Kevin Durant: Warriors' Finals collapse helped with free-agent decision

Kevin Durant says Warriors' Finals collapse helped with his free-agency decision to join team.

Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant says that the team's collapse in the NBA Finals helped him make his decision to go from Oklahoma City to the Warriors in the off-season.

Durant and the Thunder also blew a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals last year and watched as the Warriors did the same against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.

Durant said he watched Game 7 with his agent, and that the thought of getting wide-open three-point attempts and lay-ups because of their style of play became appealing.

"As they lost, it became more and more real every day," Durant said, according to ESPN. "You start to think about it even more. To see if I would fit. Then once I sat down with these guys, everything that I wanted to know about them, they kinda showed me. But we don't have to talk about [what would have happened if the Warriors had won the title], because they didn't get the job done, and they came after me.

"I guess you could say I'm glad that they lost."

Durant, a seven-time All-Star and five-time first-team All-NBA selection, announced he would join the Warriors on July 5 and later signed a two-year, $54.3 million deal.

Golden State opens the season at home on Oct. 25 against the San Antonio Spurs.

– Scooby Axson