Kevin Durant’s Peculiar Offseason Behavior Reportedly Has Golden State Warriors ‘Perplexed’
Life has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride for Golden State Warriors’ forward Kevin Durant over the past 14 months.
Last July, the NBA superstar went from being a fan-favorite to one of the biggest villains in the sport when he spurned Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder in free agency and joined the Warriors, who had just set the regular season record for wins with 73, but lost in the NBA Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Durant was accused of taking the easy way out as he joined the team that had just beaten his Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.
Although the criticism was overwhelming at times, Durant never let it have any impact on his play on the court. The Warriors went on to win 67 regular season games, and ultimately defeated the Cavaliers in five games in the 2017 NBA Finals.
Durant was understandably elated to win his first championship. However, at times, he still couldn’t completely block out all the negative feedback he received on social media.
Recently, Durant was caught arguing with trolls and bad mouthing Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan on social media behind the disguise of several fake accounts.
Kevin Durant appears to blast ex-coach, teammates in since-deleted tweets https://t.co/f836wVWvjh pic.twitter.com/q91fV0IQQn
— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) September 18, 2017
Durant owned up to his mistake, and released the following statement, via The Athletic‘s Anthony Slater.
“I use Twitter to engage with fans, I think it’s a great way to engage with basketball fans. I happened to take it a little too far. That’s what happens sometimes when I get into these basketball debates about what I really love, to play basketball.
“I don’t regret clapping back at anybody or talking to my fans on Twitter. I do regret using my former coach’s name and the former organization I played for. That was childish. That was idiotic, all those types of words. I apologize for that.”
Durant also made news earlier this month when he stated that nobody wants to play basketball in Under Armour shoes.
Durant is signed to Nike, while his teammate, Stephen Curry, is Under Armour’s top NBA athlete.
KD: “Nobody wants to play in Under Armours”
Steph Curry: Well, actually…https://t.co/XCqoWjcdIT
— SB Nation (@SBNation) September 11, 2017
None of this has been lost on the powers that be inside the Warriors’ front office.
On Tuesday, The Vertical‘s Chris Mannix reported some in the Warriors organization are perplexed and bewildered by Durant’s peculiar offseason behavior.
“Many in Golden State, team officials and players alike, have taken note of Durant’s oddball offseason and are perplexed by it. They see a bright future for Durant in Oakland, league and team sources told The Vertical, and are bewildered as to why he is still addressing his past.”
With the start of the 2017-18 NBA season about a month away, it’s fair to assume everything will be worked out between Durant and the Warriors long before they play their first regular season game.
But Durant undoubtedly needs to learn how to pay no mind to his haters and naysayers going forward to avoid future headaches.
[Featured Image by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images]
