© Ken Blaze | 2018 Jun 8
Far before the NBA offseason even started, speculation around the league surrounded Kevin Durant and where his next destination was going to be. Would he continue his tenure with Golden State? Or would he link up with different superstars to form his own juggernaut in a different location? Fast forward to now, and Kevin Durant is a Brooklyn Net with Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan. His reason for leaving the Warriors is still largely up for debate.
Kendrick Perkins, longtime NBA veteran and now an up-and-coming basketball analyst, joined the Murph & Mac show on KNBR Friday morning to talk about Durant’s decision and what went into it.
When asked if there was a backstory to Durant choosing to sign with Brooklyn, Perkins said everything began to just add up for him.
“There isn’t really a backstory. Honestly, I just put everything together.” Perkins said. “Things just started adding up. If you look at KD’s situation as far as him signing with Brooklyn, we all know he that had been talking to Kyrie throughout the season. We all know they are great friends. When he decided, in my opinion, when I saw Kyrie had left his agency to go with Roc Nation and then I saw Kyrie had committed to Brooklyn. It was a no-brainer to me that KD was going. He was already out there in New York.”
Throughout the basketball season the New York Knicks were widely believed to be the team that would wind up landing Kevin Durant. However, Perkins doesn’t think the Knicks were ever the frontrunners. He also eventually asked Durant what his reason was for choosing Brooklyn.
“I think people had speculation that the Knicks were actually the front runners, but they weren’t. In my opinion it was either Brooklyn or going back to Golden State. I asked Kevin what was the reason behind him ultimately choosing Brooklyn and he told me: ‘Perk you’re not stupid, you know why I chose Brooklyn man. Look at the organization and look at the direction they’re going in.’ I think this was probably in the works for at least a couple months now. At least with him and Kyrie and DeAndre Jordan.”
After Kevin Durant’s Achilles injury in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, the Warriors training staff was subject to a great amount of scrutiny. Following Game 5 there was some chatter that his injury and the team’s decision to play Durant played a large role in the superstars’ decision to leave Golden State. Like many people, Perkins believes that Kevin Durant’s decision was made up far before his Achilles injury in the NBA finals.
“I think win lose or draw, in my opinion, KD already had one foot out the door. I’ve said it a lot, coming into the season I think Golden State had the upper hand but as the season went on and the incident happened with him and Draymond, I don’t think Kevin really bounced back from it. Once again you have to applaud KD because he never came out in the media and bashed Draymond about the situation, he never even really responded to Draymond on the court. I think he handled it well as far as how he went out there and competed at a high level and put his body on the line for the Warriors. I don’t think he ever bounced back from those words.”
Listen to the full interview below. To hear Perkins on Durant, start from the beginning.
