Durant co-owns.

Durant admits being affected by former teammate Russell Westbrook‘s retirement announcement this summer, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to consider ending his time in the league. Durant holds a $46MM player option for 2027/28 and still performs at a high level, averaging 26 points per game last season while earning second-team All-NBA honors.

“It’s a young man’s game,” Durant said. “Even though I feel like I can play, you are always hear, ‘You’re 38, you’re 39. You’re getting up there.’ So, yeah, I get that, but I put everything into the game and I’m cool with whatever happens as I move forward. I’m going to continue to put everything into the game until I can’t no more.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

• Appearing on the “Curious Mike” podcast (YouTube link), Michael Porter Jr. talked about being impressed by Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving during a recent workout, per Grant Afseth of Dallas Sports Journal. Irving has been sidelined since tearing his left ACL on March 3, 2025, but Porter didn’t see any lingering effects from that injury. “I was hooping with him yesterday and this is off of his ACL,” he said. “That dude was so cold, bro. I couldn’t believe how he was moving out there. And he was getting to the lane, there’s all footers in there and he somehow was with the left. Bro, it was nutty. It was crazy.”
• In an interview with Mark Medina of Ratings, the trainer for Spurs guard Stephon Castle makes the case that his client is the NBA’s best perimeter player. Olin Simplis argues that Castle deserves All-Star and All-Defensive consideration and said he has been working to improve his shooting and conditioning since the NBA Finals. “Obviously, shooting overall in the NBA is at a premium,” Simplis said. “But with Steph, it’s also about making sure that we create the proper energy and synergy on every rep. He’s such a high-volume guy defensively that sometimes his sequence in his shooting patterns is off.”
• In a subscriber-only story, Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal talks to Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press about what Isaiah Stewart will bring to the Grizzlies. Sankofa calls Stewart “a perfect wrestling heel type guy” and predicts that Memphis fans will react enthusiastically when he gets into scuffles with opposing players.