Getty Kevin Durant, left, and the Warriors' Stephen Curry
It’s a cliché in sports, and certainly in the NBA, to note that sometimes the best offense is a good defense. And when it comes to the interest being bandied about by the Warriors in a potential trade for team exile Kevin Durant, that could be just what’s at play.
The Warriors are as much interested in keeping Durant out of the hands of a true rival for their NBA Finals crown as they are in having Durant themselves. After all, Durant left the Warriors in a huff back in the summer of 2019, seeking to reclaim his own headlines by teaming up with point guard Kyrie Irving. The sum total of that decision has been three trips to the playoffs, twice ending in first-round exits and once ending in a second-round departure.
The Warriors are not so concerned about a Brooklyn-bound Durant. But if he went to, say, Phoenix, which was listed as one of his preferred destinations? Different story.
“I think they’re worried about where KD might wind up,” one league exec told Heavy’s Steve Bulpett. “(The Warriors) are in a good spot. They’ve got young guys behind their veterans, and they could be really good for a long time, so I’m not sure they really want KD. But I think they’re worried he might go someplace and beat them — if that team isn’t all depleted from what they have to do to get him.”
Warriors Looking to Drive up Durant Price?
That, logic dictates, could be part of the reason behind the Warriors’ reported interest in Durant. Golden State has been careful to set up the current roster, as the exec mentioned, with young players lined up behind the veterans, and some of those young players have significant value beyond what they’ve produced so far. That’s one benefit of playing for a championship winner: Everyone sees their value spike.
Jordan Poole has been named as a player the Nets surely would ask for in a Durant deal. There’s a lot more that the Nets would would, though.
So, Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga, both of whom played small but noticeable roles as rookies in the Warriors’ past season, are sky-high in value. Moody is 20 years old, and Kuminga only 19. If the Warriors sincerely tried to trade either, they’d get a significant return. There’s James Wiseman, too, who was injured last season and is heading into Year 3. But he still was the No. 2 pick in the 2020, and has a world of upside.
@mosesmoody in action tonight for the @warriors finishing with 21 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists! #ProHogs (via @espn)
“They have the best trade chips going as far as young players they could afford to move on from,” one Eastern Conference executive told Heavy Sports. “That gives them a lot of leeway.”
Durant to Warriors a Longshot
Part of that leeway could be simply in driving up the cost of a Durant deal, forcing a team like Phoenix to go beyond a potential deal involving DeAndre Ayton and Mikal Bridges to get Durant—all the way to including Devin Booker. Presumably, the Suns would not make that deal, but the Warriors have the power to push the asking price.
Either way, it is a longshot that Durant winds up in Golden State. He may be the four-time NBA scoring champ and a former MVP, but the Warriors very much like the set-up they have. But there is some feeling around the league that the Warriors interest in him is real, that they’d take Larry O’Brien trophies in the present over securing their long-term future.
“I think they’d take KD in a heartbeat,” another exec told Bulpett. “They want to make sure they win more championships with the veterans they have. They want to squeeze more out of this core.
“You never know what can happen down the line, so when you have a chance to win, you have to do everything you can to get it. Look at all the injuries they had to get over from the last couple of years to win this time.”