The NBA fraternity seemingly gets more close-knit with every passing season.
Case in point: Warriors rookie center James Wiseman has known NBA superstar — and former two-time NBA Finals MVP in Golden State — Kevin Durant, since high school. The two still communicate, and Durant is even helping Wiseman learn the ropes on the Warriors — though he’s no longer on the Warriors.
“I talk to KD every day … I’ve been knowing KD since high school,” Wiseman said, after also shouting out Nets guard Kyrie Irving. Durant is also now a member of the talented Nets squad.
Chiefly, Wiseman made a comment about getting advice from Durant about learning coach Steve Kerr’s motion offense and fitting into a system dominated by the gravity of superstar guard Stephen Curry. Listen to the entire clip below, thanks to The Athletic’s Anthony Slater.
I mean, that’s all a bit crazy if you ask me. But that’s the way the NBA is, and if it helps, I’m all for it.
I say crazy because while Durant did fit in to coach Steve Kerr’s offense, he didn’t always seem happy about it. Toward the end of his Warriors career, he openly sulked about it before turning it on late in his last season by the Bay. Then he inured his Achilles and everything went to pieces in 2019.
And Golden State is still trying to pick those shards up off the ground. Wiseman is supposed to help, and if he can glean pertinent info from Durant, whose history in Golden State looms large and is a bit complicated, then sure, it should only help, regardless of how strange I find it to be.
(Photo credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)
Bay Area Sports Hub 