Durant doesn’t see himself as face of the franchise
Kevin Durant faced incredible scrutiny for his decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder for a ready-made championship contender in the Golden State Warriors, then left the Warriors for the Nets two summers ago. Durant, many believed, was looking for a situation to call his own, to be the face of a team rather than part of a team whose face was Stephen Curry.
Durant, though, addressed that line of thinking ahead of his first regular season game with the Nets, not-so coincidentally facing Curry and the Warriors on Tuesday.
“Everything I’ve been a part of is my own. I feel like every team I’ve been a part of, I left my mark on each team,” he said in a Monday conference call. “I understand what I bring to the table, and I never looked at it as mine. I never looked at the Nets as mine. It is our team. It is from the fans to the owners to the players, it’s our team. And I feel like I add my piece to the game and my role is to go out there and be me every single day.”
Durant, of course, is the biggest piece to the Nets’ championship puzzle. He is a two-time Finals MVP, a former league Most Valuable Player and a shoo-in Hall of Famer who doubles as one of the greatest scorers in NBA history. Durant’s modesty breeds leadership.
Of course this Nets team is his: The franchise has committed to him a total of $164 million in guaranteed salary, and surrounded him with players, friends and advisors he adores and respects. The Nets have invested in Durant — and Kyrie Irving (four years, $140 million) — to the point where they cannot afford for them to fail.
Nets brass will reconstruct the roster around their stars in an effort to contend for a championship.
While Du rant will get more touches, play more minutes and have more decision- making power than his peers— and even if he won’ t admit the latter, GMSean Marks has — he insists it’s a team effort.
“My game is going to speak for itself. But personality-wise, individual-wise, I try not to make myself bigger than the group. It is just that I’m coming here to play basketball and add to a group of great guys.”