Kevin Durant leaving the Bay Area last summer was hard to take in. With the Golden State Warriors, he appeared in the NBA Finals three years in a row and won two championship rings in the process. He was Finals MVP, also with the club so it was a puzzle for many on why and how the exit decision was made.
Among those who had difficulty to understand the surprise move by KD is Warriors owner Joe Lacob. He has come to terms with the fact that Durant is now in Brooklyn, but Lacob said he still grappling for reasons why KD would want out from an organization that is considered one of the best in the world.
"I can't get mad when Kevin Durant - who I felt pretty close with - decides he's going to leave. Which to me, made no sense ... You're (with) the best organization - I hope he thinks - in the world," NBC Sports reported the NBA executive as saying.
To this day, Lacob thought it was hard to see that Durant suddenly felt being with the Warriors will not work anymore for him. Prior to his exit, all the elements were there for a player to feel he's with a winning group and that the campaigns to come will amount to something worthwhile - like winning more titles.
"Winning, other great players, the new arena. To me, there was every reason in the world to stay. But I'm not gonna be mad at him because it's his life and he earned the right. And for whatever reason, he decided he wanted to leave," Lacob said.
In the end, the exec conceded that Durant made a call, which he could not control.
Clutch Points recounted that in the season before Durant's transfer to Brooklyn, he had a big argument with teammate Draymond Green in the middle of a game. It was reported that Green told KD to leave anytime, and the team wouldn't mind, and they will keep on winning without him.
Durant never discussed if the fight with Green was a contributing factor that made him leave, but he later on admitted that even before the end of his last season with the Warriors, he knew he'd be in a new team.
Sure enough, KD left, and according to his business partner Rich Kleiman, Durant was in search of a new challenge, and he felt the Brooklyn Nets could give the answer to that he was looking for.
"He's like I really want my craft to be honed in the place that I feel like that is best suited for my game and I'm gonna take it there, play with who I wanna play with," Kleiman was reported as saying.
He also confirmed that Durant was dying to play alongside Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan, which will be made possible by heading east and joining up with the Nets.
