Guy Fieri Offers to Cook an ‘Inspiration Dinner’ to Keep Kevin Durant With the Warriors

What is an “inspiration dinner” anyway?

The shadow looming over this year’s NBA playoffs is the potential breakup of the Warriors superteam. We already know that Klay Thompson and DeMarcus Cousins will be free agents on July 1, but the big question is whether Kevin Durant will choose to opt out of the final year of his contract with Golden State.

It will be a tough decision for Durant. The Knicks can offer the allure of the big city and a chance to create a legacy by reviving a once-pround franchise. The Lakers can offer an opportunity to team with LeBron James. The Warriors, though? The Warriors can offer Guy Fieri. 

In a Q&A with GQ’s Jay Willis about his Warriors fandom, the celebrity chef explained what he’s willing to do to keep Durant. 

Call me, KD. Tell me what you need. [laughs] If there is a such thing as an inspiration dinner that I need to cook to bring all the dignitaries together—all the players, his team, his mom, you name it—well, consider that meal cooked. I think anybody in the Bay Area would give whatever they can give to keep him. And he's such a nice guy. It's more than just a player—it's the character, the energy, the person he is. He's phenomenal.

So, yeah. You tell me what I can do. Tell me how I need to flex my food muscles, and I'll make it happen.

It wouldn’t be the first time Fieri did his part to recruit Durant. In 2016, he said he texted KD’s agent right before the superstar hit the market, though he later downplayed his role. 

While the prospect of Durant being swayed to stay with Golden State by the bowling shirt-wearing, spiky-haired, perpetually sunglassed television chef who famously had the worst restaurant in Times Square might seem laughable, Fieri’s cooking may be more in line with Durant’s diet than you may think. KD eats a lot of seafood and other lean protein like chicken and turkey. He’s also a big fan of quinoa and all the amino acids it contains. So he’d probably be down with Guy’s grilled tuna burgers or his turkey and quinoa stuffed peppers. The trash can nachos, though? Not so much.