The Warriors held an introductory presser today for Kevin Durant on Thursday afternoon, opening him up to the media for the first time since his decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.
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On these last couple of weeks… He said they seemed like a family, and the conversation was organic, authentic and real. He said it will be the most fun that you’ll ever have in your life”, Durant said, adding earlier, “Those guys, they came in and felt like they were hand-in-hand …
On how hard the decision was… It would be hard – I had to focus on me. Those nine years, you can’t erase. “It was tough…. Those memories don’t erase”.
“That’s my problem. Listen, if you get traded, you get traded”. However, he woke up on the Fourth of July and decided that he would join the Warriors. “So I think it’s much easier to be predict a team’s success when it’s half way or two-thirds through a season than it is before the season no matter how much talent they have on paper, because at the end of the day, it’s a team sport”. “But it won’t be the same as leading your team where you’re the bus driver instead of the bus rider”. The Thunder could have won next year’s championship just as easily as the Warriors could have won. “I just felt like I needed to be a part of it”.
On when he made the decision… And we all gave each other hugs and we moved on from there.
“I’ve seen a lot of guys with insane egos….”
“I understand the fans in Oklahoma City, and basketball fans around the world, are I guess upset”. They didn’t, Barkley said, “get together during the summer on a banana boat”, to “try to cheat (their) way to a championship”.
To those who say he’s taking a short cut to a championship… We love people that love to play basketball. It’s an adjustment period. I like that question and look forward to seeing how it plays out next season.
Thunder officials, of course, traveled to East Hampton in Long Island, N.Y. – where Durant was bunking at the summer home of his agent, Rich Kleiman – to have one last meeting with the offseason’s most prized free agent once he had already met with every team on his list. He was an All-Star 11 times but only made the Finals once, in his 1992-93 MVP season, losing to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in six games. “I know I haven’t changed as a person”.
Kevin Durant said he has spoken to former Oklahoma City co-star Russell Westbrook since deciding to leave the Thunder to sign with the Warriors.
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Durant also mentioned that he thought Westbrook would talk again soon. There were clearly a number of considerations weighing on Durant’s decision, and it’s not totally absurd to think that some of the issues plaguing this team – which were obvious even to the most casual viewer – might have contributed to that.
