Fired up Jay Williams Says Warriors ‘Misdiagnosed’ Kevin Durant Before Game 5
Written by SOURCE on June 13, 2019
By now you know the story. Well, actually you’ve known about it for two-and-a-half days. But it’s something that’s going to come up a lot from this moment to the moment that Kevin Durant plays in a meaningful game again, which according to a new report won’t be next season.
So, once again, here’s the CliffsNotes.
In a desperate attempt to stave off elimination in Game 5 of the NBA Finals (which worked) the Warriors rushed a less than 100 percent KD onto the floor about a month after a calf strain sidelined him. In the first quarter things were fine. In the second quarter they were not. Durant ruptured his Achilles tendon and will now miss a considerable amount of game-action. It’s fair to say that the injury sent shockwaves throughout the entire league, which is why we did say that.
Fast forward to Thursday morning, where ESPN analyst/previous sufferer of a devastating injury, Jay Williams, stated his belief that Golden State “misdiagnosed” Durant’s injury. It’s worth noting that Williams and Durant are close, so consider this that note. Williams made the statement on ESPN’s morning show Get Up, and he professed that the reason the organization did this was so that they could get the most out of their star just in case he decided to bolt from the Bay Area as a free agent.
Earlier this week, Warriors coach Steve Kerr explained the collaborative process behind the decision to play Durant, while stating that those involved with the decision believed the worst that could happen was that he’d re-injure his calf. Here’s Kerr’s full and somewhat lengthy answer:
Williams went on to say that he knew for a fact that Durant was told he couldn’t “injure the Achilles at all.” As mentioned above, the pair has a relationship and they reportedly ate dinner together on Sunday night. As pointed out by The Big Lead, Williams accurately predicted that KD would return to the floor on Monday.
As you can see in the clip we’re about to embed, a passionate Williams said that watching Durant go down got him “ignited” and “pissed off.” He also opined that the entire situation has been a badly handled PR disaster for Golden State.
Check it out below: