Kevin Durant was rumored to potentially team up with Kyrie Irving to play for the New York Knicks last summer while on free agency. We all know that didn’t happen, as they both crossed the river to the Brooklyn Nets.
Kevin Durant recently joined JJ Reddick on his podcast “The Old Man and the Three” to discuss his decision to play for the Nets and look back on the idea of playing for the Knicks.
“I never planned it … the media put it out there.”
Durant silenced the rumors, saying that playing for the Knicks was never part of his plans. He would go on to give some of the reasons he never planned.
“I didn’t want to be the savior of the Knicks or New York. I didn’t care that I was the king of New York. This has never really moved me. I didn’t care that I was on Broadway … I just wanted to play ball, go to the crib and relax. And that’s what Brooklyn embodied. “
For Durant, New York didn’t fit his style. The bright lights and being in the spotlight weren’t important to him, as he said. He is focused on playing basketball and trying to win a championship.
“Brooklyn was all I was concerned with. Quiet, downstairs, all black, we are quiet, we focus only on basketball. There is no show when you come to our games. There’s no Madison Square Mecca, all that shit. We just intend to build something new in Brooklyn … I felt this way around February through March and then once the free agency arrived, it was time. “