Rumors of the Golden State Warriors' interest in trading for Kevin Durant, as Stephen Curry tells it, are true. And so is the notion Golden State's franchise player would've welcomed his former teammate back to the Bay Area with open arms.
In an exclusive interview with Matt Sullivan of Rolling Stone, set to be released in full on Monday, Curry insists he was “never hesitant” about Durant's prospective return, even expressing his “love” for the two-time Finals MVP.
“I was never hesitant. The idea of playing with KD and knowing who he is as a person, from our history in those three years, I think KD’s a really good dude,” he says. “I think he is misunderstood. I think he has had certain things happen in his life that hurt his ability to trust people around him, in a sense of making him feel safe at all times. So all of those things, I understand, having played with him and gotten to know him. I love that dude.”
EXCLUSIVE: The Golden State Warriors explored a blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant this summer, Stephen Curry tells Rolling Stone in a new cover story out tomorrow.https://t.co/KAiRr0mQVx
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) September 12, 2022
Durant requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets on June 30th, later going so far as to demand that owner Joe Tsai dismiss general manager Sean Marks and head coach Steve Nash for him to remain with the team going forward. But months of palace intrigue and trade rumors culminated in Durant and the Nets mending fences, publicly re-committing to one another on August 23rd.
Before Durant's hand was essentially forced into finding common ground with his incumbent team, though, reports swirled of the Warriors' interest in his return. It's still unclear if Golden State offered a trade package to the Nets in exchange for Durant, let alone whether the team's consideration of the move even reached that extreme. Joe Lacob, remember, hinted he was against breaking up the Warriors' young core as rumors of his team's interest in Durant first made the rounds.
There was initial speculation Golden State's Big Three would also balk at Durant's return, quickly squelched by reports of communication between Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and their former teammate during which the topic was excitedly broached.
Clearly, Curry has no qualms with the whole world knowing he'd welcome the chance to play with Durant again. But that was never the most significant question concerning his possible trade back to the Warriors. What was is whether Durant would be comfortable returning to the team he's already left, especially in immediate wake of the drastically disparate playoff outcomes experienced by Brooklyn and Golden State.
We still don't know for sure that Durant would come back to the Bay if he had the option. What's more abundantly clear now than ever, though, is personal relationships with his former teammates—most specifically and importantly, Curry—wouldn't be what keep him from suiting up for the Warriors again.
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