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NBA Rumors: Warriors recruited Kevin Durant all season long

By David Rouben

May 30, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) is congratulated by Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) after game seven of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Thunder 96-88. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
May 30, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) is congratulated by Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) after game seven of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Thunder 96-88. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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The reason why the Golden State Warriors have been heavily linked to Kevin Durant is because they spent all of last season pitching to him.

The Golden State Warriors will formally be granted a meeting with free agent Kevin Durant on July 1st, according to Pro Basketball Talk, but it won’t be the first time they’ve spoken.

Adrian Wojnarowski stated on his Vertical podcast that, when the Warriors players weren’t busy racking up the best regular season record of all-time, they were making sales pitches to Durant:

"…It goes back to early in the season when the Thunder were struggling. And I don’t know that Golden State saw them as a peer. I don’t know if they saw them as a threat. They weren’t playing great. They were in that mid range in the West, or certainly beyond San Antonio, Golden State.And Kevin Durant, just like he was hearing from guys in Boston, Washington, different places, he was hearing from guys on the Warriors about, “Hey, you can come help come take the pressure off of Steph Curry. We need you.” This is when they were running off win after win after win. They had him on their mind. He’s been on their mind. And it appealed to him a little. And some of it was, it’s text messages. It’s a lot of that. But the communication with some of the players in Golden State and Kevin, that’s not just starting now."

By planting the seed of a potential move to Golden State, Durant became interested in joining them, and according to multiple outlets, if he doesn’t re-sign with Oklahoma City, he’s leaning towards the Warriors. At the very least, it’s given them a head start before he meets with other teams.

Technically, it isn’t illegal, since the Warriors management never reached out to him. However, stuff like this might cause tension in the locker room. The Warriors were a tight-knit group all year long, but if some players find out that others would rather have Durant rather than their current group, it could lead to a clash of interests.

Related Story: https://fansided.com/2016/06/30/nba-free-agency-rumor-tracker/

The best comparable is when everyone thought Russell Wilson would be so much better when Jimmy Graham joined the Seattle Seahawks, but he played some of his best football when Graham went down.

A machine operates on gears, and adding another one doesn’t necessarily make it better. The Thunder were one win away from the NBA Finals, so it’s not like his chances of winning will drastically improve if he signs with Golden State. Conversely, the Warriors did just fine last year without Durant. However, the links to Golden State aren’t going to go away until Durant finally comes to a decision.

Visit our NBA Free Agency page for the latest rumors and updates.

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