5 seed last season added All-Star big man Al Horford and almost landed superstar Kevin Durant in free agency.
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Durant ultimately spurned Boston and his former team in Oklahoma City to join forces with two-time MVP Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors, the team that overcame a 3-1 series hole to eliminate the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.
“I was talking to Isaiah, like maybe after you sit back, you shouldn’t have told him everything”, Crowder continued. Crowder added. “It was like a slap in the face for us, basically”.
“We were the only team in the league to beat [Golden State and Cleveland] on their home court”, Crowder said. When the meeting concluded, Crowder was under the impression that Durant would stay in Oklahoma City, and that if he did leave, it would be to join the Celtics. The new look Boston Celtics are a team that will be on the rise this year, but instead of using intrinsic motivation for himself, Crowder has given extrinsic motivation for other teams to defeat the Celtics.
The Celtics went all out in their pitch to Durant, and went as far as bringing in Patriots legend Tom Brady to try and convince him.
“Being in Oklahoma City, knowing how big a part of the community he was, I’m sure it’s a hard decision for him”, said Robert Pack, an assistant coach for OKC.
Although it is true that Crowder’s frustration comes from Durant’s signing with the Warriors, a team the Celtics endured two strenuous, playoff-like battles with during the regular season. “It was unexpected. They tried to keep it as a secret and surprise [Durant]. I think that’s a comment from a guy who hasn’t been on that level, who hasn’t played at that level, so it sounds like a young comment”. The Celtics won 48 games last season and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs; the Warriors set a record with 73 wins and were within a minute of claiming a second straight National Basketball Association championship. As we have seen recently, the players even get involved in making their respective pitches to free agents. “After [Durant’s decision], I just asked like, ‘Well, what’s the direction now?’ And he said, ‘We’re still trying to make moves.’ So that means we’re still active”.
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“My guys were telling me that Bleacher Report says we’ll win 59 games”, Crowder said. And past year we won 48 games without a guy of his nature.
