After three consecutive trips to the NBA Finals and winning two NBA championship titles, Kevin Durant decided to part ways with the Golden State Warriors last summer. Despite the strong efforts from the Warriors to convince him to stay, Durant still chose to leave Golden State and start a new journey with Kyrie Irving on the Brooklyn Nets.
In a recent interview with 95.7 The Game , Warriors owner Joe Lacob admitted that he hated to see a player who became a huge part of the organization leave, but he made it clear that he didn’t hold any grudge against the All-Star forward. However, for Lacob, Durant’s decision to leave the Warriors for the Nets “made no sense” since Golden State has almost everything a player could be looking for as an ideal landing spot.
“And by the way, I don’t get mad, the other side of the coin, I can’t get mad when Kevin Durant, who I felt pretty close with, decides he’s going to leave,” Lacob said. “Which, to me, made no sense. Like, you’re the best organization, I hope he thinks, in the world… Winning. Other great players. The new Arena. To me, there was like every reason in the world to stay, but I’m not going to be mad at him because it’s his life. And he earned the right and for whatever reason, he decided he wanted to leave. I can’t control that. I tried.”
What Lacob said is true. The Warriors undeniably have most of the things that can convince a player to stay. However, it turned out that Durant was looking for something else and was determined to have a fresh start on a new team that would appreciate his talent more. Unfortunately, as of now, Durant is yet to play a single game as a Net as he’s expected to spend the entire 2019-20 NBA season recovering from an injury.
Meanwhile, since losing Durant in the 2019 NBA free agency, nothing has gone well for the Warriors. Like Durant, Klay Thompson would also miss the entire 2019-20 NBA season due to injury. Although Stephen Curry is set to return soon , it isn’t likely to be enough to save the Warriors. As of now, the Warriors hold the worst record in the league and have a higher chance of winning the lottery.
Luckily, the Warriors aren’t expected to remain at the bottom of the league for long. If everything goes according to their plan, the Warriors are set to have all their core players in perfect shape before the start of the 2020-21 NBA season. Also, rumors have been circulating that the Warriors will be active on the trade market, searching for their fourth star in the summer of 2020.
