Kevin Durant Should Not Leave Warriors, Ex-Cavaliers GM Explains Why

Kevin Durant’s future with the Golden State Warriors continues to be a constant topic of discussion despite the 2018-19 NBA season getting underway in October.

The small forward again only committed to a short-term deal with the Warriors when he became an unrestricted free agent in the summer, which will see him enter free agency again in 2019.

There continues to be speculation about his future plans with many believing that this will be his last season with the Bay Area franchise. The Warriors are reigning back-to-back NBA champions and are favored to win their third straight title in 2019.

It is expected that Durant will leave no matter the outcome and look to cement his legacy by leading another franchise to the title. The Warriors will always be known as Stephen Curry’s team despite the forward winning the NBA Finals MVP for two consecutive years in 2017 and 2018.

The New York Knicks are being touted as one of the main contenders to land Durant next summer, but a potential switch to join LeBron James at the Los Angeles Lakers has also been mooted. However, ex-Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin believes the decision to leave the Warriors will be the wrong one as the Oakland franchise has everything a player looks for when seeking a move.

“You talk about all the different reasons somebody would look to go to another franchise,” Griffin, now an NBA TV analyst, said, as quoted on Mercury News. “Fit often times comes into play. Market size comes into play. The ability to win comes into play. … stop me when I say something that’s not perfect in Golden State for Kevin Durant.”

“Playing with Steph (Curry), he’s selfless, Draymond (Green is) selfless, Klay Thompson’s selfless,” Griffin said. “They all want to do whatever is required to win basketball games. If that can’t be your expression of joy and fit … I’m not quite sure what it is you’re looking for that would make any sense,” the ex-Cavs GM added.

Moreover, the Warriors will now be able to pay him more than any other franchise if he commits his long-term future to them next summer. Durant will complete three years with the franchise in 2019 making him eligible for a five-year max contract worth $221 million, while the most the Lakers or the Knicks can fork out is a four-year deal worth $164 million.

Griffin believes that this shows that the two-time NBA Finals MVP could have potentially already made up his mind about his future plans. And Durant himself recently revealed that money was on his mind when he said that he too deserved to earn the big money some of the other lesser accomplished NBA stars were earning.

The Ex-Cavs general manager has backed him to remain with the Warriors beyond 2019 but admitted that if Durant does decide to leave the team that can guarantee him multiple championships with selfless players will to help each other then the Warriors must move on.

“He knew when he signed this contract there in the beginning that he would not get to true max and have the opportunity to re-sign a long-term max deal until after the third year because of the nature of the salary cap,” Griffin said. “He knew exactly what he signed up for. So to me, a lot of this conversation is almost like masking a decision that’s already been made, to some degree.”

“I’m not saying he knows unequivocally he’s staying, but what are the factors that are going to force you to leave?” he explained. “If the factor that’s going to force you to leave is that you would rather be the big star on the big stage and you’re not happy flying with a guy who can get 51 (points) on 24 shots and win multiple championships … well then, if you’re Golden State there’s nothing you can do about it. And you just have to move on from it, if that’s what happens.”