Kevin Durant: Warriors want me to be aggressive, take shots

ByEthan Sherwood Strauss ESPN logo
Friday, September 30, 2016

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Kevin Durant said he isn't worried about how many shots he takes per game with the Warriors this season, but Draymond Green made it clear Thursday that the former Thunder star's new team wants him to be aggressive.

When asked after practice what a comfortable number of shots might be for him, Durant responded: "I'm not gonna get into that. I may shoot 25 shots one game, I may shoot 7."

Durant on Thursday said Green has encouraged him to be more aggressive than he was during Thursday's training camp session.

"Yeah, I shot a lot today, and Draymond told me I wasn't aggressive enough," said Durant, who signed with the Warriors during the offseason after nine years with the Oklahoma City organization.

With a smile, he then said, "So that's great for me."

Green was "just basically telling me to shoot more," Durant said.

"So everybody's trying to make me feel comfortable. Coming from me, I'm just trying to help everybody else out. But when you have teammates that are unselfish and want you to do well, it shows, man. It shows out on the floor as well."

Durant said the Warriors signed him because they want him to take shots.

"That's why they wanted me here! They want me to come out here and be myself. I'm not going to play timid or not step on anyone's toes, but I'm still going to be myself," he said. "Nobody's telling me I'm shooting too much. They want me to be myself out there."

When asked what it takes to play on a star-laden team like the Warriors, Durant said he will focus on what he does best: scoring.

"My thing is, impose my will by scoring when we need it," he said. "I could do the other things, but I'm highlighted by my scoring and how efficient I can put the ball in the basket and try to search out good shots for our group."

Durant will make his Warriors debut on Saturday against the Toronto Raptors in Vancouver, British Columbia -- Golden State's first preseason game.

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