Draymond Green had some simple questions for Kevin Durant during the Golden State Warriors’ recruitment of the free agent All-Star.
And they all had to do with winning NBA titles.
“We asked him how many championships do you think we can win with the way the team is now? How many championships can you win without us? How many do you think we can win together?” Green said, via the Undefeated.
Durant, a seven-time All-Star and the NBA MVP in 2013-14, picked the Warriors over the Oklahoma City Thunder and several other suitors. He’ll now join Green, a 2016 All-Star; Steph Curry, the two-time reigning NBA MVP; Klay Thompson, a two-time All-Star; and Andre Iguodala, the 2015 NBA Finals MVP. No team in the NBA can match Golden State’s star power, and we’re still talking about a team coming off a record-breaking 73-win season.
Golden State came back from 3-1 down to shock Durant and the Thunder in the Western Conference finals. LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers repaid the favor in the NBA Finals, ending the Warriors’ repeat bid with three straight wins to close the series.
In signing Durant, the Warriors have now sabotaged their biggest rival in the West while also adding one of the best players in the NBA. The franchise will enter the 2016-17 season as huge favorites to get back to the Finals and win a second title in three years.
Green and the Warriors also calmed Durant’s fears about fitting in with what Golden State has already built under head coach Steve Kerr.
“We told him he didn’t have to change who he is,” Green said. “He doesn’t have to change how he plays. We will get him shots. If he shot 40 percent from 3-point line contested, how would he shoot wide open?”
Durant made 186 threes on 38.7 percent shooting last season. He might not make more in Golden State, but his efficiency as a shooter could go way up.
In the end, the opportunity was too much to pass up.
Green helped sell everything about the Warriors to Durant, a player with a serious craving for titles and the freedom to chase the best chance to win big. The sales pitch worked, and now Golden State has all the ingredients to push their historic team to dynastic levels.
