Warriors’ Kerr takes a pass on Durant rant

TEMPE, ARIZ.— Kevin Durant is technically an NBA star. Steve Kerr is technically the Warriors’ coach. They also have a different job title.

“We’re all actors in a soap opera,” Kerr said following Friday’s morning shootaround at Arizona State. “We really are. And we have to deal with that part of it.”

Therefore, Kerr had a mixed perspective on Durant sharing his frustrations following the Warriors’ win over San Antonio on Thursday regarding the media’s questions and coverage regarding his pending free agency next summer.

On one hand, Kerr had sympathy for Durant.

Durant said he does not trust the media. He accused them of asking him constantly about free agency. He considered it unfair about published reports linking him to the New York Knicks after trading Kristaps Porzingis to Dallas last week presumably to reserve cap space for him and Boston guard Kyrie Irving. That marked Durant’s first interview in the previous eight days despite being contractually obligated to speak with local media on a regular basis following practice and games.

“Blowing off some steam,” Kerr said of Durant. “You guys would agree he’s been good with the media and a great teammate. There’s moments of frustration and times in our life where we don’t feel like talking or frustrated about something. You just give him a pass.”

On the other hand, Kerr considered the questions and coverage regarding free agency in the middle of the season as “the modern NBA” for various reasons.

Star players, including Durant, have recently signed oneyear contracts to maximize their flexibility and leverage. Fans are often more consumed with transactional news and speculation than the actual games. And the NBA’s salary cap ballooned to record numbers in 2016 after signing a record television deal with ABC/ ESPN and Turner through 2025 that is worth $2.67 billion (U.S.) per year partly because of that interest. Incidentally, that salary cap spike enabled the Warriors to sign Durant in the 2016 off-season after already having Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala on their roster.

“Understand that’s a big part of the revenue stream — the intense interest and passion that fans have with who is going where and which team is doing what,” Kerr said. “It’ll be nice if people just paid attention to pick-and-roll coverage. But gossip is more interesting, sometimes. We’re all part of that. So you deal with it the best you can and move forward.”

Is this incident serious enough, though, to talk to Durant about it personally? Kerr maintained “all of that stuff is private.” But Curry added that “nobody on this team needs to be babysat.” That includes Durant, who has still averaged 27.4 points on 50.7 per cent shooting, 7.1 rebounds and 6.0 assists. Those numbers nearly mirror his averages through his12-year NBA career.

“Everything has to be funnelled into winning a championship. I know KD is committed to that mission, and everyone else on the team is as well,” Curry said. “No distraction. Nothing that doesn’t happen on that floor is going to derail our focus. I’m proud of the way our whole team has handled this whole season. There’s a lot that’s been going on.”

The Warriors (38-15) had the Western Conference’s best record entering Friday’s games.