The Warriors eliminated the Thunder in the 2016 Western Conference finals on May 30. On the following July 4, Durant announced he’d leave Oklahoma City for Golden State.
But when did Durant actually decide on signing with the Warriors?
Durant, Rich Kleiman (Durant’s business partner) and Rudy Cline-Thomas (Andre Iguodala’s business partner) sat on a panel at Bloomberg’s Players Technology Summit.
Cline-Thomas, as transcribed by Drew Shiller of NBC Sports Bay Area:“Remember 2017, you just lost to the Warriors -- no 2016, you had just lost the Warriors, May -- you and I get together after the game. I thought I was just gonna focus on not talking about basketball, and you wanted to focus on talking about Silicon Valley -- asking me how it was out here.
“You had been following what Andre and I were doing, how it was being surrounded by all these CEOs, innovators and entrepreneurs. And I was like, ‘Wow. First and foremost, like yo -- this dude just told me he’s about to sign with the Warriors, right (laughter). So, I was like I’m not gonna tell anybody, didn’t tell anybody whatsoever, didn’t want any rumors to get started...”
Durant on when he began thinking differently about business opportunities, via Shiller:
“Probably about 2015, I had got hurt. Basketball had always been my world ... it stopped, and I had to think about other parts of my life and what I was interested in ... it was rough because I didn’t know what I wanted to do or what I liked or what type of person I wanted to be ... I started to hear about Andre and more guys around the NBA -- especially that play for the Warriors -- that took advantage of the opportunities of being in the Bay Area.
“So throughout that whole year, me and Rich were talking about investing in companies and what I like to do outside of ball. Then I (saw) you and just all those questions came out at once and I was basically telling you I was coming to the Warriors (laughter).”
Kleiman, via Shiller:
Did Durant really tell Cline-Thomas in May of a plan to sign with the Warriors? Did Durant know his intentions and inadvertently show his hand while talking to Cline-Thomas? Did Durant not consciously know where he’d sign but reveal clues to Cline-Thomas during their conversation? Were Durant and Cline-Thomas just joking?
Was Kleiman trying to set the record straight? Was he just trying to cover for Durant?
Durant was back in Oklahoma City for a press conference June 1, 2016. So, when Cline-Thomas says “after the game,” it sounds as if he meant the night of Game 7.
Of course, that will raise all kinds of questions about Durant’s competitiveness in the 2016 Western Conference finals. If he had one foot out the door to join the Warriors, how motivated was he to beat them? But Durant was awesome throughout that series. Golden State was just a great team. I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he compartmentalized his feelings on the Warriors while facing them.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if he decided on Golden State shortly after the series. Draymond Green recruited Durant throughout that season. The Warriors’ desire to add Durant and their high level of appeal was well-established. Even without tampering, they didn’t have to wait until free agency officially began to become Durant’s choice. The NBA can control timing of permissible contact – not Durant’s mind.
It’s just tough to tell exactly what to take from Durant’s, Cline-Thomas’ and Kleiman’s comments – even with context of video: