Kevin Durant finished a 3-year tenure with the Golden State Warriors in 2019, leaving the Bay as a 2x NBA champion and 2x Finals MVP. It was an entertaining offseason for the player, but it seemed like he had made his mind up long before that summer.
On the first day of free agency, Durant was announced as the new player of the Brooklyn Nets, teaming up with Kyrie Irving at the Barclays Center. That move changed the league’s landscape, with Durant leaving the Warriors’ superteam to create a duo with Kyrie, starting a trend in the league that summer.
Two years later we know that more teams tried to lure him away from the Bay. KD could have stayed in California, actually, but playing with another team. Lou Williams revealed he attempted to recruit the player to Los Angeles, but things didn’t favor the Los Angeles Clippers.
“We thought KD was going to give us what we needed, how we played,” Williams said on ‘No Chill With Gilbert Arenas,’ as transcribed by Essentially Sports.
“It’s an opportunity for guys like him to put another notch on the belt. There hasn’t been a championship in LA, as far as the Clippers go. You got guys that can come in and create their own, especially KD. Where everybody’s like, ‘Oh, he went there to get the rings. F*** that! Those are his rings,” he said unapologetically.
Lou Will believed that was a great opportunity for KD to demonstrate he could lead a team to the championship without having three monsters by his side.
“The great thing about our team is, we’re not confused about who any of us are. Everybody understands it’s a pecking order. So, if KD came in, it’s no pushback. Like bro, this is your team, we riding and everyone will play their part perfectly. So I thought he was going to be the person that could fit in seamlessly.”
In the end, Durant joined the Nets while the Clippers pulled off a big move, landing Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, creating another important duo in the association. Curiously, KD had some beef with Patrick Beverley during his last season with the Dubs so it would’ve been interesting to see how things worked for them.
Still, the Clips wanted to have the 2014 NBA MVP with them. They couldn’t get him but instead got two big names that took them to the 2021 Western Conference Finals.
