Warriors Get Bad News Amid Kevin Durant Trade Rumors
Kevin Durant throws a wrench in the Golden State Warriors' plans. Learn more about Durant's decision and its impact on the team.
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Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors looks down between plays.
Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant threw a monkey wrench in the Golden State Warriorsâ ambitious plan to bring him back and re-pair him with Stephen Curry.
Shams Charania of ESPN reported that Durant does not want to go back to Golden State.
âThe Warriors have been seriously pursuing Kevin Durant over the last week, but sources tell me that Durant has no desire for a reunion. He does not want to go back to the Warriors,â Charania said on âNBA Todayâ on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
Charaniaâs report confirmed what Marc Stein and Jake Fischer earlier reported that there is a âdistinct sense percolating now that Durant does not want to be traded at all this weekâ and that he has âserious reservations about a second Warriors stint if he were to be shipped there.â
This ends the Warriorsâ pursuit of Durant, who was the Finals MVP of the Warriorsâ title runs in 2017 and 2018.
Chris Haynes subsequently reported that the Warriors âdo not want to bring in a disgruntled superstar.â
With less than 24 hours before the NBA trade deadline, the Warriors are running out of options in their search for a top-tier star to pair with Curry, Haynes added.
Warriors Desperate to Land a Star
The Warriors have aggressively pursued big-name stars since last yearâs NBA trade deadline from LeBron James to Paul George and Lauri Markkanen last summer. But in those nixed deals, especially in the George and Markkanen pursuits, they were unwilling to go all-in.
But The Athletic report painted the Warriors front office as becoming âincreasingly impatientâ especially in the wake of their Western Conference rivals Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks executing a stunning swap of their stars Luka DonÄiÄ and Anthony Davis.
Jake Fischer also said the same along those lines in âThe Stein Lineâ Substack newsletter on Monday, Feb. 3.
Green all but confirmed this after the Warriors beat the Orlando Magic on Tuesday.
âWe all know (Joe Lacobâs) pissed sitting at .500. Youâd be a fool to sit back and think everything (is OK). Not with that guy,â Green told reporters. âYou gotta expect theyâll be aggressive. Luka DonÄiÄ just got traded. So everyone thinks everything possible.â
With dwindling options, what is the Warriorsâ next move?
Will Warriors Settle With Brandon Ingram?
Golden State âhas also examined the prospect of acquiring New Orleansâ Brandon Ingramâ as a backup option in case a Durant or Jimmy Butler trade did not materialize.
âAlthough Ingram did not have great success under Warriors coach Steve Kerr during their late summer run together at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, weâve been told not to discount the possibility that the Warriors could pursue the one-time former All-Star playing out his current contract on an expiring $36 million salary if Golden State cannot land one of its higher-profile targets,â Fischer wrote on Tuesday, Feb. 4.
And now that Durant has followed Butler to shut down the idea of heading to The Bay, will the Warriors settle with Ingram?
Fischer and Stein also reported that the New Orleans Pelicans âhave held ongoing dialogues with both Toronto and Atlantaâ for Ingram.
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