Blazers star gets real on why he wouldn’t have joined the 73-win Warriors.
When Kevin Durant joined the Golden State Warriors in 2016, it shocked the NBA community. As one of the world’s best players at the time, it was crazy for Durant to join the NBA’s best team just months after their loss in the NBA Finals. Looking back, the fans widely hated the signing, and it even rubbed some players the wrong way.
One such player is Damian Lillard, who revealed his thoughts on Durant’s move to Golden State on the ‘It Is What It Is’ podcast. “I’ve said this plenty of times before. I think Kevin Durant is obviously one of the greatest players of all time. But if I was in his shoes I wouldn’t have done that, personally.”
Durant accomplished his goal of winning a championship with the Warriors, so some might call his tenure there a success. Alongside Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, they dominated the NBA and formed one of the greatest teams the world of basketball has ever known. Sadly, it all came crashing down in 2019 after season-ending injuries to Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson. For Durant, however, the damage to his reputation was permanent and many fans never forgave him for taking the “easy way out” and forever ruining the balance of power in the NBA.
Lillard Says He Will Never Suit Up For His Hometown Team
As a native of Oakland, California, Lillard has special ties to the Warriors and they can be considered his hometown team of sorts. For years, Lillard has been connected to the franchise, but when the idea of potentially joining them one day was mentioned, Damian made it clear that it wasn’t a part of his plans. “I respect what they’ve been doing over the last eight, nine years or whatever and I’m from there obviously that’s home. But I can’t be a part of that,” said Dame.
Since Durant left in 2019, the Warriors haven’t been quite as dominant, but they are still at the top of the league with their latest title being won as recently as 2022. As Steph, Klay, and Draymond continue their run together, it’s impossible to count them out completely as they’ve proven to be so effective in the past.
For Lillard, however, there is a sense of hypocrisy in his words considering how his current ordeal with the Trail Blazers is playing out.
Damian Lillard Wants To Join The Eastern Conference Champions
It’s hard not to notice some similarities between Lillard’s situation and the one with Durant in 2016. Despite criticizing Durant’s move, Lillard is arguably doing something similar by leaving behind the Trail Blazers in favor of the Miami Heat, who just made a run to the NBA Finals with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
While maybe not as stacked as the Warriors superteam, the Heat are still a powerhouse in the East and they could win it all with Lillard on the team. When it’s all said and done, fans may look at Dame the same way they looked at Durant and that’s something that Lillard worked his entire career to avoid.
As more and more fans start to turn on the future Miami Heat point guard, it’s only a matter of time before he encounters some real hate from the people — and then he will finally understand that his current actions are not too far removed from what Durant pulled in 2016.
