Warriors coach Steve Kerr explained why he wasn't surprised Kevin Durant left the Warriors for the Nets in free agency as he said, "This past year felt different."
When asked about Durant's departure recently on "The Full 48" podcast, Kerr said he could see it coming. He thought the Warriors' dominant lineup and team chemistry had seemingly "run its course."
"I don't know why," Kerr explained. "I do think we're in a different era where players are more interested by new challenges ... players see that there's a huge expanse out there; there's this horizon with so many different opportunities. And so you're just gonna have fewer teams that stick together for a long period of time.
"And that's just kind of how it felt this year for us. This thing has a finite ending point and this is probably it."
Some speculated that the verbal confrontation between Durant and Draymond Green on Nov. 12 was part of the reason Durant left, but Kerr refuted that theory.
"We kind of lost some momentum internally. It wasn't anything tangible," Kerr explained. "People point to the Draymond-Kevin incident. I honestly don't think that was that big of a deal, as crazy as that sounds."
As for whether there was anything the Warriors could do to keep the 10-time All-Star? Kerr said, "Probably not. ... this thing was running its course and we kind of felt like he was moving on."
Durant was critical of the Warriors during an interview with The Wall Street Journal earlier this month, saying he didn't think Warriors' offense worked well in the playoffs. He also said he never felt like he fit in with the team.
“I came in there wanting to be part of a group, wanting to be part of a family, and definitely felt accepted," Durant said. "But I’ll never be one of those guys ... I started to realize I’m just different from the rest of the guys. It’s not a bad thing.”
Durant, a two-time NBA champion, averaged 25.8 points per game with 7.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists during his three seasons with the Warriors. He signed a four-year, $164 million deal with the Nets over the summer.