There’s an old saying that goes like “everything that glitters ain’t gold.” That seems to accurately reflect the state of the Golden State Warriors. After winning the Kevin Durant sweepstakes, the Warriors have won the last two NBA Finals in dominant fashion. However, there was apparently trepidation that Durant, the two time Finals MVP, wouldn’t be so keen on re-signing with the NBA champs.
According to Rachel Nichols, host of The Jump on ESPN, there were members of the Warriors who weren’t so certain that Durant was going to return this year until he expressed it on live television with her during the NBA Finals.
“I had literally three or four people from the Warriors organization call, text or physically come to me and say, ‘Thank you for getting him to say that on camera. We weren’t sure.’”
This is nuts to me, but him leaving is not entirely out of the realm of possibility. There was a reason that LeBron James reportedly reached out to him to join him in Los Angeles. There was a reason why in the latest podcast with CJ McCollum, he called OKC “home”. That conflated with the comments that GM Bob Myers made during the parade about Durant not receiving the same love and adulation as the Warriors original core (Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green), exponentially elevates the level of curiosity as to whether Durant would leave or not.
There’s another old saying: Where there is smoke, there’s fire. Durant is only signed for two years, with the ability to opt out after the first year. I’m smelling smoke, and Durant seems to be the type of dude to do what he wants regardless of public opinion.