In an excellent behind-the-scenes look by The Undefeated, we get to know what persuaded Durant. What it came down to was one simple thing: winning. There are a lot of benefits to being an NBA player, but after the bad taste in their mouth from the 2016 NBA Finals, the Warriors don’t care about all of that. They care about bringing home a title, and Durant bought in.
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Via Marc J. Spears:
Durant might have been able to win a title on his own in OKC, but would that have been enough? Jerry West only won one title in nine tries as a player, and the current Warriors executive is still bothered by it. According to ESPN’s Chris Broussard, West harped on the fact that he should have won more titles, and told Durant winning would come easy for him.
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According to the Undefeated, when it asked about the key to getting Durant, a high-ranking Warriors executive said: “Jerry West … Everyone telling [Durant] he’d be on equal footing. No stars.”
