Warriors unsure if Durant will start, jokes coach Kerr

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr joked that he is yet to decide whether prized recruit Kevin Durant will start for the NBA’s new glamour team.

Free agent Durant was unveiled as a Warriors player on Thursday, officially linking up with reigning MVP Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green in Golden State.

Durant arrives at Oracle Arena, where the Warriors set the record for most regular-season wins with 73 in 2015-16, as a former MVP, a four-time league scoring champion and seven-time All-Star from his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

And Kerr, during Durant’s introductory news conference, jokingly told reporters of the 27-year-old: “I haven’t made the decision yet, but he might start.”

The 2015 NBA championship-winning coach then talked serious, adding: “I think it’s safe to say Kevin would fit into any style, but I think with our players, the guys that we have already, and Kevin could probably talk more about this, I think that was attractive to him to be able to play with Draymond and Steph and Klay, because of the way those guys play.

“We have guys who are not just shooters, not just ball handlers. We kind of have a bunch of basketball players, and that’s what’s made our team really good the last couple years.

“So to add another guy who is so talented and not just a shooter or not just a defender, he’s a basketball player, and we think the style fits him perfectly. We think he suits us perfectly, and the combination of all these guys playing together should be a lot of fun to watch.”

The Warriors and their bid to lure Durant to the Bay Area came at a cost, with a number of player casualties.

Former number one draft pick Andrew Bogut and Harrison Barnes both joined the Dallas Mavericks, Leandro Barbosa re-joined the Phoenix Suns, Festus Ezeli reportedly agreed to sign for the Portland Trail Blazers, while Brandon Rush also moved on.

“I just wanted to say one more thing. Just as we’ve talked about how much Kevin is going to miss Oklahoma City and the people and the relationships that he built there, I know I speak on behalf of Bob [Myers, GM] and Joe [Lacob, owner] and our entire organisation when I say how much we’re going to miss the players who are moving on now as a result of the shift in the roster,” Kerr said.

“I want to say thank you to Andrew Bogut, Harrison Barnes, Leandro Barbosa, Brandon Rush and Festus Ezeli. It’s a lot of really good people who are moving on who helped us win a championship and helped create what is here and what is represented by a lot of these photos on the walls here.

“But this is the NBA, and players move on, players play for different teams, teams try to get better. It’s all kind of part of the business as we know, but it’s always important to just remember the relationships that have been built and the fact that those don’t change once people change uniforms.”