Durant displays a relaxed, confident vibe at Media Day
OAKLAND >> As he moved around the Warriors’ court, Kevin Durant seemed relaxed.
At one stop, the Warriors’ star posed with his two NBA championship trophies and two Finals MVP awards. At another station, Durant shared laughs with Stephen Curry. During a photo shoot, Durant showed off his dribbling and shooting skills.
Durant’s easygoing vibe during Media Day on Monday did not just reflect the Warriors’ inner confidence after winning consecutive NBA titles since his arrival, including three NBA titles out of four years overall. Durant’s persona also captured how he appears at ease on the uncertainty ahead. With Durant signing a so-called one-plusone year, he contractually could be the first star that leaves the Warriors next summer.
“To keep my options open, it was the best thing for me,” Durant said. “I easily could’ve signed a longterm deal, but I just wanted to take it season by season and see where it takes me. I think this whole year will be a fun and exciting year for us all. I’m just looking forward with that. We’ll see what happens after the year.”
Because of their uncertain future, the Warriors have pledged to focus on their glorious present.
The Warriors have five All-Stars in their starting lineup after acquiring DeMarcus Cousins in July. Curry, Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green reported feeling fully healthy. And even if the Los Angeles Lakers sparked a more frenetic audience at Media Day on Monday because of LeBron James’ arrival, the Warriors are still expected to stand at center stage in June.
“A lot could change. We don’t know,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Obviously we want to keep this thing going. At some point, you just have to enjoy the moment and enjoy the now. There’s going to be so much speculation on what’s ahead. Nobody knows what’s ahead.”
Though it appears Thompson will not entertain an extension so he could become an unrestricted free agent in July, he repeated his preference to remain with the Warriors.
“When guys go into free agency they’re searching for a situation like mine or similar to our team. I’m perfectly content here,” Thompson said. “Just look around the walls at all the
art and to see I was a part of this buildup is what keeps me motivated and keeps me wanting to be a Warrior for my whole career.”
Though Green said he “feels confident he will be here a very long time,” it remains unlikely he would sign an extension before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2020.
“I’m not looking at this one-sided like, ‘Oh man, I’ve, got to do what’s right for Draymond.’ It’s a partnership. And it’s a family,” Green said. “And doing the right thing for everyone involved is important. So we just got to approach this the right way.”
Cousins will also become a free agent next summer with hopes that a fully healed left Achilles tendon and NBA title will boost his market value. After all, the Warriors acquired Cousins with their taxpayer midlevel exception ($5.3 million) because of persistent questions about his injury. Before Cousins can calculate that, he must first prove he can return. The Warriors plan to reevaluate Cousins in four weeks, which officially sidelines him from training camp and through the team’s first three regular-season games.
“It’s about getting healthy, and that’s something we all agreed on,” said Cousins, who said he has completed individual full-court drills as well as one-on-one and twoon-two sessions. That’s the biggest priority for us right now. Well, with my situation, which is getting healthy. You know, when we feel we’ve got to that point, we’ll sit down and we’ll figure out when it’s time to return.”
And then there is Durant, who signed a “oneplus one” deal for around $30 million for the 201819 season and a player option worth up to about $31 million for the 2019-20 season. Then, Durant could resign with the Warriors next summer to a five-year deal up to $219 million. Or he could sign a four-year deal elsewhere. As Warriors forward Draymond Green admitted, “knowing the business side of things, I understand what he did.”
But do the Warriors know what Durant will do? Will he want to still taste the championship champagne with the Warriors? Or would he want to prove he can win elsewhere?
“I hope Kevin’s here, I hope he plays until he’s 50,” Warriors general manager Bob Myers mused. “He’s fantastic, obviously what he’s done for us, what I hope he continues to do goes without saying. But whether it’s him or anybody else we’ve got other free agents, too, we just want to make it an environment where they want to come back to us. And I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that.”
• The Warriors have not even played a game yet, and they are already missing a key reserve player.
No injuries have happened. But Patrick McCaw is not listed on the Warriors’ training camp offer since he has yet to accept the team’s $1.7 million qualifying offer. McCaw has stayed determined about finding a potentially more lucrative and longterm deal elsewhere, giving the Warriors three days to match any offer sheet.
“We’re continuing to talk to his representatives,” Myers
said Monday. “We think the conversations have been cordial. We’ve been talking for most of the summer. We’re going to keep talking. Hopefully we get a resolution that works for him and us. We’ll have to get him here. That’s the plan now – to continue to work in that direction.”
McCaw has until Oct. 30 to accept his qualifying offer, though the Warriors have contingency plans in case he holds out longer. The Warriors, which has 19 players on their training camp roster, have room for one player. Myers added the team will likely hold 14 players on the regular-season roster so they can retain flexibility in adding another player in any trades.
• The team promoted Bruce Fraser (assistant coach)and Chris DeMarco to (assistant coach, director of player development). They also announced the hiring of former Warrior Mike Dunleavy, and Steve Kerr’s son, Nick, as an assistant video coordinator.
Fraser, best known for helping guide Stephen Curry’s rise during Kerr’s tenure, will now be apart of the coaching staff.
Another notable name hired is Dunleavy Jr., who played 15 years in the league, including four years with the Warriors, posting career averages of 11.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Team general manager Bob Myers said the hire was meant to beef up the pro scouting department for potential trades and free agents
Kerr’s son Nick will join the Warriors after one year in the San Antonio Spurs’ video department, under the tutelage of Gregg Popovich.