Ahead of opener, pushes team-first approach in B’klyn
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 versus be 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 against 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 with whom 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 if it means winning a championship.
Durant candidly admitted he doesn’t view this as sole ownership of the Nets, and frankly, Joe Tsai likely has something to say about that anyway. Durant 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, GM Sean Marks has.
The Nets’ star said this has been constant everywhere he’s been, both in Oklahoma City with Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka; then on the Warriors with Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
“When I was with OKC and when I was with the Warriors, nobody on our team felt like it was one guy’s chance to take this whole thing over or to have one singular voice,” Durant said. “It’s always been the group, no matter where I played since I was eight or nine years old. It’s always been about the team, you know?
“My game is gonna speak for itself,” Durant said. “But personality wise, individual wise, I try not to make myself bigger than the group. But I know what I add to a basketball club and I felt that way with the Warriors. So, it wasn’t about me going to the Nets to try to prove that I can make my own thing, whatever the hell that means. It is just that I’m coming here to play basketball and add to a group of great guys.”