It appears Steph Curry did his part in helping the Warriors facilitate a potential blockbuster trade for Kevin Durant.
Before discussions between Golden State and the Phoenix Suns fell apart Wednesday after Durant reportedly expressed "no desire" to return to the Warriors, Curry had reached out to Durant personally in recent days and came away with the belief his former teammate was not interested in a reunion, The Athletic's Anthony Slater reported Thursday.
"At some point in the last several days, Stephen Curry had a conversation with Kevin Durant that convinced him a reunion was extremely unlikely, no matter how much the Golden State Warriors ownership group and front office collectively “underestimated” Durant’s coldness toward a return, as one team source put it," Slater wrote.
"Eventually, the decision-makers accepted the inevitable and pivoted their NBA trade deadline plans to Jimmy Butler."
Slater also reported the Warriors began exploring the possibility of a Durant trade late last week, and that veteran forward Draymond Green's name was floated as a possible piece heading back to Phoenix in a potential deal.
Green told Slater on Wednesday after the Warriors' 131-128 loss to the Utah Jazz at Delta Center that he never approached the front office for reassurance that he would remain with the team.
“No,” Green told The Athletic. “I always talk to Mike [Dunleavy]. But, no, what’s going to happen is going to happen. Ninety-five percent of the things you worry about never come true. If (I did get traded), then it just is what it is. My worries ain’t stopping it. So I wasn’t worried at all. I’ve been in a place of uncertainty overall. But what’s going to be is going to be. To sit and worry about it, this life is hard enough to worry about what you can’t control.”
Golden State Warriors
After their reported pursuit of Durant fell through, the Warriors pivoted back to veteran forward Jimmy Butler, who they reportedly acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Miami Heat shortly before Wednesday's game.
And while a reunion with Durant did not come to fruition, it appears it wasn't for a lack of trying on Curry and the Warriors' end.
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