Joe Lacob on Kevin Durant: ‘No player will ever wear #35 for the Warriors again’
The Warriors found no reason to chastise Kevin Durant for refusing a max contract and an ability to win more NBA championships. Instead, the Warriors thanked Durant for helping the Warriors two NBA Finals in the past three years with two Finals MVP performances.
Warriors majority owner Joe Lacob also outlined another gesture.
“As long as I am Co-Chairman of this team, no player will ever wear #35 for the Warriors again,” Lacob said in a statement.
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Unlike what the Oklahoma City Thunder with P.J. Dozier during a training camp invitee in 2017, the Warriors will never allow a player of any caliber to wear Durant’s No. 35. Will that also mean the Warriors will retire Durant’s No. 35 Warriors jersey? Perhaps not right away. It appears likely the Warriors will wait until after Durant retires from his NBA career before hoisting his Warriors’ jersey presumably in the Chase Center rafters. The Warriors currently have six other Warriors player with retired jerseys, including Wilt Chamberlain (No. 13), Tom Meschery (No. 14), Al Attles (No. 16), Chris Mullin (No. 17), Rick Barry (No. 24) and Nate Thurmond (No. 42).
Whenever the Warriors host the Brooklyn Nets at Chase Center next season, it appears likely they will welcome Durant with video tributes highlighting his three-year run after joining them as a free agent. They will urge fans to greet Durant with cheers instead of the boos, jeers and cupcake signs that Thunder fans taunted Durant during his returns to Oklahoma City.
“Three years ago, we were thrilled with the arrival of Kevin Durant, a transformative NBA player and one of the best to ever play the game,” Lacob said in a statement. “He provided our fans and franchise with numerous highlights during his stay here—two NBA championships, two NBA Finals MVPs, three trips to the Finals, unparalleled efficiency—and carried himself with class and dignity both on and off the court.”
The Warriors also traded Andre Iguodoala to the Memphis Grizzlies in move to dump salary. The Warriors have not released a statement yet on Iguodala, who signed with the Warriors as a free agent in 2013 before playing a key role in the Warriors’ three NBA championships as a reserve and versatile playmaker and defender. That is because Iguodala is still under contract. That will be lifted when the NBA moratorium ends on Saturday. So for now, the Warriors expressed gratitude to Durant.
“His commitment to our community was evident each day, including last season when his philanthropic efforts earned him the NBA’s annual Community Assist Award,” Lacob said in the statement. “Today, as he starts a new chapter in his incredible career, we thank KD for all of his contributions, for being an integral part to one of the most prolific runs in NBA history and wish him well as he continues his Hall of Fame journey.”
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