Kevin Durant Rumors of Going to the LA Lakers Shot Down, Claims Stephen A. Smith is 'Lying'

Earlier this week, Stephen A. Smith appeared on ESPN's First Take and made a bizarre announcement. Apparently, according to Smith, if Kevin Durant were to leave Oklahoma City Thunder in his free agency, the Lakers would be his preferred destination. Now, KD responded with Smith's wild proclamation with "he's lying."

"Regardless of how senseless it may (sound)," Smith said as per SunTimes Network. "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."

On Friday, in an interview with The Oklahoman, Durant addressed the rumor, as reported by NBA.com:

There was the first of these unnamed sourced free agency reports that we're expecting to come out throughout the season. The whole Lakers thing that Stephen A Smith came out with, do you have any response to that?

Durant: "I don't talk to Stephen A Smith at all. Nobody in my family, my friends, they don't talk to Stephen A Smith. So he's lying."

What's the best way to attack those because I know you're not naive to think these won't be popping up throughout the year?

Durant: "If you ask me a question, I'll talk about them. But like I said before, I have people who I talk to about everything and I know for a fact they didn't talk to him, so he's making up stories."

Apparently Durant's claim back in February during the All-Star Weekend in New York about reporters not knowing "sh*t," as reported by Deadspin,

"You guys really don't know sh*t," were his exact words – still applies to the media.

Now, later that Friday, Stephen A. Smith posted a statement about his proclamation on Twitter, according to The Source:

"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." Smith said in his tweet. "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."

Considering the fact that Smith started a false rumor based on hearsay, which KD cleared up, Smith's reaction to Durant's response is quite dramatic, to say the least. The tweet is actually quite long, much longer than the quote above, which is merely a snippet. Obviously Smith feels attacked by Durant's remarks, for no real reason besides getting caught for false reporting.

You can read the full tweet here.