Steph holds no ill feelings toward KD for rejecting Warriors reunion

Steph holds no ill feelings toward KD for rejecting Warriors reunion originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Steph Curry has no ill feelings towards Kevin Durant after the Phoenix Suns star rejected a trade to the Warriors last week.

During the frenzied days before the NBA trade deadline, Curry contacted Durant to see if his former Golden State teammate would be interested in returning to the Bay Area.

However, Durant rejected the overture and explained he had no desire to leave the Suns to rejoin the Warriors, something Curry understood and respected

“You need everybody to be all bought in no matter what the history you have,” Curry told ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “And I respect KD. It’s all about having peace of mind and happiness.

“Neither one of us controlled that [trade] situation. It’s just you want to make sure somebody wants to be somewhere. Other than that, I’m not trying to convince anybody to be somewhere they don’t want to be.”

Curry does not resent or harbor ill will toward his former Golden State running mate. Warriors coach Steve Kerr echoed those sentiments about Durant’s unwillingness to return to the team with which he won consecutive NBA titles.

“I don’t blame Kevin one bit for not wanting to rerun things here,” Kerr explained to Youngmisuk. “He took so much s— for like, ‘Oh, you’re jumping on the bandwagon’ [when he signed with Golden State as a free agent in 2016]. And then he’s Finals MVP two years in a row. It’s like he still gets criticized. So why would he want to face all that B.S. again?”

After his acrimonious departure from the Warriors, Durant left for the Brooklyn Nets in a sign-and-trade deal, only to be traded to the Suns four years later. While Phoenix has the highest payroll in the NBA, Durant’s pairing with Devin Booker and Bradley Beal has not worked out. The Suns were aggressive at the trade deadline in pursuing Jimmy Butler, but nothing materialized.

The Warriors were able to pull off the Butler trade, sending Andrew Wiggins and Kyle Anderson to the Miami Heat. In addition, Dennis Schroder and Lindy Waters III were traded to the Detroit Pistons in the multi-team deal.

Ultimately, it worked out for the best that Durant and the Warriors decided against getting back together. Both sides parted ways for a reason in the summer of 2019, and trying to recapture the magic would have been difficult.

With Durant and Curry receiving All-Star selections again, fans will see the ex-teammates in action together at the All-Star Game on Sunday night at Chase Center in San Francisco.

Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast