New Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant hasn’t talked a whole lot about his league-altering decision to move on from the Oklahoma City Thunder since publicly announcing that move.
Sure Durant did take part in a Q&A with members of the media after the signing became official, but that was a mere formality.
Now taking part in training camp for Team USA in the lead up to the Summer Olympics in Rio, Durant opened up a bit more about his mentality following the decision to join Golden State.
“For a few days after (signing), I didn’t leave my bed, because I was like, if I walk outside somebody might just hit me with their car, or say anything negative to me,” Durant said in Vegas on Tuesday, via ESPN. “Like I said, I never had this reputation, and so many people who don’t even watch basketball are telling me congratulations and good luck going forward. It’s crazy how big I got and how big this got.”
This is one area Durant has touched on since making the move to Northern California. He had previously talked about how he can’t please everyone during a recent trip to China (more on that here).
The issue most have with Durant’s decision is the fact that he left a title contender for the team that defeated his old squad in the Western Conference Finals last season.
Durant’s comments to ESPN will surely act as fodder for those who have continued to criticize his move. The guy just signed a two-year, $54.3 million max deal with the two-time defending champs and it took him a while to get out of bed because of outside criticism. That will surely be seen as some soft-skinned stuff right there.
“I mean, I’ve been somewhere for so long, and then to make a change like that, (which) nobody knew was coming, that nobody didn’t think I would do, of course I didn’t know how it would be received afterward,” the former NBA MVP continued. “But at some point, I just said, ‘Look, man, life goes on. Life moves on, and I can’t hide forever,’ so I just had to face it.”
If Durant thinks what people are saying about him on social media and the television is bad, he’s going to be in for a shock when he returns to Oklahoma City next season as a member of the Warriors.
Heck, the Warriors have crossed that Rubicon here recently. It’s the line between being considered a good story and finding themselves despised by the rest of the basketball world, fans and media included.
As a “super team,” as some have suggested, the Warriors have a huge task ahead of themselves. Can they fend off an NBA that’s going to be gunning for them? Can they do so without giving in to the pressure?
As one of the best players on the team, said pressure will definitely be placed squarely on Durant’s shoulders. It will definitely be interesting to see how he responds.