© Kyle Terada | 2018 Oct 16
“The ball is tipped, and there you are …. “
… Asking yourself: Is Kevin Durant leaving the Warriors????? Ohhhhhh, noooooo!
And yes, I just used the opening of basketball’s all time gooey song, “One Shining Moment” to deke you into another sports-talk lightning-rod topic.
But ever since our KNBR insider, The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson, dropped his now-famous “Man, K.D. out!” sound bite into the capable hands of our producer, Adam Copeland, it’s become a recurring theme on our show, and in the minds of Warriors fans.
Now, we have been reduced to dime-store detectives, trying to read into everything.
— Kevin Durant was introduced last in the Warriors ring ceremony! Surely, that was a sign the Warriors are throwing rose petals at the man’s feet, begging him to stay!
— Tony Durant, Kevin’s brother, posted a comment on Instagram under Kevin’s Opening Night post that read: “Yessir brother!!!! Filling the hand up before we get outta here!” . . . is this a sure sign Kevin has told his closest relatives to start shopping for Lakers gear?
— At media day, Durant said he wanted to “leave his options open.” Surely, the man has packed his bags and is renting furniture for only six months!
Steve Kerr has another answer to all this. He wants to go Zen. Why, he argues, would you worry about something that would happen on July 1, 2019? Why, he argues, would you not live in the moment, live for today, enjoy the 2018-19 Golden State Warriors on a nightly basis? Otherwise, he argues, what is the point of life?
“At some point,” Kerr said last month, “you have to enjoy the moment, because nobody knows what’s ahead.”
Durant himself tried to stamp out the talk again after the Warriors’ opening win on Tuesday night, telling Yahoo! sports, in a fairly detailed response:
“I just want people to focus on basketball. Focus on what goes on the court. I know it’s hard to keep up with it. I know it’s easy to look at that type of [expletive] because it’s the entertainment side. But wait until the season is over with to analyze [free agency]. I know it’s your job and it’s hard to say that, but try to shift some of your focus to the court, too. I know you have to still do your job and check on stuff like that, but every day? Every city I go to? Come on, man. I said what I had to say at media day. I understand your job, but let’s come to a little agreement. Don’t ask me every time you see me. If it’s the first time I’m seeing y’all, I don’t mind answering. But every time? Come on, bro.”
There you have it, Warriors fans. You can spend your life consumed by doubt, anxiety and fear; or you can choose to relish the sight of a third banner on Oracle’s wall, watch Durant go “easy money sniper” (his Instagram handle) on the rest of the league, and be glad to be alive.
Do you have a choice?
As KD himself might say: Come on, bro.