The Celtics’ plan to enlist Tom Brady to help woo Kevin Durant in the prime of his career backfired spectacularly.
Durant’s longtime business manager Rich Kleiman appeared on Showtime’s “All the Smoke” podcast and explained what Durant’s recruitment was like during his free agency in the summer of 2016.
“When the Celtics came, it was the Celtics ownership and Danny Ainge, and then like Jae Crowder and I think Kelly Olynyk was there,” Kleiman recalled.
“But here came Tom Brady. So it was like, ‘Alright, s–t, they’re really trying to level the playing field.”
However, as Kleiman explained, Brady’s private advice to Durant led him to pick not the Celtics but the Warriors.
“So they [Brady and Durant] went to take a walk together, and then later on K.D. was like, ‘He told me, bottom line, I should look for the best team, the best organization, the best chance to win no matter what.”
Kleiman recalled Durant’s interpretation of this as being, “I think he just told me to go to the Warriors, bro.”
Later, Kleiman disputed the public narrative that Durant chose the Warriors — where he ultimately won two championships — because it was the easy way out.
“This was not some easy thing for K.D., like ‘Yo, where’s the 73 win team?’” Kleiman continued.
“Like this s–t was about him really going inside his mind, and he relies on the game, and he made the decision based on basketball.
“And it all happened there, and there was never really anyone else because once he went through all that, it was clear.”
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