KD by Marcus Thompson

Author:Marcus Thompson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria Books

6 OK—SEE YA

IT’S A FUN GAME TO try to pinpoint when Durant first thought about coming to Oakland. There were certainly hints before his hangout with Green or his free agency meetings held at a mansion in the Hamptons. An interesting conversation between Durant, then still with the Thunder, and a Warriors public relations rep suggests he might have been eyeing the Warriors even earlier.

Randomly, before a game, Durant had a question for the Warriors’ staffer, who was available in the visitors’ locker room to provide the opponents with what they needed: tickets, statistical packets, answers. This request, though, was a bit of a curveball.

“When does the new arena open?” Durant asked. This was February 6, 2016. Durant was still the face of the Thunder.

The Bay Area was buzzing at the time. The Warriors were well into a historic season. They had captivated the nation and frenzied the region with a 24-0 start to the season and were still rolling at 45-4 when Oklahoma City came to town. The Super Bowl, set for the next day at the 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium, had brought its own mania to the Bay. Durant remained in town after the game and went to the Super Bowl as a photographer for the Players’ Tribune, an online magazine (of which Durant was part owner) dedicated to players’ perspectives.

A week earlier the Warriors had announced a naming rights deal with JPMorgan Chase. Their new home, scheduled to open in 2019, would be called the Chase Center, a billion-dollar arena on San Francisco Bay, a quick jog from baseball’s famed Oracle Park. The Warriors celebrated the twenty-year naming rights deal with a big production at the Masonic Center in San Francisco, featuring a performance by the Glide Memorial United Methodist Church’s popular choir and a Q and A with MVP Stephen Curry. The naming rights deal was considered the largest of its kind.

Durant’s curiosity was itching. After a couple of questions, the PR rep asked Durant if he would like to speak with someone who could tell him about the arena. Durant said yes. Moments later he was getting the entire Chase Center breakdown from a high-up Warriors official.

Durant was known to give a random interrogation. He was curious like that. But was this that? Or was this a sign of interest from Durant? Was this a pending free agent vetting his options in advance?

Of course, Durant’s line of questioning was juicy enough to report to Warriors management. The moment in this dank locker room was immediately relayed to Warriors owner Joe Lacob, and it was music to his ears. Golden State’s brain trust had been plotting to acquire Durant for some time. After failing to get a meeting with LeBron James in 2010 and missing out on Dwight Howard in 2013, the Warriors set their sights on the free agency class of 2016, which was headlined by Durant.

Back in 2013 they signed free agent Andre Iguodala to a four-year deal in which the salary descended each year of the deal, such that the final year of the deal (2016–17) was the lowest.

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