Fans in Boston clearly felt rejected by Kevin Durant, who during his free-agent period last summer met with the Celtics before ultimately choosing to sign with the Warriors.
So when Durant and the Warriors showed up at TD Garden on Friday, the reception was a loud chorus of boos and a few T-shirts, in Celtics green-and-white, with the words “Durant is a b----” printed across the front.
Though Durant shrugged off the animosity, Warriors teammate Draymond Green was not so quick to let those fans off the hook.
“Fans must be desperate,” Green said. “How are you going to boo a guy for taking an interview? That’s crazy. I don’t get that. Y’all boo somebody for interviewing with y’all? They may scare free agents away. You don’t want to take interviews, and then make enemies for taking the interview. I don’t know. They may want to be careful with that.”
Boston’s presentation to Durant included a personal pitch from Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, one of Durant’s favorite NFL Players. Though he concedes to being impressed, it wasn’t enough to make him join the Celtics.
CLIPPERS
Sports
Remember Donald Sterling, the former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, infamous for being cheap and eccentric and, above all, a bigot? Well, he’s finally, and completely, out of NBA business.
Though Sterling was fined, ousted and slapped with a lifetime ban from the NBA in 2014, numerous legal issues kept alive the relationship between Sterling and the league. He sued over being forced to sell the team, which was bought by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
All entanglements ended Friday, when Sterling and the NBA reached an agreement on a settlement. The terms were not disclosed, but the league surely is ecstatic to have completely severed ties with Sterling.
LAKERS
Power forward Julius Randle, considered one of the pillars behind the resurgence of the Lakers, joined an august club the other night.
With 17 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over Brooklyn, he posted his second career triple-double and became only the second Laker to achieve such a feat before his 23rd birthday. You may be familiar with the other guy: Magic Johnson.
Randle is only the sixth Laker to produce multiple triple-doubles, joining Kobe Bryant (21), Pau Gasol (five), Lamar Odom (four), Vlade Divac (four) and Johnson (69).
