Nets' Kevin Durant warns fans that Warriors dynasty 'will never be duplicated'
The Nets' Kevin Durant looks on against the Suns at Barclays Center on Feb. 3. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Kevin Durant broke his long-term silence with the mainstream Nets media when he sat down for an interview Wednesday night with YES, the Nets’ regular broadcast network. If there was one takeaway, Durant warned Nets fans not to expect a resurrection of the Warriors dynasty that he joined and helped to win two NBA titles in his three seasons with them.
“That team will never be duplicated,” Durant said of a team that included top three-point shooters Steph Curry and Klay Thompson along with great interior player Draymond Green. “I’m not going to say that.”
Describing the current Nets, Durant added, “We’ve got Taurean (Prince), who can play the four, myself, Caris (LeVert). I feel like we are interchangeable, and we can cause that havoc on defense. But it’s going to take some time.”
Durant was asked about how a Nets lineup that also includes such top players as Spencer Dinwiddie and Joe Harris might fit together and how much firepower they might have when you add a healthy Durant and Kyrie Irving, who also is out for the season after playing 20 games before undergoing right shoulder surgery.
“You look at lineup switches and which guys can play well with each other, in-the-game-lineups, in-the-half-lineups,” Durant said. “So, all that stuff, I’ve been trying to figure out what’s best for myself and for the rest of the team. Having guys like Caris, Kyrie, myself, Taurean, Spencer.”
The YES commentators did not probe deeply about Durant’s recovery, and he said he feels “all right.” Durant also praised LeVert’s “masterful” 51-point game in Tuesday’s comeback win at Boston.
Looking ahead to the Nets’ future prospects, Durant said, “We’ve got players on this team that can definitely go out and have big nights. We’ve got good coaching, we’ve got a great bench. I’m looking forward to bringing all that together. It’s going to be tough as we go on throughout the summer, trying to get this thing together. It’s always possible.”
Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.
