Stephen Curry told NBA reporter Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN that he was not upset with Kevin Durant for not wanting to play for the Golden State Warriors again.
The Warriors had a deal to acquire Durant from the Phoenix Suns, but KD blocked it.
“You need everybody to be all bought in no matter what the history you have,” Curry told ESPN about his talk with Durant. “And I respect KD. It’s all about having peace of mind and happiness.”
Durant and Curry were teammates on the Warriors from 2016-17 to 2018-19. The two NBA legends led Golden State to two straight championships in 2017 and 2018, with Durant winning two Finals MVPs.
In Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors, Durant tore his Achilles. The Warriors lost to the Raptors in six games and Durant signed with the Brooklyn Nets in the offseason.
Durant and Curry remain friends. They were teammates on Team USA and helped the United States win the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
However, Durant had zero interest in returning to the Warriors.
“I don’t blame Kevin one bit for not wanting to rerun things here,” Kerr, who coached Durant with Golden State and USA Basketball, told ESPN. “He took so much s— for like, ‘Oh, you’re jumping on the bandwagon’ [when he signed with Golden State as a free agent in 2016]. And then he’s Finals MVP two years in a row. It’s like he still gets criticized. So why would he want to face all that B.S. again?”
The Warriors acquired Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat at the NBA trade deadline, while Durant remained with the Suns.
“He’s like the exact opposite player of me, which is kind of funny,” Curry said after the Warriors beat the Bulls 132-111 in Butler’s debut. “[This] has a potential to be really, really fun.”
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