Kevin Durant to Warriors: Takeaways from Star's Introductory Press Conference

Kevin Durant made his first appearance as a member of the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, giving a press conference after officially signing with the team.  

Durant announced Monday on the Players' Tribune that he was joining the reigning Western Conference champions. With the NBA's moratorium period in effect, though, the seven-time All-Star couldn't put pen to paper on his new contract. According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, Durant agreed to a two-year, $54.3 million deal.

The moratorium lifted Thursday, allowing the Warriors to finally unveil the biggest free-agent signing of the summer.

Durant said going to the Warriors isn't a reflection of how he feels about his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder, per Turner Sports analyst David Aldridge: "Those nine years, you can't erase. That love doesn't fade. Those memories don't erase."

"Obviously, it's tough," Durant said when asked about leaving Oklahoma City and longtime teammate Russell Westbrook, per Aldridge. "I'm sure he wasn't happy about the decision, but he respected it as my friend."

NBA TV shared Durant's response when asked how he made his choice:

The 27-year-old took umbrage with those who argued he's taking the path of least resistance to an NBA title.

"Nothing in this league is easy," he said, per ESPN's Rachel Nichols. "There are no shortcuts."

Durant added he intends to stay with Golden State for the long haul, per USA Today's Sam Amick: "I plan on being here. I don't want to go through that again."

Even after the deal was official, general manager Bob Myers remained in shock, per the Washington Post's Tim Bontemps: "I can't believe I'm sitting next to [Kevin], to be honest."

"Until he called [and] told me he was coming, I didn't think he was coming," Myers said, per The Vertical's Michael Lee.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr joked Durant "might" be in the starting lineup before discussing how the 2014 MVP will mesh with the rest of the team, via NBA TV:

"We lost in the Finals," Kerr said, per The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears. "We wanted to get better. You can't get any better than adding KD to the current crew."

It's easy to anoint the Warriors the 2016-17 NBA champions already. Golden State won 73 games last year, setting a regular-season record previously held by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, and was up 3-1 in the NBA Finals. Now, the team is adding one of the greatest scorers in NBA history.

Plenty of past superteams have failed to reach the heights many thought they would—or at least struggled through early adjustment periods.

Even after winning an NBA title, it's fair to say the Cleveland Cavaliers haven't become the offensive juggernaut they projected to be when Kevin Love arrived from the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Miami Heat's Big Three didn't deliver immediate success either.

In 2003, the Los Angeles Lakers signed Gary Payton and Karl Malone to a team that already had Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal and lost in the NBA Finals. Trading for Steve Nash and Dwight Howard resulted in a first-round exit in 2013.

In Durant's case, he's joining an already dominant team, whereas the Heat, Cavs and 2012-13 Lakers were hoping to build that. He's not in the twilight of his career either, which was the case for Malone and Payton.

Durant and the Warriors will have sky-high expectations next year. Anything short of an NBA Finals win will be a disappointment.

Immediately after Golden State's Game 7 loss to the Cavs in the 2016 NBA Finals, team owner Joe Lacob told Stein he planned to be "very aggressive" this summer. True to his word, Lacob helped snag the most prized asset on the free-agent market and positioned the Warriors to be one of the greatest teams in NBA history.