Warriors don't mind playing role of bad guys
OAKLAND — When the Golden State Warriors look back on that late July night in Los Angeles, it will go down as a blessing in disguise.
Those boos rained down at the Staples Center during the Team USA exhibition against China, inspired no doubt by Kevin Durant’s decision to sign with the Warriors during free agency, and they knew right then that there was no point in caring what the outside world might say.
"I got booed, along with KD, along with Klay (Thompson), in the United States, with a USA jersey on," Green said with so much incredulity after the second day of training camp Wednesday. "Give me a break. I just don’t understand some people. Even if I hate you and whatever team you play for, if you’re going to wear a USA jersey and go represent my country, for one day I can give it up and cheer for this guy. They booed us still. So if they’re going to boo us with a USA jersey on, I can only imagine how it’s going to be with a Warriors jersey. More power to those people. They’re angry about something. I’m not sure what it is, but hey."
Those black hats, in other words, are going to fit quite nicely.
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From the time Durant decided to come west, leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder behind and forming the league’s latest super team, there was a central theme to it all that continues still: the basketball is all that matters, villain status be darned. For seven years — post relocation from Seattle back in 2008 — Durant had been a proud steward of the Thunder brand.
On and off the floor, he conducted himself in such a professional, personal and productive way that he earned adopted son status not long after he arrived with Russell Westbrook & Co. so long ago. But this is different, this experience in which the Warriors’ biggest stars are enjoying the benefits of entering their late 20s at the same time.
From the former MVP in Durant to back-to back MVP Steph Curry, two-time All-Star Klay Thompson and the one-time All-Star Green, there is a mature defiance among them that is born, in large part, out of both dominance and the down-to-earth demeanor that they all share. To varying degrees, each has had the kind of elite individual success that allows them to simply not care what people say anymore. It’s a suit of armor that they’ve earned, the kind of protection that should serve them well when they’re the constant topic of controversial conversation in the coming months. And Durant, at the center of it all, has had his unpopular decision validated ever since deciding to come to town.
The Olympic experience was therapeutic, the kind of challenge that not only distracted him from the divisive chatter he sparked back home but — from training camp in Las Vegas in mid-July to the gold-medal game in Rio de Janeiro a month later — reminded him why the game matters more than anything else. His talents were maximized. The camaraderie was meaningful. None of the Thunder subplots really mattered. And then, when it was all over, the transition began.
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He moved into the Oakland Hills, deciding not to live too far away from the joy-filled place in which he works. He officially started the new job on Tuesday, learning the ins and outs of coach Steve Kerr’s system while loving every moment with his new teammates — even the imperfect ones.
At one point in practice on Wednesday, with Durant cutting to the rim and Curry looking to make the right pass, there was the kind of miscommunication that will likely not be there at season’s end. Durant, a long and lethal high-flyer the likes of which the Warriors didn’t have before, wanted to go for the alley-oop but received a chest pass from Curry instead. They chuckled about it afterward, knowing full well that — with the preseason opener coming on Saturday against the Toronto Raptors in Vancouver — these are good problems to have. With former All-Star and resident sixth man Andre Iguodala rounding out their Fantastic Five, they’ll be scratching the surface with this group for quite some time.
And hardly caring what people think along the way.
"You’re playing basketball, and the way we play, the ball always finds the right guy in the right position," Iguodala said. "So just trusting in it. A majority of the guys have been in the system already. It’s like picking up where we left off. Easy. ... It will be a lot of fun."
Follow Sam Amick on Twitter @sam_amick.