NBA champion and Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant appeared on ESPN’s First Take this morning and answered many questions that have circulated this off season in regards to his relationship with former teammates; what played a role in him leaving Golden State, and if he planned on returning this season at all even if the Nets made it deep in the Playoffs.
Stephen A Smith asked KD directly,
“Is it possible that your going to come back this year”
KD responded,
“Not right now, I’m not thinking about it, just rehabbing everyday, still rehabbing every day”
When asked if he completely ruled out returning at any point this season Durant stated,
“He is done, he doesn’t plan on returning “
What’s vital here and should be recognized is that Durant was rumored to have felt pressure from the Warriors organization during the NBA Finals last season and decided to play.
Moreover, Durant refuted those claims this morning revealing he felt he could defend Pascal Siakam and wanted to help the team as much as possible.
He went as far as stating he didn’t feel any pressure from anyone including ownership, and teammates into rushing back to play in the finals.
“I’m one of the best players on the team and were losing in the finals, of course in the back of everyone mind is wondering when I’m going to come back and play”
Durant does admit to Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman that he wished he would have did it differently during the finals, referencing to perhaps not playing at all with the injury that could have avoided the Achilles ultimately needing surgery.
KD spoke briefly about the Draymond Green saga and if that played a role in him leaving Golden-state.
Durant seemed authentic when providing details on why he left the team.
“Your teammate talk to you that way, you think about it a bit, definitely for sure”
This is him responding to Draymond having any type of influence on him leaving the team. Durant further mentioned that him and Draymond talked throughout the season about the feud but admitted both players wanted to do it their way in resolving their issues.
It was reported from management that ownership and the coaches approached Green after the debacle and advised him to apologize to Durant after publicly feuding with him during a national broadcasted game.
The million dollar question that has been rumored and debated over media airways was answered from the horse’s mouth on why he decided to opt out and leave?
“I just felt like I needed a switch , felt like a lot of stuff in Golden-state had reared its head; I felt like it was going to be the end no matter what”
Notably, Kevin Durant did not hold back his thoughts on the Warriors situation and why he felt the need to leave. He went into depth about the salary cap issue rearing its head after the season and potential pieces leaving (Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston) which all ultimately played a role in him heading to Brooklyn.
If you thought KD would maybe suit up this season after it being ended unfortunately during the NBA finals, you guessed wrong. He knows this is his career at stake and Durant suffered one of the toughest injuries to recover from.
Flip the page to see videos of Durant discussing this past offseason and thoughts from around Twitter.
