The Kevin Durant trade saga was one of the biggest talking points in basketball media this offseason. Everyone wanted to know where KD would end up, with the most uninspiring answer being the Brooklyn Nets. As things turned out, KD is still a part of the Nets, but the saga was one of the most dramatic ones we have seen in recent history.
Many teams were linked to KD, including his old team, the Golden State Warriors. Stephen Curry has revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone that the Warriors had internal discussions on possibly trading for KD, with Curry being up for it.
“There was a conversation internally amongst us about ‘If he was available, would you?’ Every team has those conversations, and obviously in our situation, they’re gonna call me and ask me, ‘How do you feel about it?’ I was never hesitant. The idea of playing with KD and knowing who he is as a person, from our history in those three years, I think KD’s a really good dude.”
“if anybody’s saying that you wouldn’t entertain that conversation — no disrespect to anybody on our team — but you don’t know how things work. But you also understand, like, if we run this thing back, I’ve got complete confidence in my team that we can win it again, as constructed… So, all those things were true. And it started with me wanting to play with KD at the beginning. Yeah, it’s about winning, it’s about having fun, playing the game of basketball. And that was part of the reaction of, like, ‘Yeah, it’d be amazing.’ What does that actually mean?” (h/t Rolling Stone)
Should The Warriors Have Made A Move To Reacquire Kevin Durant?
Kevin Durant would take any major team and make them title favorites instantly. Despite everything that happened in Brooklyn this summer, the Nets are looked at as one of the best teams in the league for having 3 dynamic players in KD, Kyrie Irving, and Ben Simmons.
The Warriors were unable to trade Andrew Wiggins to the Nets in a Durant trade, as the Nets couldn’t absorb his contract with Simmons still on the team. That made the deal infinitely harder to manage, as the Warriors would have had to part with either Draymond Green or Klay Thompson to make the money match.
The price for KD might have been too high, and the Warriors don’t need to shake up a winning formula that just won the title. Them staying pat and not offering a massive package to the Nets will serve them well.
