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The original was posted on /r/nba by /u/TheRealPdGaming on 2025-02-06 18:04:26+00:00.

Original Title: [Slater] Stephen Curry had a conversation with Kevin Durant that convinced him a reunion was extremely unlikely, no matter how much the Golden State Warriors ownership group and front office collectively “underestimated” Durant’s coldness toward a return, as one team source put it.

From the Athletic -

At some point in the last several days, Stephen Curry had a conversation with Kevin Durant that convinced him a reunion was extremely unlikely, no matter how much the Golden State Warriors ownership group and front office collectively “underestimated” Durant’s coldness toward a return, as one team source put it.

Eventually the decision-makers accepted the inevitable and pivoted their NBA trade deadline plans to Jimmy Butler. Bradley Beal’s no-trade clause locked the Phoenix Suns out of the Butler sweepstakes. That piece of unchanging information allowed general manager Mike Dunleavy, owner Joe Lacob and assistant general manager Kirk Lacob a level of patience, even while Butler postured about his lack of Warriors’ interest in hopes of a miracle in Phoenix, where a longer max extension awaited.

Butler and the Warriors can be viewed as backup plans for each other, a marriage of circumstance between two sides who desired — and probably still do desire — others. But they’re here now. The Warriors used their leverage as the Miami Heat’s best leftover suitor to flip Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schröder, Kyle Anderson and a 2025 top-10 protected first-rounder for Butler, in what they believe is a modest outgoing package for the Curry co-star they so desperately craved.