Kevin Durant made one of the biggest NBA free agency moves in recent memory on Sunday when he spurned the Golden State Warriors in favor of the Brooklyn Nets, leaving $79 million on the table in the process.
Afterward, he showed a hint of how he really feels about the Warriors by liking an Instagram post that blamed his injury on the team’s “incompetence.”
Now, thanks to a wonderfully written column by Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, we have an even deeper understanding of how Durant perceives the Warriors. Spears spoke with Kenrick Perkins, who is a former teammate of Durant. Perkins told Spears “he believes Durant had ‘one foot out the door’ this past season because the Warriors made him feel unappreciated.”
Durant reportedly felt upset that Warriors fans seemed to favor Stephen Curry over him, and that there was a perception he jumped onto Golden State’s bandwagon. That rankled the two-time NBA Finals MVP, who also didn’t appreciate a poorly-aimed joke by general manager Bob Meyers regarding Durant’s pending free-agency situation after winning the title in 2018.
“Last year, you told Steph he could have whatever contract he wants, too,” Warriors play-by-play announcer Bob Fitzgerald said to Myers. “That was different,” Myers replied. “[Curry’s] been here since the way before days. … He earned it.”
Then there was the issue Durant with Draymond Green, which was public and dragged on for a while before it seemed the two stars let their beef go ahead of the playoffs this past season.
And, of course, there was the injury situation — a situation Andre Iguodala hinted could have involved pressure from teammates pushing Durant to play on his balky calf.
According to one of the people who is close to Durant (via Spears), “All that showed a lack of respect for one of the greatest players to put that uniform on and the fact that he took all that abuse and still put his career on the line to help them win.”
Apparently, there was plenty of truth to the rumors that swirled about Durant being upset with the Warriors after his ruptured Achilles injury were more than just hot air.
With all this in mind, it’s no wonder he opted to forge ahead without his Splash Brothers teammates by moving all the way across the nation.