LeBron James: Kevin Durant Has 'Got to Become a Free Agent One Day'

With shots being fired at old training partner Kevin Durant, LeBron James offered some public support for the NBA MVP front-runner.

The four-time scoring champ had struggled finding his form in the Oklahoma City Thunder's first-round playoff series with the Memphis Grizzlies. Through five games (three of them Memphis wins), Durant was shooting just 40 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from beyond the three-point line.

The Oklahoman's Berry Tramel chronicled Durant's uncharacteristic troubles in a column for Thursday's paper. That alone wouldn't have caused any uproar, but someone gave Tremel's piece the headline "Mr. Unreliable."

The headline drew negative reviews across the basketball world and also led James to say the biggest challenger to his NBA throne owes it to himself to one day experience life as a big-ticket free agent, via ESPN.com's Michael Wallace:

Bleacher Report's Ethan Skolnick provided further insight into James' comments:

Durant's initial reaction to the headline was much more subdued. He said his play hadn't been living up to the standards he'd set, via Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman:

Durant delivered in a big way during Thursday night's elimination game. He poured in a game-high 36 points (on 11-of-23 shooting) and chased down a game-best 10 rebounds in OKC's 104-84 runaway victory.

Many wondered if The Oklahoman's unfavorable label for him added some energy to power his performance. Durant, though, said it had no impact on the way he played, via Royce Young of DailyThunder.com:

Thunder coach Scott Brooks agreed with his superstar's assessment.

"He's self-motivated," Brooks said, per CBS Sports' Gary Parrish. "He's a tremendous kid who does everything for his team, for our organization. ... He gives everything he has."

The newspaper eventually issued an apology of sorts for the headline.

"The words were overstated and unduly harsh," sports editor Mike Sherman wrote. "The headline and presentation left the impression that we were commenting on Durant’s season, career or even character. We were not. We were referring only to the Memphis series."

A series that old reliable Durant just helped even up at three games apiece.

The 25-year-old has played the biggest role in the franchise's roaring rise from nothing (20-62 in his rookie season with Seattle) to something (119-45 over the past two seasons). A scoring savant since the start of his career (20.3 points per game as a rookie), he's since expanded his game to an MVP level across the board (7.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists, career-best 29.8 player efficiency rating this season, via Basketball-Reference).

It's hard to question anything he does, let alone infer (even unintentionally) that he's failing his team.

That said, it's important to remember that the newspaper is an objective observer of the action. The publication shouldn't have a rooting interest in the action, even if it's the only game in town.

Could the paper have found some better wording? Absolutely:

Would this headline alone drive Durant out of Oklahoma City? Not a chance, even if the rest of the basketball world hopes that it does:

Durant's current contract won't expire until 2016. Will anyone even remember the word "unreliable" by that point?

Well, some savvy executive might pin this paper on their bulletin board to make sure they don't forget. Maybe a(nother) transcendent talent will, too.