The Golden State Warriors were pursuing a move that would bring Kevin Durant back to the Bay Area before the superstar made it known that he had no interest in such a trade. Warriors brass pivoted and set their sights on Jimmy Butler and added him instead for the stretch run.
Warriors general manager Bob Myers and coach Steve Kerr offered some insight on Durant's thought process before Durant himself weighed in.
"People talk crazy about me all the time," Durant told ESPN. "That's not the reason why I didn't want to come back, I just didn't want to get traded midway through the season. It was nothing against my time with the Warriors, or I heard because I don't like Draymond [Green]. At the end of the day I just didn't want to move and I wanted to see it through with my team in Phoenix and see what we could do the rest of this season. I'm glad I'm still there."
Appearing on The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis this week, Durant once again addressed the topic.
“I didn’t want to move and I get why you want to trade me, simple fact that’s business but for me looking at it," he said. "We can play the season out and if that's the decision you want to make in the off-season then we figure it out.”
“I didn’t want to move and I get why you want to trade me, simple fact that’s business but for me looking at it… we can play the season out and if that's the decision you want to make in the off-season then we figure it out”@KDtrey5 explains why he vetoed the Suns-Warriors… pic.twitter.com/1Gfa3uJKZN
— The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis (@DraymondShow) February 26, 2025
So this seems like can all go in the rearview window. Though it wouldn't be particularly surprising if the idea again gained some traction in the offseason.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kevin Durant Lays Out Reason He Vetoed Trade to Warriors on Draymond Green's Podcast.