Doc Rivers Says It Was 'Tough' to See Kevin Durant Join Warriors

For competitive reasons, Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers didn't like seeing Kevin Durant sign with the Golden State Warriors last summer. 

During an appearance on ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike on Tuesday, Rivers spoke about Durant's going from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Warriors (via the Sporting News' Jordan Heck):

"It is tough when you see a guy join a team—in Durant’s case what he did this year. That was tough for anybody, anybody’s that’s competitive, to watch. He lost, and then he joined. Having said that, it was his choice, I have no problem with him, but it’s something from a competitive standpoint, you would think you wouldn’t do.

"I have no problem with him doing it, it’s just something from a competitive point, for me, I guess when I played it would have been tough for me to join Detroit. Having said that, he has the ability to do it, guys are doing it, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Rivers is no stranger to what Durant is capable of. He's been a head coach in the Western Conference, going head-to-head with the former NBA MVP, since 2013. 

Durant knocked Rivers out of the playoffs in 2014 when the Thunder defeated the Clippers in six games. That was their last head-to-head meeting in the postseason. 

Durant's last game with the Thunder came May 30, 2016, when the Warriors erased a 3-1 series deficit to win the Western Conference Finals in seven games and secure a spot in the NBA Finals for a second consecutive season. 

Rivers played the bulk of his career with the Atlanta Hawks. He spent 13 seasons from 1983 to 1996 in the NBA, including the first eight with the Atlanta Hawks, and reached the conference finals with the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs.