When Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant had finished his free agency tour and settled on the team he wanted to play for in the next few years, there were plenty of stories that surfaced about the situation.
Durant didn't tell his teammates he planned on leaving after telling them he'd stay, Durant was tired of co-star Russell Westbrook, and even reports that Durant wasn't completely honest with some in the Thunder organization.
None of those stories were true according to Oklahoma City Thunder coach Billy Donovan.
Donovan told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports that Durant never deceived anyone.
I think Kevin on the front end was very, very honest.
When the season ended, he was going to go through this process, and he was going to take a meeting with us obviously first and then he was going to have some other teams he was going to meet with. And I think a little bit later on, after the season ended, they decided to do it out in the Hamptons.
But I thought the meeting that we had went very well. I think we talked about basketball. We talked about our team. We talked about direction, talked about obviously his leadership, his role – all those kind of things. And I think, leaving the meeting, it was very, very, I thought, positive. I thought it was very, very clear.
Durant's personal choice drew plenty of negative reactions and angst amongst some. Many who were shocked initially felt he would remain in Oklahoma City after almost reaching the NBA finals again – just one game away.
Coach Donovan continued:
I think there was direction on both sides.
And the one thing I think with Kevin was that going through nine years with the organization, he was at a point in time where he was allowed obviously to be this free agent and go through this process and start to gather some information. We were the first meeting.
So, obviously, I think, being in college for so long and you go through recruiting, you know that during that process things can change through some of these different meetings. And obviously, after meeting with Golden State, things probably in his mind probably changed.
By the end of his introductory press conference, Durant seemed content with his choice, and said he was glad the entire process was over with.
Of course, some were bitter and upset about it. But this time, the choice was his to make even if it didn't line up with their wants.
All of the reports that painted a negative light on what had transpired never seemed to have real credence. The report that Durant told Westbrook he was returning had been debunked and the writing reporter sent his apologies.
The Thunder organization has done nothing short of taking the high road publicly, and after re-signing Westbrook to a contract extension, everyone is preparing to move forward.
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