Stephen A. on KD: ‘Golden State was never a permanent situation’

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The departure of Kevin Durant is much traversed terrain. But when ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and The Ringer’s Bill Simmons — two of the foremost voices on planet basketball — discuss said topic, it’s worth giving it a listen.

On the latest episode of Simmons’ eponymous pod, the pair did just that and Smith, per usual, had some noteworthy thoughts on Durant’s departure. As Smith put it, Durant, who exited the Warriors for the Nets, never intended to remain with the club for the long term.

“Kevin Durant always knew it was going to be Steph Curry’s town,” Smith said. “He never, ever, ever intended to stay longer than he stayed. He wanted to go there, win a couple of rings — at the very least — and then move on.”

“Because when he moved on he would be moving on as a champion. Golden State was never a permanent situation for him, from my understanding. That was never going to be the case. He always had intentions to leave because he knew that would never be his.”

This particular comment begins at the 28:38 mark in the pod. The conversation, at large, beings at 21:03.