Eastern time and the Warriors were expected to have Durant formally sign his contract Thursday. But the four-time National Basketball Association scoring champion felt it was time to begin a new chapter in his career, so after nine seasons in Oklahoma City, he left the Thunder to join forces with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and the rest of the Warriors. No matter what happens, Under Armour is still getting Steph Curry for a tremendous bargain, locked in for $4 million per year until 2024, compared to Kevin Durant’s $300-million contract he signed two years ago. We love people that love to play basketball. With that in mind, here are The Five Best Quotes From Kevin Durant’s Introductory Press Conference With The Warriors.
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Durant said that when he met Coach Steve Kerr that he felt extremely comfortable, adding that the players seemed to be a family, saying that was something he “couldn’t ignore”.
Barkley voiced some strong opposition to the move in his usual colorful terms, qualifying Durant’s choice as mere title-chasing by hopping on the Warriors” “gravy train” and asserting that it’s unhealthy for the league “when you all get together, and say “let’s dominate the league and try to cheat your way to a championship'”.
“It felt like they weren’t in the NBA”, Durant said. You can’t find a better embodiment of that than the guy sitting next to me. That being said I do not thing that Durant is cheating to get a title, he is simply doing what it takes now days to really go after a championship.
Durant said he has spoken to close friend and longtime Thunder teammate Russell Westbrook since making the announcement, and said the two will remain close.
He said he wanted to make a decision that he wanted to make and not listen to outside voices.
He said that he can’t control the negativity that he has received since announcing his departure from the Thunder, saying that he will only focus on his work.
On when he made the decision.
On those who vilify his decision to join the Warriors. I couldn’t consider everybody’s feelings at this point, because it would be hard to.
When asked about Thompson being part of the pitch meeting, Durant quipped about receiving a text message from him: “I didn’t know he had a phone”.
But one of the big reasons Durant joined the Warriors has to do with defense. “I understood cognitively that I was facing a crossroads in my evolution as a player and as a man, and that it came with exceptionally hard choices”.
Durant: “I made the decision to come and play for these guys and I feel great and I feel excited”.
“I will miss Oklahoma City, and the role I have had in building this remarkable team”. I’m going to go play the Pistons.’ No, he got more joy beating the Pistons and winning it, because when you’re the bus driver… “I just want to enjoy every single deal”, he said.
If I were to rank my PGs for the 2016-17 season, Westbrook would no question be #1, especially without Durant “holding him back”. The Warriors have the skeleton of a championship team already.
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Durant joins two-time MVP Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala, a core that won 73 games in the regular season but lost in the NBA Finals to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
