Heading into free agency, it was a foregone conclusion that Kevin Durant would be leaving the Golden State Warriors to carve out his legacy elsewhere. In the end, Durant chose to go to the Brooklyn Nets where he would be teaming up with the likes of Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan. During his time with the Golden State Warriors, Durant was able to win two NBA championships and helped the team get to its fifth straight finals appearance. The Warriors' biggest star, Steph Curry, recently spoke to the Mercury News about KD's decision and what it means for the team moving forward.
Per Curry:
“I mean, the three years that we had were special. With KD, we had three straight Finals appearances. We won two of them, and we accomplished a lot as a group. Everybody talks about the amount of talent that we had on our team, but that doesn’t guarantee that you can figure out on the court that you can put all the pieces together to be successful. I’m really proud of what we accomplished. The beauty of free agency is everybody has a decision, everybody has a choice. You want to find your happiness wherever that is. The beauty of the NBA is everybody has that decision at some point, especially guys that deserve it, like K and other top free agents. I like to look at what we accomplished and focus on that and be extremely proud of this run that we had. Now we are going to have to recreate it in terms of what it means going forward.”
After losing Durant, the Warriors were able to secure the services of D'Angelo Russell who some feel will be used as a trade piece later on in the season. Once Durant comes back from his injury, he will instantly turn the Nets into a contender.