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The dust hasn’t yet settled on the Golden State Warriors’ sweeping win over the Cavs in the NBA Finals, but the team is already being asked about the future.
After winning his second championship, the weight of criticism that was placed on Kevin Durant’s shoulders when he decided to join the Warriors is finally being lifted. As the legacy of the Bay Area team continues to reach new heights, KD is already pretty sure he knows when he’ll hang up his jersey once and for all. With his 30th birthday coming up during the off-season, he revealed to ESPN’s Chris Haynes that he’s got about five years left in him.
“This game, your craft, you have to continue studying it,” he said. “No matter how much you enjoy it, nobody wants to be in school that long. I know I don’t. At some point, you have to be ready to graduate. Thirty-five, that’s just a number in my mind.”
And where will he be spending those remaining five or six years? Warriors General Manager Bob Myers told The Mercury News that there is no negotiation, and that he’ll give KD “Whatever he wants.”
Durant also revealed that he has no interest in chasing stats, like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record of 38,387. “I don’t think that’s going to define me as a player. It’s a cool accomplishment to be up there with the greats and to be considered someone who can potentially chase that, or beat that, but I’m not playing for that,” he said.
While everyone expects Durant to stay put in the Bay Area, for now, LeBron James is the biggest free agency factor this off-season. And while the Warriors would be silly to not even attempt a pitch, Durant dismissed the idea when Jimmy Kimmel asked him.
“I just don’t think that will happen,” was Durant’s response when asked if he’d be excited about the idea of James joining the Warriors.
