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Came across this ESPN article which breaks down how Durant ending up joining the Warriors.

https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/18376747/how-kevin-durant-landed-bay

Key comment in this article:

“ And, in the aftermath, many sources around the NBA come to believe this: Boston might have landed Durant had the Warriors won the Finals -- as Durant wouldn't want to have looked like a man hopping aboard a dynasty.”


So if the Warriors had won that year Durant would’ve never been on that team. He would’ve been somewhere else. He didn’t want to feel like he would be joining a dynasty if they had won that year. This is nothing like Lebron situation with the Heat where the entire thing was pre planned already.


The Warriors won 73 games that year. Why go after such a high caliber player like Durant? Was Durant wrong in not turning them down?

Why did they fly to the Hamptons to recruit Durant?

Does that really need to be asked? I hear he's a handy basketball player

There's no rule saying that a great team can't sign a superfluous great player. It's too arbitrary to say it was "wrong.”

Durant did all of his FA meetings in the Hamptons. If they wanted Durant, they had to go to him lol. Yes, Durant definitely should have turned down the warriors and signed for the vet min with the Hornets.

I mean I'm so sick of this ****. We are better than this.

Rodwilliams wrote:Came across this ESPN article which breaks down how Durant ending up joining the Warriors.

https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/18376747/how-kevin-durant-landed-bay

Key comment in this article:

“ And, in the aftermath, many sources around the NBA come to believe this: Boston might have landed Durant had the Warriors won the Finals -- as Durant wouldn't want to have looked like a man hopping aboard a dynasty.”


So if the Warriors had won that year Durant would’ve never been on that team. He would’ve been somewhere else. He didn’t want to feel like he would be joining a dynasty if they had won that year. This is nothing like Lebron situation with the Heat where the entire thing was pre planned already.


The Warriors won 73 games that year. Why go after such a high caliber player like Durant? Was Durant wrong in not turning them down?

Yeah and GSW lost NBA Finals against Cavs despite having a 3-1 lead.

Regular season record don't mean a thing without a Championship

He probably wishes he could go back and make a different decision. You can tell how much it eats at him that no one respects him anymore. He’s left to fight with middle schoolers on social media.

brutalitops wrote:Why did they fly to the Hamptons to recruit Durant?

Does that really need to be asked? I hear he's a handy basketball player

The question has to be asked because people call him a snake and other names. What did he do wrong? Draymond Green called him from the parking lot. The Warriors also flew to the Hamptons to convince him to join their team. Where did he go wrong?

"Durant sets up a three-way call with Golden State owner Joe Lacob and GM Bob Myers; he's fixated on learning how the Warriors will shield him from criticism should he decide to join them".

Even then he was looking for someone to deflect for him.

Is it about winning at all cost or about being fair?

Seemed to work out for both KD and the Warriors.

thebigbird wrote:He probably wishes he could go back and make a different decision. You can tell how much it eats at him that no one respects him anymore. He’s left to fight with middle schoolers on social media.

A 73 win team flew all the way to the Hamptons to convince him to join their team. Are you saying that he should’ve told them no?

jordan0386 wrote:Is it about winning at all cost or about being fair?

Yes it was quite unfair to LeBron for another party to out LeBron him.

michaelm wrote:

jordan0386 wrote:Is it about winning at all cost or about being fair?

Yes it was quite unfair to LeBron for another party to out LeBron him.

73 wins but flying to the Hamptons to recruit the 2nd best player in the NBA? Sounds like the Warriors out Lebron Lebron

I would have signed if 1+1 if I was Durant with the Thunder and tried to beat the Warriors one more time. When you lose a series in 7 games the other team is not that much better. Thunder should have beaten the Warriors in '16. Will never understand why Durant gave up that easily and joined them.

If you lose to the Warriors again in '17 then you could sign with some young talented team like the Celtics,Sixers and lead them to a title.

Should have gone to Boston. Got all the credit for winning a title. Profit.

Who knows? If he didn’t go to the Warriors, he may not have won a ring or FMVP’s then he spend his whole life wondering.

He got his rings and FMVP, he can move on. This board should move on to. Water under the bridge.

Lebron James was the reason why they flew down and begged him to join. And yeah he should've turned em down you can tell it eats him up inside that he made that mistake.

Pablo Escobar wrote:Lebron James was the reason why they flew down and begged him to join. And yeah he should've turned em down you can tell it eats him up inside that he made that mistake.

Jerry West tricked him into signing with them. I have heard Durant had his doubts and was concerned he would not get respect by winning with a loaded team like the Warriors. West assured him that he would get respect and that it would be like when Magic won with the showtime Lakers or Bird with the 80's Celtics. Durant believed he was going to get respect and validation from the media and fans by winning with the Warriors. Like you said it definitely eats him up.

DoctorX wrote:

Pablo Escobar wrote:Lebron James was the reason why they flew down and begged him to join. And yeah he should've turned em down you can tell it eats him up inside that he made that mistake.

Jerry West tricked him into signing with them. I have heard Durant had his doubts and was concerned he would not get respect by winning with a loaded team like the Warriors. West assured him that he would get respect and that it would be like when Magic won with the showtime Lakers or Bird with the 80's Celtics. Durant believed he was going to get respect and validation from the media and fans by winning with the Warriors. Like you said it definitely eats him up.

I believe history will look more kindly on him, he was hardly the instigator of the superteam era, and it will be very obvious in retrospect in the absence of the narrative de jour who did instigate same.