The Oral History Of The Meeting In The Hamptons Between Durant And The Warriors Is Fascinating

[The Athletic] - Durant: My first question was, you all just came off of a championship the year before and lost in Game 7, why do you want me on the team?

And everybody looked at me like I was crazy. It was just like, why wouldn’t we? This would be super special. I’m like, I want to be part of something super, super special. It was just perfect. Everybody was just thinking the same way I was. Just no egos.

Tim Kawakami had a really good and interesting oral history of the meeting that led Kevin Durant signing with the Warriors. We’ll get into all of what was said, but the quote above from Durant is what stuck out to me. The meeting was just a couple of weeks after Durant lost to the Warriors in seven games and shortly after the Warriors lost to the Cavs in 7 games in the NBA Finals.

Now, I know there’s plenty of jokes about Durant, and rightfully so. But, this is something that was a bit surprising to see. Durant had just spent 8 seasons playing alongside Russell Westbrook, who was always that demonstrative ‘alpha’ player. Going to Golden State, where there’s really not a guy like that – Draymond is loud, but he’s not the leader or player that Russ is, was just shocking to see Durant ask why they want him.

Personally, I think the answer is pretty obvious. The Warriors have a chance to sign the second best player in the NBA, who is a complete mismatch on the offensive side and helps the Warriors run that death lineup? Yeah, that’s probably why they want him. I’d say it worked out too, but that’s just me.

Outside of Durant asking this question, I can’t stop laughing at this image:

“I got there a day early,” Thompson recalled recently with a chuckle. “Got to the beach. I was (in New York City) for Team USA Basketball, so I had a couple days. Just enjoying vacation. It was nice out there, man.”

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“When we landed, turns out he’d had the most fun day of all-time,” assistant general manager Kirk Lacob recalled of Thompson. “He’d gone out and played tennis on a grass court, he’d, like, bought all-whites. He’d gone to the beach by himself, rode a bike to the beach. And by the time we got there, he was kicking soccer balls at the house, I think with a gardener at the house.”

Oh, this guy just enjoying himself out in the Hamptons? You know what? I’d love to be out there with Klay. Just enjoying himself, playing some tennis and riding a bike, well, color me surprised

I highly recommend giving it a read. It’s not going to change your mind about the Warriors, nor should it, but it’s an awesome behind the scenes look at how Durant ended up there.