Kevin Durant On Angry Celtics, Fans: 'What Can They Be Mad About?'
BOSTON (CBS) -- If you were one of those Celtics fans who let Kevin Durant ruin your summer, Friday night at the TD Garden is your opportunity to let him know.
Durant makes his first and only visit to Boston on Friday night, and will no doubt be met with a smattering of boos after he picked the Warriors over the Celtics this past summer. The C's were one of six teams to make a sales pitch to Durant during a weekend in the Hamptons, and even recruited the assistance of Tom Brady in their quest for a bona fide star. That wasn't enough though, as the allure of playing with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green and a much easier path to a potential title was too great for Durant to pass up.
To the surprise of no one, that decision didn't sit well with most Celtics fans. Even a few of Boston's players felt spurned after what they thought was a great sit down with Durant. Forward Jae Crowder was chief among them, calling Durant's choice to join the Warriors a "slap in the face," upset that Durant went to Golden State after the Celtics' sales team shared their secrets and detailed how they had defended his future teammates in their victory over the Warriors last season.
Durant has one message for those haters: Get over it.
"What can they be mad about?" Durant told ESPN on Wednesday night. "I never played there. I never said I was going there. But they're going to support their team. It's one of the best fan bases in the league -- top-five, easily. So no matter who goes in there, they're going to boo them. But I have no attachment to Boston at all."
Durant is aware of Crowder's comments, but they don't bother him too much.
"Why am I going to be mad about a guy who has an opinion? I respect all these players," he said. "If they don't respect what I did, I can't control that.
"I got nothing but love and respect for Jae Crowder and how he approaches the game and how he plays, but we disagree on me coming here," Durant added. "That's just how it is. It's all good. We're going to compete no matter what. That's one thing -- you can say a lot of stuff in the media or wherever you are, but we're going to compete when we're in between the lines. That doesn't change anything."
Isaiah Thomas said after Wednesday night's win that he's over the Durant saga from the summer, and is looking forward to another big test for the 6-5 Celtics.
"This is what you live for," he said after scoring 30 points against the Dallas Mavericks. "This is what you want, to play against the so-called best team in the NBA. And we'll be ready; we've always been good about these games, we've just got to do our job, worry about what we do and protect our home court."
Crowder himself may not get the opportunity to let his play do the talking against Durant, as he's still day-to-day with an ankle injury that's kept him out of the last seven games. Meanwhile, Durant has been his usual self over his first 11 games with the Warriors, averaging 27.9 points and eight rebounds per game.
The Warriors haven't had much of an issue integrating another star player onto their team of Super Friends, boasting a 9-2 record while leading the Western Conference with 117.4 points per game.
The jeers may rain down from the TD Garden fans on Friday night, but they won't bother Durant. He and the Warriors will likely have the last laugh in the end. Again.