Durant Breaks Silence After Golden State Warriors Exit

After many successful years with the Warriors, Durant finally made the decision to leave and join the Nets not so long ago. Now, after even more waiting, he has spoken out and had some interesting things to say! 

Nets Were ‘Always’ the Choice

Speaking to Yahoo Sports, his words will bring a smile to the Nets fans (but might just leave Knicks supporters feeling a little frustrated!). Back in June, Durant was on the unfortunate end of a torn Achilles. Since then, he has been in recovery and hasn’t really made time for the media. 

For nearly a year, everybody had been talking about the Washington native’s future and whether he would stay at the Warriors. After it was announced that he would be leaving, the media circus continued in a way that very few players could generate. After much speculation, he signed a four-year deal with the Nets thought to be worth $164 million. 

Durant started the interview by saying that ‘it was always going to be for the Nets’ after leaving the Warriors. As well as admiring the creative front office, Durant noted that he enjoyed what the organization was building. 

Of course, the move hasn’t been without its controversy. For one thing, the deal with the Nets was announced before the free agency market had opened. With this, rumors of off-season tampering have been swirling and this is something the NBA is investigating currently; it seems Kyrie Irving also signed for the Nets before free agency had begun.

Even after this, Knicks fans were left disappointed after they thought the move to their organization was almost a done deal. According to Durant, the speculation surrounding this move was completely unwarranted; something that will leave Knicks fans even more disillusioned with their team. 

Teaming Up with Irving 

Back to the interview, Durant said that even though he and Irving were friends before both signing for the Nets, it wasn’t necessarily planned that they would end up on the same team. ‘We just happened to want to hoop together. But it wasn’t a thing we planned. It just came together.’

In terms of his injury from Game 5 in the Finals, Durant passionately defended the Warriors. When asked about the situation, he replied ‘Hell no. How can you blame the Warriors?’. Although there were reports that Durant may have been rushed back from a previous injury, Durant said that he wasn’t under any pressure while in rehab. Instead, Game 5 was always the target while working with Rick Celebrini, the Director of Sports Medicine and Performance at the organization. 

When will Durant play in front of the Brooklyn crowd for the first time? This is still unclear, but we’re almost certain the arena will be pumped for the event. In the past, Achilles injuries have destroyed many NBA careers so some have suggested he will miss a full season. 

Durant did give hope to Nets fans by saying that he’s ‘grinding every day’.