Kevin Durant officially signed with the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, and then he was introduced in a press conference. Warriors general manager Bob Myers said he couldn't believe he was actually sitting next to Durant, and coach Steve Kerr understated things a little when he said that "the combination of all these guys playing together should be a lot of fun to watch."
What did Durant say? Here's a summary:
On that meeting in the Hamptons ...
The meeting with Golden State in the Hamptons had a huge impact on him. The Warriors' Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala joined Kerr and Myers to pitch Durant. "I was shocked that those four guys came in to meet me a couple of days ago," he said. "The team won 73 games and a championship before. I didn't think they would be interested in a player like me because they had so much success." Durant added that he "wanted to see those guys face-to-face" and "look Steph in his eyes and ask him how he felt" about another superstar being on the roster. He said they seemed like a family, and the conversation was organic, authentic and real.
On leaving Oklahoma City ...
Durant had trouble leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder, and he knew he would disappoint the fans there, but he had to do what was best for his career and felt like the time was right to go somewhere else. "That call to Oklahoma City was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life," he said. Tears were shed. This was like I said a new journey for me, testing the unknown, and I trusted my gut, I trusted my instincts. It's an unpopular decision, but I can live with it." He added that he can't control the "outside noise," and he "just tried to focus on me" when he was going over the pros and cons with his advisers.
On taking the 'easy' route ...
Durant rejects the idea that he took the easy way out by joining a team that was already championship-caliber rather. "This was the hardest road because I don't know anybody here," Durant said. "I've never lived in this community, never played for this team and I took a leap." He added that he's out of his comfort zone, and he knows that Golden State is going to be expected to be "perfect now," but that is "not realistic."
On breaking the news to Westbrook ...
After deciding to leave the Thunder, he talked to Russell Westbrook. "Obviously, it's tough," Durant said. "We were teammates for so long and had a lot of great memories and I'm sure he wasn't happy about the decision, but he respected it as my friend. The relationship is great. We had great years man. It's something that you'll never take away from us. But like I said, I wanted a new chapter in my life. I felt it was time for it."
On the day of the decision ...
On July 3, he was torn and decided to sleep on it, but he woke up at 7 a.m. and knew he wanted to be a Warrior. He called the Fourth of July "the toughest day of my life," and he knew the amount of attention on him, but said that he hasn't changed as a person and won't start treating others differently because he made a decision to play basketball elsewhere.
Durant is clearly aware of the fact that he made a controversial choice. He sounded more nervous than he has appeared in a long time, and he's sensitive to the fact that he disappointed Oklahoma City. He directly said he didn't feel guilty about it, though, and came off as genuinely excited to get on the court with a team that has a chance to make history.
If you hated that he chose Golden State, his argument for how he took a difficult road probably won't sway you at all. If you loved it, you're probably more pumped about this super team. Either way, the sight of this future Hall of Famer holding a Warriors jersey was pretty powerful. This team is going to be something special.
