NBA Rumors: Kevin Durant’s Departure From Warriors Predicted To Happen When He Won First NBA Title
After a failed three-peat, the Golden State Warriors took another huge blow in the 2019 NBA offseason when they lost Kevin Durant in free agency. Despite strong efforts from the Warriors’ front office to convince him to stay, Durant still decided to leave Golden State to start a new journey with Kyrie Irving on the Brooklyn Nets. From the time he made the controversial decision, several NBA rumors have emerged regarding the main reason why Durant parted ways with the Warriors.
Aside from their loss to the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals, there were speculations that Durant’s altercation with Warriors power forward Draymond Green played a major role in his decision last summer. However, according to Logan Murdock of NBC Sports, there were already multiple signs that Durant would be leaving the Warriors from the time he won his first NBA championship title in 2017.
“But in the days after Durant’s first championship parade, things began to change for him. In the ensuing years, the bonds he built began to deteriorate. His mother, Wanda, a mainstay at Oracle Arena during his first season in Oakland, had financial disagreements with her son, according to the Wall Street Journal, and rarely came around as she and his brother, Wayne, retreated back East. On the court, even after Durant claimed his second title over James and the Cavs, his relationship with Green took a hit, as a verbal sideline spat during a game against the Clippers in Los Anglees defined his headline-plagued final Warriors season.”
When he left Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the summer of 2016 to join the star-studded Warriors, Durant only had one goal in mind which was to win an NBA championship title. Durant admitted that he tried to be part of the Warriors family and wanted to be accepted in Golden State but no matter what he does, he realized that he could never receive the same treatment as Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green.
As time went by, it was becoming more clear to Durant that he was different from the other Warriors superstars. When he hit the free agency market again last summer, Durant immediately grabbed the opportunity to have a fresh start on an NBA team where he knew that he would be more appreciated and respected.
The arrival of Durant and Irving in Brooklyn has undeniably turned the Nets from an average playoff team to a legitimate title contender in the Eastern Conference. However, since signing a four-year, $164 million contract in the 2019 NBA free agency, Durant is yet to play a single game as a Net as he’s still recovering from the injury he acquired last season.
