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Kevin Durant left the Golden State Warriors after a devastating injury in 2019. The superstar forward tore his Achilles in Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors, and after a season filled with drama, the injured Durant and Warriors were eliminated. Many believed it marked the end of Durant’s time in the Bay, and ultimately Durant joined Kyrie Irving and signed with the Brooklyn Nets. Drama followed Durant to Brooklyn and the star requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets this summer.
One of the surprising teams that entered the Kevin Durant trade discussions was the Warriors. NBA Insider Marc Spears was the first to report on Golden State’s interest in a potential reunion with Durant.
“It’s no surprise to me that Warriors have interest in Kevin Durant, according to sources. So does more more than half the league. It’s KEVIN DURANT. You better make the call if you’re an NBA GM. It’s KEVIN DURANT,” Spears tweeted.
Just how serious were the Warriors and their stars’ interest in acquiring Durant? Warriors star Stephen Curry recently spoke in depth about it in a feature with Matt Sullivan for Rolling Stone. In it, the star confirmed with a resounding ‘Hell Yeah,’ that the Dubs considered trading for the Nets superstar.
Steph Curry on Kevin Durant Considerations
Three days after Durant rescinded his trade request with the Nets, Curry confirmed the Warriors interest in the Slim Reaper in a sit-down interview with Sullivan.
“There was a conversation internally amongst us about ‘If he was available, would you?’ Every team has those conversations, and obviously, in our situation, they’re gonna call me and ask me, ‘How do you feel about it?’ I was never hesitant,” Curry explained. “The idea of playing with KD and knowing who he is as a person, from our history in those three years, I think KD’s a really good dude.”
Curry also went on to talk about while he and the team entertained thoughts of trading for Durant, thoughts quickly moved about what that would mean for the Warriors and their current roster.
“And if you said, ‘Oh, KD’s coming back, and we’re gonna play with him,’ I had so much fun playing with him those three years, I’d be like, ‘Hell, yeah!’ Then you have to think: What does that actually mean? What does it look like? You tell me I’m playing with [current Warriors teammates Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, and Draymond Green], I’m like, ‘Hell, yeah!’ There’s all types of emotion and things that happen to the league. And if anybody’s saying that you wouldn’t entertain that conversation — no disrespect to anybody on our team — but you don’t know how things work. But you also understand, like, if we run this thing back, I’ve got complete confidence in my team that we can win it again, as constructed,” Sullivan wrote.
Could Golden State Have Acquired Durant?
If the Warriors continued their pursuit for KD, could they have found a way to acquire him? One NBA executive told Heavy that the Warriors certainly had the best package to acquire Durant.
“So, put aside all the bullsh** that happened when Durant left, it’s a perfect scenario. Wiggins, Wiseman, Kuminga, and a future pick and it is a deal Brooklyn would have a hard time saying no to,” said the rival executive.
“If you can put aside all the bitterness from the two sides, it’s the easiest deal to make of anything Brooklyn is looking at right now. You have three young players you can put into a deal—Moses Moody, (James) Wiseman, (Jonathan) Kuminga—and all of them have value around the NBA. Like, big value because they’re associated with the Warriors, they won a championship. You don’t have to give up all three. You’ve got two rookies coming in, Patrick Baldwin and (Ryan) Rollins. They can’t make deals with those guys until later if they sign. They only owe one pick (in 2024) going forward, they can load up on picks. And you have a guy who can match salaries, Andrew Wiggins.”
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