Calm follows two-day storm
SALT LAKE CITY — All R.J. Hunter had heard about was the meeting — with free agent Kevin Durant, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, four Celtics teammates and a day so discussed, it was becoming legend.
But Hunter’s anticipation was finally cut off by reality yesterday when Durant agreed to a two-year contract with the Golden State Warriors. Heading into his second NBA season, though, Hunter understands business.
“It’s his decision and we can only control what we can control, so we’ve got to move on from it,” Hunter said before a shootaround for the summer-league opener. “I literally just found out right before here. I was like, ‘ Wait, what?’ Terry (Rozier) just walked over and told me. I figured it was coming today. It was so built up to whatever happened we were just gonna be like, ‘Oh, really?’ So, again, that’s his decision. You’ve got to let that be his decision, and we’ve got to move on.”
But it’s a Twitter-driven twoday event that Hunter won’t forget.
“All I heard was their experience with Tom Brady, so I didn’t really get a lot about the meeting. It was like, ‘Yeah, the meeting was cool, but Tom, bro. It was crazy,’ ” Hunter said. “So I was like, all right, cool, so we just kind of dove into that. (Teammates) all posted Instagrams. I was kind of jealous. I wanted one. (Brady) had the button-up and everything. It was cool, man. That would have been huge for my Instagram.”
Rozier also took Durant’s choice in stride.
“I wouldn’t say it’s disappointing,” Rozier said. “He’s got to make his decision. If that’s what he feels is the right fit for him, then good luck to him next season. But we’ve just got to move on. We’ve got to get ready for next year as well. We’ve got to make sure we find our fits to get ready to make the playoffs and stuff like that and have a successful season. So we’ve just got to move on and keep building.”
But between the C’s ability to make Durant’s final three, and also signing Al Horford to a four-year, $70 million contract, Rozier understands that he’s playing in a special situation.
“It just shows us and everybody else that we’re right there,” Rozier said. “We’ve got our foot right there in the door. I don’t want to say we’re missing pieces, but we’re trying to find pieces to the puzzle right now and it’s a lot of fun doing it. We’re still testing the waters and it’s going to be an exciting season.”
At least as exciting as those two days.
“Free agency, I didn’t know it was this crazy. It’s kind of crazy,” he said. “It’s a lot of things going on, especially on the first day when it starts, but it’s a lot of fun. You wonder who’s going to leave your team, who’s coming to you, you don’t know what’s going to happen. There’s a lot of business moves being made, but it’s a lot of fun.”