Warriors Rumors: Kevin Durant Bashed Marreese Speights for 'Mo Buckets' Nickname

Former Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant reportedly complained about the love Marreese Speights received from Dubs fans and wondered aloud about the reserve's "Mo Buckets" nickname.

Last Wednesday, Drew Shiller of NBC Sports Bay Area provided an excerpt from the new book The Victory Machine by Ethan Sherwood Strauss:

"You did not have to be a star or rising star to draw KD's envious ire. When former Warriors bench scorer Marreese Speights returned to Oracle Arena, he got a hearty ovation from the crowd. 'Mo Buckets' had been a fan favorite, in part due to his tremendous shooting streaks and also due to the broad smile he beamed when riding a wave. He wasn't a flawless player but his enthusiasm was infectious and the fans were nostalgic for it.

"KD, who once complained to a Warriors fan account over Twitter Direct Message that Speights was among the players more accepted by Warriors fans than he, was not pleased.

"After the blowout win that followed, as he waited to take the podium stage, Durant was fixated on a TV that hung from the wall. Speights was with the local TV guys, yukking it up. 'Mo Buckets,' Durant loudly groused, shaking his head. 'How can you call yourself 'Mo Buckets' when you never averaged twenty points a game?'"

Speights played a key bench role across three seasons with the Warriors from 2013 through 2016. He averaged 10.4 points per game during the 2014-15 season, which ended with Golden State's first championship of its recent dynasty.

He departed for the Los Angeles Clippers during the same offseason Durant arrived from the Oklahoma City Thunder, so their paths didn't cross, but apparently the animosity still grew.

The Warriors won titles in 2017 and 2018 before KD left for the Brooklyn Nets last summer.

Dubs forward Draymond Green discussed the situation Monday on Uninterrupted's WRTS: After Party with Paul Rivera and Maverick Carter (via ESPN's Nick Friedell):

"So, for instance, Kevin took the one-year deal on his own. So that was kind of the elephant in the room. And although Steve's approach was like, 'Hey, guys, let's approach this year because we don't know what next year brings,' you've got Kevin's contract, you've got [Klay Thompson]'s contract, and I kind of got thrown in that contract thing, although I had another year after that year, which was this year. And so that was kind of the elephant in the room, and although Steve would kind of hit on it, [saying], 'Let's just enjoy this year for what it is because we don't know what next year holds,' it didn't necessarily carry the same weight because what should have happened was Kevin come out and say, 'Hey, man, this is it, so let's do this,' or, 'This isn't it.'"

In 2018, former Warriors forward David West hinted there were a lot of issues that didn't make it into the media.

"Y'all got no clue. No clue," West told reporters. "That tells you about this team that nothing came out."

Now those stories are slowly making their way out, and it appears Kerr may deserve far more credit than he's received for keeping the group together enough to keep winning titles amid the drama.