Steve Kerr agrees with Kevin Durant’s comment about Warriors’ offense

A comment Kevin Durant made about the Golden State Warriors’ offense was interpreted by some as a shot towards Steve Kerr, but the head coach does not see it that way. Rather, he agrees with Durant.

During an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Durant said Kerr’s offense only works to a certain extent.

“The motion offense we run in Golden State, it only works to a certain point. We can totally rely on only our system for maybe the first two rounds. Then the next two rounds we’re going to have to mix in individual play,” Durant said.

A lot of people wanted to point a finger and say “ooh, shots fired!” but not even Kerr sees it that way.

“I wasn’t at all offended what Kevin said because it’s basically the truth,” Kerr told The Athletic’s Anthony Slater. “You look at any system, I mean, I played the triangle with Michael Jordan. The offense ran a lot smoother all regular season and the first couple rounds of the playoffs than it did in the conference finals and Finals. It just did.”

Kerr continued: “That’s why guys like Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant are who they are. They can transcend any defense. But defenses in the playoffs, deep in the playoffs, combined with the physicality of the game — where refs can’t possibly call a foul every time — means that superstars have to take over. No system is just going to dice a Finals defense up. You have to rely on individual play. I didn’t look at (his comment) as offensive. I look at that as fact.”

Durant was correct. Kerr is smart enough not to be offended. All is well.

And if you’re wondering how or why Kerr has been so successful as a head coach, just look at this answer. He doesn’t get offended, he doesn’t get outraged, he’s smart and reasonable, and understands that adapting and having stars are critical to achieving the highest level of success.

Durant made some other headlines with his comments in that interview, including his remarks about Oklahoma City Thunder fans and what he said about “full acceptance.”

Steph Curry responds to Kevin Durant’s ‘full acceptance’ remark

Steph Curry responded on Wednesday to Kevin Durant’s recent remarks about never feeling fully accepted by the Golden State Warriors.

Durant, who chose to sign with the Brooklyn Nets in free agency, was the subject of a feature in the Wall Street Journal last week. In the article, Durant reiterated a point he’s made in the past about feeling like an outsider on the Warriors.

“As time went on, I started to realize I’m just different from the rest of the guys. It’s not a bad thing. Just my circumstances and how I came up in the league. And on top of that, the media always looked at it like KD and the Warriors. So it’s like nobody could get a full acceptance of me there,” Durant said.

Curry, who was drafted by the Warriors in 2009 and has spent his entire career with the team, talked about Durant’s remarks during an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols on Wednesday.

“I mean, that’s tough,” Curry said of Durant’s remarks. “There’s so many narratives that go on, especially when you’re at the top of the league. No matter how, you know, the full transition happens to Brooklyn, him separating himself from the Warriors — that’s gonna happen. I think he knows, you know, what we were about as teammates, what we were about as friends on and off the court. And again, nobody is gonna take away the accomplishments we had. But at the end of the day, whatever he, you know, needed to do to make that decision and however he wants to explain that — that’s just what’s gonna happen.”

That’s a lot of words from Curry that don’t say much. It’s a very professional, non-controversial answer. He’s looking to try and see the bright side and talk about what they accomplished. But he’s probably sick of Durant’s complaining at this point, especially about issues that were always going to exist. Durant was not part of the core of Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson; he was joining them. Of course he was always going to be a little different. How is KD the only one who doesn’t see that?

In the Wall Street Journal piece, Durant also complained about the Warriors’ motion offense.

“The motion offense we run in Golden State, it only works to a certain point,” Durant said.

Curry was asked about that.

“Well, I don’t care what plays we ran,” Curry said. “We won two championships. And at the end of the day, we had a lot of talent and there was an expectation of us figuring out how to balance all that. And we talked a lot about it throughout the three-year run. It wasn’t always perfect, but I think in terms of, you know, the results and what we were able to do on the floor, that kinda speaks for itself. We all wanna play iso-ball at the end of the day in some way, shape or form. But I’d rather have some championships, too.”

You really can’t get much better in terms of answers than what Curry offered. He’s probably perturbed by some of Durant’s comments but certainly not showing it. One report said he was bothered by the timing of Durant’s Nets announcement. If he was, he’s not showing it through his comments.

Kevin Durant not ‘moved’ by pursuit of being basketball’s GOAT

Kevin Durant is in the conversation for best basketball player in the world. Over time, he may even have a place in debates over the greatest player of all time (aka “GOAT”). But Durant says being considered the “GOAT” isn’t what drives him.

Durant is quite active on social media and often engages in conversations with those who reach out to him. Another such instance occurred on Twitter Wednesday. The exchange began with a question that was posed to Durant, asking him whether he thought he belonged in the conversation with Michael Jordan.

Everybody gets compared to everyone and no one will ever get the GOAT title outright, especially on social media so does it really matter in the grand scheme? Or do u just wanna argue real quick?

— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) September 12, 2019

Durant and the fan then talked about the value of championship rings on player legacies.

U wanna put together hypotheticals for every great player? I can make sure everybody has rings if we did that.

— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) September 12, 2019

Then came the GOAT debate, and that’s when Durant said being the GOAT isn’t something that “moves” him.

Being The GOAT isn’t something that moves me.

— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) September 12, 2019

Durant has been seen as someone who marches to the beat of his own drum. While the quest to be the best ever is a mantra that rings true with athletes across the sports world, Durant claims to not be one of those athletes.

Is that because he knows he’s already too far behind to catch up to the likes of LeBron James or Michael Jordan? Or because he knows it’s an argument you can never win? Either way, at least KD is using social media in a much more positive way now.

Kevin Durant rips Thunder and their fans: ‘I’ll never be attached to that city again’

Kevin Durant spent the first eight years of his career with the Thunder and once believed Oklahoma City would always feel like home to him, but that changed in a hurry for the two-time NBA Finals MVP after the way he was treated when he signed with the Golden State Warriors.

In an interview with J.R. Moehringer of the Wall Street Journal that was published this week, Durant unloaded on the Thunder organization and fans in OKC for everything that has unfolded since he left. He said his perception of the fans changed when they went berserk over his decision to leave in free agency three years ago.

“People coming to my house and spray-painting on the for sale signs around my neighborhood,” Durant recalled. “People making videos in front of my house and burning my jerseys and calling me all types of crazy names.”

It wasn’t just the fans. Durant says the Thunder have also acted “fake” to him, and he has not maintained a positive relationship with anyone in the team’s front office since his departure.

“I’ll never be attached to that city again because of that,” Durant said. “I eventually wanted to come back to that city and be part of that community and organization, but I don’t trust nobody there. That s— must have been fake, what they was doing. The organization, the GM, I ain’t talked to none of those people, even had a nice exchange with those people, since I left.”

Fans reacted similarly when LeBron James left Cleveland the first time, but he still chose to return to the Cavaliers and deliver on his promise of bringing the franchise its first NBA title. Durant has no interest in doing the same in OKC.

In addition to the vandalism and jersey burning, Durant’s mother Wanda has also spoken about the nasty treatment she has dealt with from Thunder fans. KD is extremely close with his mom, so that is likely a factor as well.

Durant has a tendency to hold grudges and can be very thin-skinned, so it’s no surprise he wants nothing to do with Oklahoma City. Fans can be irrational, but Durant isn’t the type of guy to overlook being disrespected.

Report: Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant ‘pushing’ Nets to sign Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo Anthony wants to play basketball next season and is committed to showing teams he still has something to offer. One of the potential suitors that could make sense for him is the Brooklyn Nets, and their two most important players are apparently on board with signing the 10-time All-Star.

Frank Isola of The Athletic reports that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have been “pushing” the Nets to sign Anthony. Carmelo recently trained with a group of Nets players in Los Angeles, and general manager Sean Marks got a closer look at him during an informal workout. It’s unclear if Marks wants to sign Anthony, but there are a few reasons he could be persuaded.

For starters, Durant is not going to play at all in his first season in Brooklyn. That opens up a spot on the roster for another scorer, and the 35-year-old Anthony is confident he can still find ways to put the ball in the hoop. Another thing working in Carmelo’s favor is that the NBA announced on Thursday that Nets forward Wilson Chandler has been suspended 25 games for testing positive for a banned substance.

Anthony’s recent workouts in LA are said to have gone well, as one Nets source told Isola that he “certainly helped his cause” and “his body looked great.”

While Marks will have the final say with regard to Anthony, having an endorsement from both Irving and Durant is obviously significant. Carmelo insists he is still playing at a high enough level to contribute and recently accused the Rockets of cutting ties with him for non-basketball reasons. He’s also a Brooklyn native, so the Nets may be his best chance at a last chance.

Kevin Durant gets laugh out of funny Warriors Chase Center meme

Kevin Durant and a couple of his former Golden State Warriors teammates got a laugh out of a funny meme a Warriors fan account posted to Instagram on Monday.

The Warriors gave several media members a tour of the new Chase Center Monday. The WarriorsTalk Instagram account posted a photo of Durant at the arena from a previous visit and included a funny caption that referenced Durant’s current home with the Brooklyn Nets.

View this post on Instagram

Never forget KD’s tour of Chase Center

A post shared by WarriorsTalk (@warriorstalk) on Aug 26, 2019 at 11:40am PDT

Durant signed with the Nets in the offseason and left the team prior to their move to the new arena, which many suspected would happen all along. He got a laugh out of the Instagram post and left a funny comment.

“I’m cryin. That’s f–ked up,” he wrote, adding a few crying laughing emojis.

Steph Curry saw it too and reacted, “Yo! Who come up with this stuff?” he asked.

And Draymond Green found it funny too, adding in the crying laughing emojis.

A report in the days after Durant chose to sign with the Nets said Steph Curry was perturbed by the timing of KD’s announcement. Maybe all is well between the Warriors and Durant now.

Ex-teammate: Kevin Durant would let media get to him

Kevin Durant is definitely known as one of the more sensitive superstars in sports, and even teammates noticed that the media definitely bothered him.

Nick Young, who spent the 2017-18 season with Durant and the Golden State Warriors, told 95.7 The Game’s Damon Bruce in an interview last month that Durant “could get a little soft” when it came to the media.

“KD’s cool. You know, we came in together. We was the same draft and everything. So I’ve known him for a while,” Young recalled, via Drew Shiller of NBC Sports Bay Area. “But he could get a little, get a little timid a little bit with the media, you know? He could let them get to him, get a little soft sometimes. But still, KD’s one of the best players ever.”

It’s not a huge secret that Durant can be a bit bothered by narratives that surround him. That’s particularly true on social media, where he’s been called an “addict” by one media member who used to cover him. It’s still something to hear a teammate openly acknowledge it, though.