Kevin Durant’s move to Golden State in 2017 was probably the craziest moment of his career.
His departure in 2019, however, doesn’t fall too far behind.
With rumors swirling about a potential rift between him and the organization, KD was bombarded with questions all season long as reporters and insiders took turns guessing where he’d land.
He ended up signing with the Nets that summer, finally ending all the noise. But in a chat with Logan Murdock of The Ringer, he looked back on that time to blast the media for the way they handled that whole situation.
“I just think I deserved a little bit more respect than that. I came out here and gave back money, sacrificed my name, and went out here and sacrificed my body every night to be the best that I can be. I just asked for a little bit more respect to wait until after the season than to badger me every day, all year with questions like that,” he says, referring to his free agency. “I thought it was unfair to me and the whole group to even think about anything that was going to happen after the year. It was unprofessional, in my opinion.”
After his public altercation with Draymond Green, Durant became the biggest story of the season. For years, the Dubs ruled the NBA with an iron grip and brought home two Championships in just as many seasons.
The idea that Durant would leave that situation for something unknown was baffling to the NBA community, which is why it was such a big story at the time.
Unfortunately, it only made things worse for Durant and the Warriors, who were always forced to talk about the future of their team.
Clearly, Durant recognizes the negative impact it had that season.
