Warriors Internally Discussed Trade For 'Misunderstood' Durant, Curry Says

By Jason Hall

September 12, 2022

Golden State Warriors v Brooklyn Nets
Photo: Getty Images

The Golden State Warriors discussed re-acquiring Kevin Durant this summer, according to Stephen Curry.

Curry was featured in a piece for Rolling Stone published on Sunday (September 11) in which he confirmed that he'd not only want Durant -- who played for Golden State from 2016-19 -- back on the Warriors, but that the team also discussed a potential trade to acquire the All-Star forward internally after Durant publicly requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets in June.

"There was a conversation internally amongst us about 'If he was available, would you?' Every team has those conversations, and obviously in our situation, they're gonna call me and ask me, 'How do you feel about it?" Curry said.

The four-time NBA champion said he also spoke with his brother, Seth Curry, who is currently signed to the Nets, about a potential deal centered around Durant.

"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. I think he is misunderstood," Stephen Curry said via Rolling Stone. "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."

Curry did, however, acknowledge that a trade for Durant would likely cost Golden State several players from its young core who ultimately played major roles in the franchise's latest NBA championship victory in June.

The Athletic's Shams Charania reported that Durant and his manager, Rich Kleiman, met with Nets owners Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks in Los Angeles on August 22 and decided to continue their partnership.

"And if you said, 'Oh, KD's coming back, and we're gonna play with him,' I had so much fun playing with him those three years, I'd be like, 'Hell, yeah!'" Curry told the magazine. "Then you have to think: What does that actually mean? What does it look like?

"You tell me I'm playing with [current Warriors teammates Andrew WigginsJordan Poole, and Draymond Green], I'm like, 'Hell, yeah!' There's all types of emotion and things that happen to the league. And if anybody's saying that you wouldn't entertain that conversation -- no disrespect to anybody on our team -- but you don't know how things work. But you also understand, like, if we run this thing back, I've got complete confidence in my team that we can win it again, as constructed."

Last month, the Athletic's Shams Charania reported that Durant and his manager, Rich Kleiman, decided to continue their partnership with the Nets after meeting with Nets owners Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks in Los Angeles on August 22.

Nets general manager Sean Marks confirmed the meeting and agreement in a statement shared on behalf of the team on August 23.

"Steve Nash and I, together with Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, met with Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman in Los Angeles yesterday, We have agreed to move forward with our partnership. We are focusing on basketball, with one collective goal in mind: build a lasting franchise to bring a championship to Brooklyn," Marks said.

Durant signed with the Nets in 2019 after three seasons with the Warriors, having won two NBA championships and three Western Conference titles during his three-season stint in Golden State.

T Nets have failed to reach the Eastern Conference Finals since the duo joined the team, with point guard Kyrie Irving -- who also signed with Brooklyn in 2019 -- missing the majority of their first season together due to injuries and the 2021-22 regular season due to New York's COVID restrictions prohibiting him from playing in home games without being vaccinated.

Durant, a 12-time All-Star selection, averaged 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game during the 2021-22 season.

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