Did Guy Fieri help lure Kevin Durant to the Golden State Warriors?
Food Network personality Guy Fieri is a Bay Area native and, because the Golden State Warriors are awesome now, a fixture at Warriors games. We doubt very much that he was as big of a fan of the team when they basically started a quadraphonic big man starting lineup (alongside Vonteego Cummings) during the lean years, but we welcome him and his unnecessary indoor sunglasses on the bandwagon.
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The Warriors made the biggest splash in the NBA this offseason in adding 2013-14 NBA MVP Kevin Durant to a lineup that had already set the NBA record for wins in a season in 2015-16, prior to falling just short of an NBA championship. According to Fieri, he was a champion of the move long before it was consummated, much in the same way that he was way, way ahead of the game in glopping BBQ sauce all over an already-tortured California roll.
It all started when Justin Bolios at First we Feast, in what was otherwise was a question and answer session that went heavy on the brevity, asked Fieri if he preferred Stephen Curry or Kevin Durant as his favorite basketball player:
Fieri says: Unfair! [Long pause.] I can say it without being guilty because he’s now a Warrior: KD. It’s not an easy decision, and should have just as well not said anything. Steph is phenomenal. KD is phenomenal. They both have their uniqueness about them. Maybe I’m in the KD moment now because he’s coming to the team. I never…well, I shouldn’t say I never thought it would happen. I remember telling his agent during the Playoffs, “I know he’s coming up, you’ve gotta get him to Golden State.”
First We Feast: Wait a second—you predicted it would happen?
Fieri says: You can ask his agent, I said it to him during the Playoffs. I even have the text. I said, “It’s coming up, I want him, you gotta bring him.” And he was laughing—yeah, yeah, yeah—and he blew me off. [Then later on] I was away from my cell phone, out on the boat, and I was able to get a signal. In came a note from my buddy: “KD GS,” and I went arghhhhhh! I went and woke up the kids.
(Well, no, Woj kind of predicted it last winter.)
(Secondly, while I might make fun of Guy Fieri about once per week on Twitter, and quickly change away from his show anytime I hear my wife walking into the living room, I’ve seen every single episode of his program. Every one. Yes, the menus at his restaurants are an abomination – working with heavy garlic is the crutch of a crap cook – and, yes, I look away from the screen when he’s eating a sandwich much in the same way I look away during the curb-stomp scene in ‘American History X,’ but I can’t help it. Plus, my cousins had their restaurant on his show once.)
So, maybe Mr. Fieri didn’t exactly sway Kevin Durant to Golden State. The chance to live in one of the most gorgeous and vibrant locales in North America, while making gobs of money as one works on a team that won 73 games last year, that may have been the sway. The idea that he could have been the difference for a team that was 90 seconds away from winning consecutive titles? That may have been the lure.
The chance for free “Motley Que BBQ Ribs” (that’s a real thing) for a lifetime? Perhaps not. As Kevin Durant’s agent said, “yeah, yeah, yeah.”
Get ready for a lot of sideline fist pounds this season, Mr. Durant. And bring some wet-naps – a trip to Flavor Town doesn’t come without some Jack Daniels-Bustlin’ Wasabi-Mommy Teriyaki-Taki-Treat Buffalo Sauce-stained residue.
(Hat-tip: The Score.)
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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
