Much has been made of Kevin Durant opting not to return to the Golden State Warriors this season. Before the Warriors traded for Jimmy Butler, they were pursuing a trade to bring Durant back to the Bay Area from the Phoenix Suns, but that possibly ultimately fell through because Durant did not want to go back to the Warriors.
Both former Warriors general manager Bob Meyers and head coach Steve Kerr attributed the criticism Durant received the first time he joined Golden State as the potential reason he did not want to return this season.
"I don't blame Kevin one bit for not wanting to rerun things here," Kerr told Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN last week. "He took so much s--- for like, 'Oh, you're jumping on the bandwagon.' And then he's Finals MVP two years in a row. It's like he still gets criticized."
Turns out the reason is much simpler—Durant didn't want to move and uproot his life in Phoenix during the middle of the season.
"People talk crazy about me all the time," Durant told ESPN. "That's not the reason why I didn't want to come back, I just didn't want to get traded midway through the season. It was nothing against my time with the Warriors, or I heard because I don't like Draymond [Green]. At the end of the day I just didn't want to move and I wanted to see it through with my team in Phoenix and see what we could do the rest of this season. I'm glad I'm still there."
KD on Kerr saying he didn't want to run it back with the Dubs:
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) February 18, 2025
"That's not the reason why I didn't want to come back, I just didn't want to get traded midway through the season" pic.twitter.com/OI0GMnbgu7
Durant added that he has not requested a trade from Phoenix. He originally joined the Suns when he was traded midseason to Phoenix in 2023, and was not looking to endure another midseason trade this season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kevin Durant Explains Why He Turned Down Trade Back to Warriors.
