How does one MVP convince another former MVP to leave his current team and join the enemy? In the case of Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, apparently it was the message of brotherhood, support and equality that appealed to the former Oklahoma City Thunder star.
The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears reports on the text messages Curry sent to Durant after the Golden State Warriors met with the coveted free agent over the weekend. The gist of Curry’s message to Durant was that they would be equal and that he would support KD if Durant left OKC for Golden State.
From The Undefeated:
According to a person who saw the text messages, Curry told Durant in a text message that he could care less about who is the face of the franchise, who gets the most recognition or who sells the most shoes (Curry is with Under Armor, Durant with Nike). The two-time NBA MVP also told Durant that if Durant won the MVP award again he would be in the front row of the press conference clapping for him. In closing, Curry’s message to Durant was that all he truly cared about was winning championships and he’d like to do that as his teammate.
Durant responding well to such a pitch should not come as a surprise. Despite being famous, he’s never been an attention-seeker, even once calling himself “the servant” because of how he tried to serve/help his teammates. And it’s no surprise that a team culture where all the players would be considered equal would appeal to him.
Even though Curry’s final message to Durant sat well with the free agent, another person who was instrumental in the Warriors’ recruiting pitch was team board member Jerry West. West’s message to Durant (summarized here) was pretty similar.
