Kevin Durant’s departure from the Golden State Warriors has been one of the most talked about topics in the league since the 2018 NBA offseason. Durant’s current contract contains a player option that will enable him to become an unrestricted free agent next July. Durant admitted that he heard the various rumors about his impending free agency, but as of now, he said that he’s currently focused on helping the Warriors win their third consecutive NBA title in the 2018-19 NBA season.
Unfortunately for Kevin Durant, the rumors and speculation about his Warriors’ future will continue to circulate until he finally inks a new contract next summer. After the Warriors suffered 128-95 loss against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night at Oracle Arena, Durant didn’t seem to like some of the words coming out of the mouth of Coach Steve Kerr during a post-game interview when he said that they were missing passion, anger, and intensity.
“I thought we move off of joy?” Durant said, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports . “Now it’s anger? OK. I disagree with that one. I think all around, top to bottom, coaches, players, we just gotta be better.”
Disagreement between coaches and players is normal in the NBA, but Haynes revealed that there are some people within the Warriors’ organization who think that Kevin Durant’s recent behavior is a hint at his nearing departure from Golden State.
“There are members of the organization concerned that Durant’s behavior is a sign that he’s already got one foot out the door. But there are others who aren’t reading too much into what they consider to be the standard rigors and annoyances of an 82-game season.”
Now annoyed Kevin Durant takes a shot at Steve Kerr https://t.co/WKRrj4M7k0 pic.twitter.com/t1RqsOQj8V
— New York Post (@nypost) March 6, 2019
Losing Kevin Durant won’t take away the Warriors’ status as the legitimate title contender. The Warriors will remain as the heavy favorite to dominate the Western Conference and take home the Larry O’Brien Trophy as long as they have their core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. However, without Durant on the roster, the Warriors will become vulnerable compared to the previous NBA seasons.
In his potential departure from Golden State, one of the major reasons being mentioned in various rumors is that Kevin Durant wants to face the next biggest challenge of his NBA career. Durant wants to prove that he can win an NBA championship with another team. In the past months, there is speculation that Durant is planning to sign with the New York Knicks to team up with Boston Celtics superstar Kyrie Irving, who is also set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
