Kevin Durant Has Strong Reaction About Former Warrior Teammates

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The Golden State Warriors enter the 2020-21 NBA season tonight with slightly lowered expectations due to the right Achilles tear of the All-Star shooting guard Klay Thompson.

Nonetheless, they come into this season believing they can compete against anyone per their two-time MVP Steph Curry.

“All the noise that’s around us in terms of the different cast of characters and the new guys, we’re going to take that and run with it and do it what we’re going to do. It’s going to be exciting. I just want to play competitive basketball. It’s been too long sitting on the sidelines.”

The first team they’ll have to compete against is the Brooklyn Nets and they are led by former Golden State forward and two-time back-to-back Finals MVP Kevin Durant. While some analysts may see it as former teammates now turned rivals the players themselves see it very differently.

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What did Durant say?

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Durant spoke at length to NBC Sports about how he and his former teammates communicate and how thankful he is about his time in Golden State.

I keep in touch. I’ve seen Draymond. We saw each other at a restaurant. It’s good to see him and his family. I talked to Steph a couple of times. It’s good to see from afar, see that everyone is doing well and realize that these bonds that we created will never be broken no matter what jerseys we have on, no matter what part of the country we all live in. From Shaun [Livingston] to Andre [Iguodala], JaVale [McGee], Steph, Klay, Jordan Bell, Omri [Casspi], Nick Young. When you see guys you won a championship and had long playoff runs with, you have a different connection. I’m very grateful for my time in the Bay Area and I’ll always be a Warrior in my heart.

I’m always going to revert back to those times, especially in this basketball space. When I’m talking to new guys coming into the league, my experiences in OKC and Golden State, they are always going to be on the top of my mind, especially when I’m in the basketball arena, practice and talking to guys who love the game. On top of that, building friendships with guys like [Warriors director of team operations] Eric Housen, my guy Wilson Taylor in Oklahoma City, Donnie Strack and Drew Yoder, those relationships is what keeps us all together. Because we’re always going to talk and check in on each other. When you cross paths with guys and share locker rooms with guys, it doesn’t matter where you play. We all just have that common bond of spending time together.

Warriors Outlook This Season

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While the Warriors may be confident in their ability to compete with the best of the best, they will have their work cut out for them. Curry will need to have a dominant season in order for Golden State to stand a chance against any of the top-tier teams in the western conference.

Additionally, the team will rely heavily on rising star Andrew Wiggins, recently drafted and #2 overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft, James Wiseman, former Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green, and the newly acquired via trade Kelly Oubre Jr.

Unfortunately, Green will not be available for the opening night game against Brooklyn. However, the team will still look to get off to a hot start by knocking off the favored teams to likely win the NBA championship.

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