© Kyle Terada | 2019 Apr 30
You knew this was coming. Just a day after Kevin Durant reportedly joined the Brooklyn Nets as part of a sign-and-trade from the Warriors, and we are getting buzz about how KD really felt during his time in Golden State.
The most reputable report comes via longtime NBA reporter Marc Spears, who published an interview with Kendrick Perkins in The Undefeated on Monday morning, breaking down some of the reasons Durant decided to team up with Kyrie Irving on the other side of the country.
“A source close to Durant also told The Undefeated there were several things that took place over the past year that caused the star to leave. While Durant’s shocking move to join the Warriors in 2016 quickly paid dividends for him — two straight championships and two Finals MVP awards — there was always the sense that the 10-time All-Star felt like a distant second fiddle to Stephen Curry.
“Perhaps it would have helped the Warriors’ cause if their fans showed more love and appreciation for Durant’s elite achievements.
“Curry regularly received MVP chants from the Warriors crowd when he shot free throws, while that didn’t become commonplace for Durant until this past postseason.”
Though we can argue endlessly about how much Durant “should” care about this kind of thing, this dynamic should not be surprising. Curry was the catalyst for the Warriors’ resurgence after decades of being the league’s laughingstock, and helped lead the team to their first Finals victory in 40 years in 2015. Durant was an enigmatic mercenary brought into an already great team, who played a style that was less aesthetically appealing than Curry’s.
In the end, Durant wanted to go somewhere where he would be embraced by the fans like Curry is in the Bay Area, and wanted to play with his friends Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan. More power to him.