Kevin Durant was pissed after being ejected from Tuesday night’s Warriors win.
“Look at my first tech,” Durant said. “I got the rebound and I dribbled the ball hard, and he teched me up. He was searching for me. He was looking to try to tech me up to get me back because he’s still in his feelings from the first half. That’s what’s been going on around the league the whole year. A bunch of that. I got to keep my head a little bit, but I was upset. I’m a human being too. I get upset.”
The second he said that, a fine from the league was coming.
Durant saved himself a little money the next day when he said:
“I wish I had handled that better obviously but it was kind of a heat-of-the-moment for me. I could be better. It was a great learning experience for me though,” Durant said after practice. "... I wasn’t getting picked on last night. I was being a diva last night. I’ve got to just own up to it. I watched it when I got home. I was wondering why he was coming at me so hard but then I watched the plays I was like, `Yeah, I looked like a jerk out there.’ It was bad. Luckily we won and we can move past it and I kind of owned up to it. I’ll be better next time.”
Thursday, the league fined Durant $15,000 for “public criticism of the officiating.”
KD realized his mistake and saved himself $10,000 (the fine for criticizing officials is usually $25K). What’s more, in the ongoing tensions between the players and referees, more players need to take a step back like Durant did and realize they are part of the problem. The officials are faster with the techs this season, but the players seem to complain about every call. The officials put up with a lot, and the players are aggressive. There needs to be a better balance.