The Golden State Warriors moved on quickly with their retooling efforts after Kevin Durant signed with the Brooklyn Nets in free agency. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a blow to the teammates he’d left behind. They were rooting for his return with hopes of keeping a good thing going, in terms of legacy and NBA history.
Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson, in conversation with USA Today Sports’ Mark Medina, says he’ll miss Durant’s “talent.”
“He was a true joy to play with,” Thompson said.
If it sounds like Thompson isn’t bitter over Durant’s desire to choose the unknowns of Brooklyn over the proven possibilities of Golden State, you’d be right. The sharpshooter chalked Durant’s decision up to a “change of heart” that he will “never hold against him.”
While Thompson and others in the organization maintain publicly that there are no hard feelings (perhaps because of the immediate need to regroup and move on), some of Durant’s offseason actions suggest he may not feel the same way. His recent comments about the team’s offense raised some eyebrows, as did the report about Durant never returning to the Bay Area after tearing his Achilles in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
“He wanted to go to New York City,” Thompson said. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”
This is certainly a healthy attitude to maintain for someone focused on rehabbing from ACL surgery and supporting the efforts of his team and its new cast of characters to be successful. But in the quiet moments, does Thompson and other Warriors stop to think about what could have been if Durant had stayed?
Thompson admits that he “mostly just let [Durant] be” during free agency rather than making a big pitch. But his primary talking point focused on a future we now will never know.
“I told him we could have the greatest dynasty ever.”
