Many scoffed at the involvement of Tom Brady in the Boston Celtics‘ free agency pitch to Kevin Durant. It was assumed by some that Boston was an outsider in the race for Durant’s services and that Danny Ainge was just happy to have a meeting, never truly believing that he would end up signing the four-time NBA scoring champion.
Well, it turns out that they came a lot closer than many believed, and a lot of it had to do with the inclusion of the New England Patriots’ quarterback.
As reported by Chris Forsberg of ESPN, Kevin Durant was taken aback by the inclusion of one of greatest players in NFL history and the way he talked about playing in Boston.
“I was ready to just say, ‘OK, let’s go. Just seeing someone so successful at his craft. He's a great ambassador for the game of football and the city of Boston. It's great to be in the presence of such greatness. But at the same time, I knew I couldn’t let that distract me.”
Although he was impressed by Brady taking the time to visit him, there were other factors that played a part in almost convincing Durant to head to Boston, too.
“I just liked the way they play. I liked their coach. I thought they had some good people.”
While the Celtics are disappointed that they missed out on Durant, they should be encouraged by the impression they left on him.
The storied franchise managed to sign Al Horford, who was arguably the only other elite player available in free agency. He joins a roster full of developing talent.
Kevin Durant ultimately decided take his talent to the Golden State Warriors, which you already know unless you've been living under a rock.