Kevin Durant declined to come to the Warriors via trade earlier this month, sending some within the Golden State fanbase into a tailspin.
Why wouldn’t Durant want to leave Phoenix and return to the Bay Area, where he won two titles, and play alongside Steph Curry and Draymond Green again?
The mechanics of a midseason trade — for players and teams — were a major factor, he revealed in a conversation with Green and former Warrior Baron Davis on “The Draymond Green Show“.
“I didn’t want to move, and then as a player like me, I cost a lot. Me going into your team, it’s going to be a big blow to any team I’m going to. I get why y’all want to trade me, the simple fact that’s just business. But for me looking at it, it just doesn’t make sense for either side right now to go through that when we can play the season out and if that’s the decision you want to make in the offseason, then we figure it out.”
Durant’s $51.2 million cap hit for this season (with $54.7 million coming next year) would require an upheaval of any roster he’d be joining. With fewer than 30 games left, sorting out that chemistry in time for the playoffs is a tall order.
That’s not to mention the fact that the Warriors and Suns were both 25-25 on Feb. 5, the day news broke that Durant wasn’t interested in a reunion, in the No. 9 and No. 10 spots in the West. Uprooting from one star-heavy team appearing to go nowhere for another isn’t all that appealing.
The Warriors ended up trading for Jimmy Butler instead and have been on a hot run ever since, winning six of seven games with Butler in the lineup. Butler, too, cost the Warriors a pretty penny as they sent out Andrew Wiggins and signed an extension that will pay Butler more than $60 million each of the next two years.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported Wednesday on NBA Today that the Suns “are going to trade (Durant), and he knows that,” commending Durant’s professionalism as the team struggles through the season.
Durant, 36, sidestepped when Davis asked him on the podcast if he wanted to end his career with the Suns.
“I want my career to end on my terms. That’s the only thing I’m worried about,” Durant said. “‘Cause I see a lot of dudes that don’t get that opportunity, so I want to keep putting in that work to make that choice on my own.”
While he declined a return to the Bay, Durant reminisced about the three seasons he did spend with the Warriors from 2016-2019, recalling the good times even as some fans and commentators are still critical of him joining a 72-win team.
“It’s going to always be a talking point when it comes to my career, but I don’t give a (expletive),” Durant said. “We did some incredible things and had some of the most fun times of my life moving around as a Warrior.”
Durant also relayed what stood out from his latest team-up with Curry, for Team USA in the Paris Olympics last summer.
“When I got back on the floor with Steph as a teammate, it was like that nonverbal,” Durant said. “You know there’s a certain way you gotta play with Steph. He’s giving the ball up knowing ‘All right, I’m flying back off this pindown, make sure you look for me.’ And a lot of guys on Team USA didn’t understand that.”
Durant was on the floor for Curry’s flurry of 3s that brought the U.S. back in the semifinal to beat Serbia, then again when Curry made four 3s in the final three minutes to seal the gold medal win over host France.
“Those last two games, that (expletive) was ridiculous, bro,” Durant said of his former Warriors teammate. “He made nine 3s that game against Serbia, and then what he did against France those last few shots, it was just perfect. Because he always wanted that moment, you could tell he wanted the gold medal in the Olympics. He had one for the world championships — two of them. You could tell he wanted that Olympic moment, so for it to be like that, it was crazy. It was something he’ll always remember.”