Kevin Durant thinks Kyrie Irving and the Celtics will be “perfect” for each other. He doesn’t sound particularly scared about it, but that’s what happens when you play for the Warriors.
Appearing on the Bill Simmons Podcast this week, Durant said that Irving strikes him as a “pure basketball player” who probably wanted to free himself from LeBron James because of the attention surrounding James’ anticipated departure next offseason.
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“When you’re around LeBron James, there’s so much that comes with that,” Durant said. “There’s so much outside distractions and conversations and just noise that comes from being around LeBron James, and Kyrie [was] at the point where he’s like, ‘We lost the championship. This whole season is going to be about if LeBron leaves or not. I’m ready for a new challenge.’ All that stuff kind of met at the pinnacle of why he wanted to leave, and it felt like he just wanted a situation where he could be free from all of that and just play.
“And it’s a perfect system for him in Boston. It’s a perfect fit, because he’s a 6-foot-3 Isaiah Thomas, basically. And Isaiah just thrived in that system, and then he’s got Gordon Hayward and Al Horford that are going to be able to make plays for him, too. It’s going to be pretty sweet. I think it was a great deal.
“But I just think Kyrie, at that time, he just wanted a place that he could focus on just playing basketball and not worry about the other drama.”
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