Kevin Durant Glad Warriors Lost to Cavs in NBA Finals

On June 19, the Warriors lost Game 7 of the NBA Finals at home.

On July 4, Kevin Durant announced he was going to sign with the Warriors.

Had Golden State outlasted Cleveland and captured its second straight title, would Durant be living in the Bay Area right now?

“I was telling one of my friends, Rich (Kleiman, his agent), who’s here, we were watching Game 7," Durant explained on Monday night at Stanford University. "Well, as it started to unfold, it was, ‘No question, no way could you go to this team.’ And I was just like a kid, like, in a candy shop.

[RELATED: Lacob relives day Durant picked Warriors: 'I remember every moment']

"I’d get wide open 3s, I could just run up and down the court, get wide open layups. I was basically begging him. I was like 'Yo, this would be nice.' So as I was thinking about my decision and who I was gonna play for, this team came to mind. You know, as they lost, it became more and more real every day. You start to think about it even more. To see if I would fit.

"Then once I sat down with these guys, everything that I wanted to know about them they kinda showed me. But we don’t have to talk about it though because they didn’t get the job done and they came after me and who knows what would’ve happened.

"But I guess you could say I’m glad that they lost.”

Two weeks ago, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was a guest on "The Lowe Post" podcast, and was asked the following two questions:

Lowe: "Have you ever had a conversation with Kevin Durant in which you address the idea of 'Would he have actually come there if you guys had won the championship?'"

Kerr: "I haven't asked him that. My sense is no but it's not coming from him. It's just kinda my gut, my instinct. But I think more than anything, for Kevin, he just wanted a change of scenery. I honestly sort of chuckle when people say 'he's chasing rings.' He's not chasing rings. He's been on one of the best teams in the league for many years and they've had their opportunities and it hasn't happened. And they've had some horrible luck with injuries. But I just feel players are just like people, like human beings in the real world. Every person out there who's lucky enough to have a career where they can make it more than about just paying the bills. You have a career, you get some opportunities, you get some choices. Maybe you want to live in a different city, maybe you want to do something else, maybe you want to try a new role. Maybe you get a promotion, you move cities. I think people can relate out there. You get a boost, you get kind of a jumpstart. You get a second life. I know for me, I felt that way when I left broadcasting and went into coaching. It was just kind of time. I wanted to do something different. Honestly, and again this is not coming from Kevin, this is just sort of my synopsis having gotten to know him a little bit and seen the situation -- I just think he wanted a change. I think he really enjoys our guys, I think he's gonna enjoy our style; such a great playmaker. I think he's really looking forward to just something new, and something different."

Lowe: "Its trite, but I have to present you with the hypothetical: Do you as Steve Kerr -- God comes to to you the day of Game 7, and says 'Here's your choice, Steve. You win this game and you don't get Kevin Durant but you get your second consecutive championship and whatever else happens. Or you lose but you get Kevin Durant. What are you choosing?"

Kerr: "You had to ask me that. Well. Why don't you ask me the same question five years from now and I'll see how we did. And then I can hypothetically in reverse look back  ... You have no idea what's gonna happen. We won 73 games last year and didn't win the title. 3-1 lead in the Finals. You have no idea what's gonna happen in life, in basketball, anything. So this was a helluva way to rebound off of the disappointment of that loss. But I honestly can't answer that question. Hell yeah we wanted to win that title. It would have been awesome back-to-back. Hell yeah we're excited to get KD. I just can't rank these things. I hate to tell you but I'm not gonna give you that answer." 
 

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