Klay Thompson Says Warriors Don't 'Blame' Kevin Durant for Joining Nets

It's been three years since Kevin Durant parted ways with the Golden State Warriors to join the Brooklyn Nets, but many are still wondering how his former teammates felt about his departure.

Warriors guard Klay Thompson said on the ALL THE SMOKE podcast that Golden State has no ill-will toward Durant and the other players understand why he made his decision to leave:

"We don't blame Kevin for leaving at all. He is from the East Coast. If I was on the East Coast and I had a great, almost, it was two games away from a three-peat, it was like what more y'all want from me, man? You want a six-peat, you know? If it wasn't for catastrophic things, like, we probably would've had three championships in that time. But, uh, man, we don't blame him at all. We knew he kind of wanted to bounce a little bit. I mean, go back home and we'll still forever have those two, going back-to-back and gosh, so close."

Durant surprised the masses when he departed the Oklahoma City Thunder to sign with the Warriors as a free agent ahead of the 2016-17 season. Joining a core that included Thompson, two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry and defensive specialist Draymond Green put Durant in prime position to chase the championship ring that had eluded him at that point in his career.

The 12-time All-Star achieved his goal, winning two NBA titles and back-to-back Finals MVP awards. Golden State's chance at a three-peat was derailed when Durant tore his Achilles and Thompson tore his ACL in the 2019 Finals against the Toronto Raptors.

When Durant departed the Warriors, the team missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons before making a triumphant return to the postseason in 2021-22. Golden State won its fourth NBA title in the last eight years, defeating the Boston Celtics in six games in the 2022 Finals.

Since joining the Nets, Durant hasn't advanced past the conference semifinals. Brooklyn disappointingly finished seventh in the East last season and was swept in the first round by the Celtics.

However, the team appears poised to contend for a title this year thanks to the return of Durant, Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons and other key pieces who were sidelined last season.