One of the NBA storylines that would have shaken the basketball world was Kevin Durant potentially returning to the Bay Area, rejoining the Golden State Warriors—the team where he had his prime years and reunited with familiar faces. However, Durant’s decision went a different direction.
Durant nearly found himself back in a Golden State Warriors uniform last season, but according to the star himself, he shut the door on that reunion long before it could happen. In the new season of Starting 5, Durant opened up about what really went down during the 2025 trade deadline and why he pushed back against the idea of a return to the Bay.
“I’m hearing real people that I respect and are credible in this business telling me that this is about to go down. So I’m on the phone, I was heavy the whole time, thinking, no way they’re trying to do this behind my back. And they didn’t say anything to me.”
“I said, oh, that’s messed up. I understand the business, I know I’m the guy—if things were going south, I’d be the easiest to trade. But don’t send me to the Warriors, that’s what I was telling them. I know they gotta trade me; make it somewhere else, but not the Warriors.”
Kevin Durant during a Golden State Warriors game.
Why didn’t he end up joining the Warriors?
Rumors of a massive three-team trade involving Durant surfaced in early February. The deal would have sent him to Golden State, Jimmy Butler to Phoenix, and draft compensation to Miami. On paper, it made sense for all sides, and executives across the league reportedly supported it. But for Durant, returning to his former team didn’t feel right.
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“It’s not that I don’t want to go back to that storyline, but I don’t want to gut a team. First of all, I didn’t even want to get traded because it would be a lot of nonsense. I’d be taking the entire roster from the next team just to fit in.”
“I’m not trying to go through that again, especially with the Warriors. I just told the Warriors, I told Steph, I don’t think it’s a smart move for either of us. Basketball-wise, let’s play the year out. I think that’s what stopped the trade more than anything. They were still talking to other teams, just trying to gauge my value.”
Durant and a valid reason for not joining the Warriors
Durant’s reasoning went beyond optics. The 36-year-old forward made it clear he didn’t want to enter a situation that would require dismantling a team’s roster just to fit him in. His prior experiences with midseason trades, especially after leaving Brooklyn, showed how disruptive such moves could be for an NBA team’s chemistry.
