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The Golden State Warriors appear out of the sweepstakes for Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant despite rumors linking the defending champs to the superstar.
Warriors general manager Bob Myers spoke to Mark Medina of NBA.com at the ESPYS and appears very confident with the team’s current roster construction.
“I like our team and where it’s at,” Myers told NBA.com. “I want to give the guys a chance to do it again.”
The Warriors are fresh off winning their fourth title in eight years, so shipping out a boatload of assets to land Durant doesn’t appear to be in the cards for Golden State.
“It’s a good group. We’re lucky. It’ll be fun to see,” Myers said. “We were really hunting last year. Now I guess we’re back to being the hunted, which I didn’t think we’d be. We’ll see. I think we can handle it.”
Myers made it clear the Warriors wanted to keep their title-winning roster intact as much as possible. While they’ve seen rotational pieces like Otto Porter, Gary Payton II and a few others move on, they still have their core intact and have made some solid moves to beef up the roster while dealing with cap restraints.
“We kept most of it together, but we have to stay healthy,” Myers said. “I didn’t think we’d make it last year, but we did. I watch like you do. We’ll see what happens.”
Warriors Discussed Durant Trade With Team’s Stars
The Warriors are in a unique situation in regards to a move for Durant. He was previously part of two title-winning squads during his time in Golden State, garnering Finals MVP honors in both those efforts.
It was previously reported by Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic that the Warriors’ stars were informed of a possible trade and open to the possibility. And Steph Curry even spoke on the rumor that his squad could reunite with Durant.
“The rumor mill and all that stuff is part of the nature of the NBA and league,” Curry said, per NBC Sports Bay Area. “You take it for what it is. You know how quickly things can change, but I like where we’re at.”
That being said, Brian Windhorst of ESPN said that a move for Durant has at least been a discussion for the Warriors internally.
“There’s legitimate sources in the league telling me that it’s a discussion,” Windhorst said during a July 13 appearance on the “Dan Patrick Show”. “First off, the Warriors always believe in open throttle. The Warriors have shown they don’t care what they spend. … This has been a discussion inside the Warriors organization. [Steph] Curry’s been asked about it, and Curry gave a nonanswer. But he didn’t shut it down. He didn’t say, ‘Hell no.’”
The sticking point would be the package the Warriors would have to give up to land Durant. They’d likely have to include Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole, who emerged as key pieces of their title run a year ago. Both could be extended this offseason.
The duo also represents what could be the Warriors’ future, with Curry (34), Klay Thompson (32) and Draymond Green (32) all in their 30s.
Durant Trade Market Currently at Standstill
A lot can still happen, but the trade market for Durant appears to be at a standstill, with teams unwilling to give up what would likely be a record haul for the former MVP. After all, Rudy Gobert just fetched the Jazz four first-round picks and multiple players in a trade with Minnesota.
And with Durant under contract through the 2025-26 season, there’s still a chance he runs it back with the Nets if a deal doesn’t come to the table that the Nets like.
“I don’t even think the Nets have a 100 percent understanding of why Kevin asked for a trade. He spoke to the owner in Joe Tsai and gave a reason, but I’m not sure the Nets are 100 percent on the understanding of it,” Windhorst said. “I think the next step in this, barring a team’s change of heart to meet the Nets’ price, which I don’t see at this point on the calendar, I think we’re going to have to wait to hear from Kevin Durant about how open he is to running it back with the Nets.”
If the price comes down, perhaps Golden State would revisit a move for Durant. But for right now, the Warriors seem set with what they’ve got.
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