Doc Rivers: Watching Durant join Warriors was 'tough'
Doc Rivers says he has no problem with Kevin Durant's decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors last summer - except from a competitive standpoint.
"It is tough when you see a guy join a team - in Durant's case what he did this year," Los Angeles Clippers coach said Tuesday on "Mike & Mike," as transcribed by the Sporting News' Jordan Heck.
The decision came on the heels of Golden State winning an NBA-record 73 regular-season games and eliminating OKC in the Western Conference finals.
"That was tough for anybody, anybody that's competitive, to watch," Rivers added. "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."
Indeed, guys are doing it, despite the NBA's efforts to prevent it from happening. There are measures in the CBA that afford teams the ability to sign their own stars to longer and more lucrative deals than they'd fetch on the open market. At the end of the day, though, it's up to the players.
Durant continues to get flack for his decision and its implications for the league, having only exacerbated its parity issues. With the former MVP in tow, the Warriors were heavy title favorites entering the campaign. They've so far delivered on the hype, finishing atop the standings and steamrolling through the first three rounds of the playoffs.
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It's worth noting that Rivers has coached "superteams" himself, like the 2008 title-winning Boston Celtics. More recently, his Clippers were in the KD sweepstakes, pitching a Big Four and reportedly finishing third behind the Warriors and Thunder.