Why on earth would Kevin Durant leave one of the greatest teams in NBA history for the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference?
That's the question all NBA fans have wanted the answer to since Durant left the Golden State Warriors to sign with the Brooklyn Nets in early July.
Now, we finally have that answer as Durant broke his silence in an interview with Yahoo's Chris Haynes.
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“Because I wanted to,” Durant told Haynes on Tuesday. “The basketball was appealing.”
Many analysts believe the Nets are a team on the rise. They are coming off a 42-40 season and have several intriguing players, including Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris, Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen.
While they gave up All-Star D'Angelo Russell in the sign-and-trade with the Warriors, Brooklyn added NBA champion Kyrie Irving. Head coach Kenny Atkinson, now entering his fourth season with the Nets, has steered the Nets to an improved record each year.
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For months, Durant was rumored to be considering the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers in addition to the Warriors and Nets. But the two-time NBA Finals MVP put that speculation to bed.
“If I was leaving the Warriors, it was always going to be for the Nets,” Durant told Haynes. “They got the pieces and a creative front office. I just like what they were building.”
Whatever the Nets are building, they'll have to proceed without Durant for most, if not all, of the 2019-20 season as he recovers from surgery on his right Achilles.