Kevin Durant is happy that he isn’t joining a Golden State Warriors team that’s working off two consecutive titles.
Why?
Because, well, he (most likely) wouldn’t be a member of the Warriors if that was the case.
As Durant said of his free-agency decision, per ESPN.com’s Ethan Sherwood Strauss:
“[My agent] Rich [Kleiman], who’s here, we were watching Game 7,” Durant told reporters at a ceremony in which the Warriors were presented with the ENCORE Award from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. “Well, as it started to unfold, it was, ‘No question, no way could you go to this team.’ And I was just like a kid, like, ‘I’d really like playing with these guys. I’d get wide-open 3s, I could just run up and down the court, get wide-open layups.’ I was basically begging him. I was like, ‘Yo, this would be nice.'”
…
“As they lost, it became more and more real every day,” Durant said. “You start to think about it even more. To see if I would fit. Then once I sat down with these guys, everything that I wanted to know about them, they kinda showed me. But we don’t have to talk about [what would have happened if the Warriors had won the title], because they didn’t get the job done, and they came after me.
“I guess you could say I’m glad that they lost.”
Some won’t take kindly to Durant “begging” his agent to let him join Golden State. That doesn’t sound like someone who doesn’t allow his decisions to be influenced by others and outside sources, does it? is what they’ll say. But, like, let’s be real: This is more a fun anecdote than an indictment of Durant’s character. He probably uses “begging” loosely. More importantly, in this instance, his agent wasn’t necessarily wrong.
Durant has had a hard enough time evading immense criticism as it is, following the Warriors’ collapse. Think of what would have happened if he joined them had they beaten the Cleveland Cavaliers. It would have been an even bigger public relations nightmare.
Maybe the lure of playing with his new teammates, specifically Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, would have led him to Oakland anyway. But, on the most fundamental front, it’s easier for Durant to sell himself as this dynasty hopeful’s missing piece now that it’s coming off a botched Finals campaign. So, yes, if he really wanted to sync up with the Warriors, he’s glad they lost. On some level, his new running mates, knowing what lies ahead, are probably right there with him.
