NBA Rumors: Stephen Curry Shares Details Of Meeting With Kevin Durant After He Left Warriors For Nets
After failing to win their third consecutive NBA championship title in the 2018-19 NBA season, the Golden State Warriors took another huge blow in the 2019 NBA free agency. Despite strong efforts to convince him to stay, Kevin Durant still decided to part ways with the Warriors to team up with Kyrie Irving on the Brooklyn Nets. Before Durant made the controversial decision, reports circulated that Stephen Curry planned to meet him in New York to convince him to re-sign with the Warriors.
Unfortunately, Kevin Durant agreed to sign with the Nets and didn’t wait for the arrival of Stephen Curry, who came from Asia on his Under Armour tour. Many Warriors fans were disappointed by Durant’s action, especially knowing that he did it to the man who helped him win his first two NBA championship titles. However, in an interview with Marcus Thompson of The Athletic, Curry revealed that his decision to meet Durant in New York was not about his free agency.
Though he has no personal knowledge regarding Kevin Durant’s plan to join the Nets, Stephen Curry knew that while he’s still on the plane, it’s already “decision time” for his former teammate. Curry revealed that he met Durant to check on his injury and overall health. Curry also wanted to give a proper closure to Durant.
“There was no need to pitch,” Curry said, as quoted by Yahoo Sports.
“He knows what we’re about and what we accomplished. He just had to make a decision that makes him happy. That’s what everybody wants to do in this league. It was more about a respect factor, not letting the BS of this league get in the way of our relationship, and not let it change who I am or anything like that. I feel like he just knew what he wanted. And at the end of the day, that’s all you can ask for as a player.”
The Nets landed Kevin Durant before they even spoke with him. https://t.co/aZXMu68uAJ
— USA TODAY NBA (@usatodaynba) July 10, 2019
The departure of Kevin Durant deeply hurt the Warriors’ chances of reclaiming the throne in the 2019-20 NBA season. However, with the core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, the Warriors remain a team to fear in the deep Western Conference. Also, the Warriors didn’t lose Durant in the 2019 NBA free agency without getting anything in return. In a sign-and-trade deal with the Nets, the Warriors acquired All-Star point guard D’Angelo Russell in exchange for Durant.
Meanwhile, the arrival of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and DeAndre Jordan turned the Nets from a mediocre team into a legitimate title contender in the NBA. However, Nets’ fans will be needing to wait a little longer to see Durant play on the court as he’s expected to spend most of the 2019-20 NBA season recovering from an injury.
