Barry: Durant would be nuts to leave Warriors
CHARLOTTE – Rick Barry, the NBA Hall of Famer who is never shy about expressing his opinion, made it clear where he stands on the most important decision of the NBA summer: In short, Barry believes Kevin Durant would be a lunatic to leave the Warriors for New York.
“He has a chance to be part of something exceptional, something so special,” Barry said in an interview with the Daily News. “Why would you want to leave that when you can have fun playing the game the right way? You’re not going to have to be the guy who has to do everything to be able to win. You’re going to a place like that your chances of winning are diminished greatly. So you’re giving up the chance to be a champion when you were just the twotime MVP in the finals to go and be what? For what purpose? To go to New York where you’re going to be under a microscope to a point that you don’t even realize the microscope that you’re going to be under. To leave a team where you have so many of these great players, I think would be a silly decision and the wrong decision on his part.”
Barry, it should be noted, is still closely tied with the Warriors organization after leading them to the 1975 NBA championship. Before Steph Curry’s emergence, Barry and Wilt Chamberlain were the best in franchise history. Hands down. He still rides in their championship parades.
But Barry is also from Elizabeth, NJ – just minutes from the Goethals Bridge — and was an ABA All-Star with the New York Nets in the 70s. He understands what New York basketball is about. Still sharp as a razor, the 74-yearold dismissed the idea that Durant could enhance his legacy by relocating to the woebegone franchise.
“Who gives a crap about (Durant’s) legacy? He’s already one of the greatest in the history of the game,” Barry told the News. “Nobody has ever been like him. He’s an anomaly. There’s never been a player who played that position like he plays. Never. So he’s something special already. What does he have to prove? If that’s the reason he’s going to do it is to prove he can do it, he might not get it done.”
Much of the speculation concerning Durant’s desire to play with the Knicks centers on him seeking validation through carrying a team on his shoulders, rather than taking the easy road with Golden State. The other part is about Durant building a business empire in the media capital of the world.
And to be clear, the Knicks’ belief that Durant will sign in the summer is genuine, according to a source. But there should be concern about how the famously sensitive Durant would handle the spotlight.
“Selfishly, I want him to stay because I love the way he plays and I think he makes the Warriors such a great team and they have a chance to be one of the unique teams in the history of the game,” Barry said. “Why would you want to leave that? What reason? And he’s a guy from a little town (in Maryland) and stuff. He wants to go to New York? New York compared to the Bay Area where sports are like, okay. But it’s not New York. I mean, c’mon.”
Despite the immense importance it carries in New York and the Bay Area, Durant’s uncertain future is more of an afterthought this All-Star weekend. Or maybe a more accurate description is that it’s just part of a bigger theme. Four of the 10 AllStar starters have been linked to a possible relocation this summer via free agency (Durant, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Kemba Walker). The AllStar off the bench – Anthony Davis – has delivered a standing trade request to New Orleans.
Player movement has dominated the discussion and landscape. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was a pioneer in this area after maneuvering his way out of Milwaukee to the Lakers via trade in 1975, said this is all a product of power placement.
“I think the players have power because they have value,” Jabbar said. “The players that teams know they can win with will be able to dictate what they want to do. I think of Kawhi Leonard and Kyrie Irving (who both requested trades with a full year left on their respective contracts). Those guys had the value and they had the strength because a number of teams wanted them. That’s always going to be the case.”