Kevin Durant To Play Distributor Role on OKC Thunder With Russell Westbrook Sidelined By Knee Injury

Kevin Durant is known for his scoring prowess but the Oklahoma City Thunder superstar will play a distributor role in the upcoming 2013-14 NBA season.

OKC Thunder coach Scott Brooks said in an interview with The Oklahoman that he will convince Durant to distribute the ball more often in the upcoming season to maximize the scoring capabilities of their other potent scorers.

"It's by design," Brooks said on playing Durant as one of their playmakers. "We want all of our playmakers to continue to look for guys that need help scoring. We have guys that can do a lot of things offensively, but they need help. And (Durant) has the ability to get shots for Thabo (Sefolosha), get shots for Serge and get shots for all of our bigs."

Durant averaged 28.1 points per game last season, while also tallying a career-high 4.6 assists. In their recent preseason game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, his playmaking skills was in full display as he tallied 12 assists on top of his 21 points on 9-for-18 shooting from the field.

Durant's 12 assists were converted into 26 points for his team, helping five teammates to score at least one basket. Serge Ibaka converted nine shots with five of it coming from a pass from Durant, who also assisted point guard Reggie Jackson four times in that match.

"He's one of the best scorers in the league, if not the best, so he draws so much attention. He's slowed down a little and he's finding open shooters. Unfortunately, a lot of our shots went in and out. He probably should have had around 20 assists. But he's doing a good job of just taking what the defense gives him," Jackson said.

The 25-year-old superstar will have to keep himself busy finding scoring opportunities for his teammates, particularly in the earlier part of next season, in which the Thunder are expected to play without starting point guard Russell Westbrook, who is sidelined by a knee injury.

"Obviously we got to change some things up with how we play. And I think coach is putting in some great offense for us. Everybody's touching the ball. We're moving it a little bit more. We're finding the open shot and we're just trusting our offense," Durant said.