“I'm not sacrificing s***, because my game isn't changing.”
Those were the words of Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson back in August when media asked him about the sacrifices he'd have to make with Kevin Durant joining the lineup.
Those words have lingered in media circles for the better of two months and made him seen as arrogant or at times oblivious to the situation. Thompson took the time to clarify the issue when it was brought up on the Warriors Media Day.
“When you acquire the talent we did this offseason, I don't think that's a sacrifice at all,” Thompson told CSN Bay Area's Monte Poole. “I think that we are in an amazing position to do things that haven't been done here.”
Clearly the media and the players have different concepts of what sacrifice is. The media thinks in terms of statistics, while the players think in terms of roles. Ultimately they end up being the same, just with another bonafide scorer putting the ball in the basket.
“So I'm not talking about points per game or minutes or shots, I'm really not sacrificing anything because you don't sacrifice when you acquire a player like Kevin Durant and get people like David West,” said Thompson. “I think we really got stronger, which is hard to imagine because we had such a great year last year.”
“That's what I meant by that, though.”
Once he had clarified his earlier statement, Thompson was effusively complimentary of Durant's persona as he got to know him over the summer competing for Team USA.
“I got to know him off the court, which was really cool,” Thompson said of Durant. “I didn't really learn anything I didn't know from the basket player that he was, just a guy that really loves the game. He’s very unselfish. And he could have one of the biggest egos there, but he's really down to earth.”
The two should have a good relationship going forward, as Durant will take some of the playmaking responsibilities and let Thompson do what he wants to do most — shoot.
Follow Us
Subscribe
