The Golden State Warriors are just one game away from an NBA championship. This time around, it feels more secure. This time, the Warriors have Kevin Durant.
But as we ponder inevitabilities and what could have beens, the Warriors are just happy they get a chance for redemption. Surely, after Draymond Green was suspended for Game 5 due to an incident with LeBron James, they have to breathe a sigh of relief.
This plan has been the works for some time. But on Thursday, a story from ESPN’s Zach Lowe showed just how soon the Warriors put the gears in motion after the Cleveland Cavaliers raised the Larry O’Brien at Oracle.
Via ESPN:“I look at it as we lost the Finals, but we ended up with KD,” Green said. “That’s a helluva consolation prize.”
Green was already working on that as he left Oracle Arena after that gutting Game 7 loss. Green sat in his car in the parking and called Myers, telling him he had to sign Durant. “It’s on you,” Green told Myers.
Green hung up, stayed in the parking lot, and made another call -- to Durant. “That was my very next call,” Green said. Two weeks later, Durant signed a maximum contract that put him in a Golden State uniform for at least one season, with several more seasons likely to come.
“If we win the championship, I’m like 99 percent sure we don’t get him,” Green said. “There are silver linings to everything.”
Whoo, boy. That is real quick.
Lowe’s article is worth reading, as there are other nuggets in there including quite a bit about how the Warriors felt about Green after his outburst at LeBron.
Green has since said he feels responsible for the Finals loss but would not do anything differently.
Hey, it got them Durant and an easy path to more likely Finals appearances. Looks like it all worked out for Golden State.