Jae Crowder

Boston Celtics forward Jae Crowder was surprised by Kevin Durant's decision to join the Golden State Warriors.

(Elise Amendola / Associated Press)

SPRINGFIELD -- Jae Crowder was a part of the Boston Celtics' pitch to Kevin Durant this summer, and after the meeting, he said he felt pretty confident.

"I came home after the meeting and told them, like, if he leaves, he's coming to us," Crowder said before a 60 Days of Summer appearance at the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. "But I didn't think he was leaving."

To Crowder's immense surprise, however, Durant announced his decision to join the Warriors on July 4 -- one day after the Celtics landed the second biggest prize of the offseason in Al Horford.

Crowder was less than pleased with Durant's decision, in no small part because of what the Celtics divulged in their meeting with the former Oklahoma City Thunder forward.

"We were the only team in the NBA to beat both (Cleveland and Golden State) on their home court -- the only team in the NBA, the Boston Celtics," Crowder said. "We told him that. We played him clips from both games and told him basically the scouting report of how we guarded Steph (Curry) and Klay (Thompson) -- our game plan, basically. That's what made me mad. We (expletive) told him everything we do to beat these guys, and we beat them, and he went and joined them. I mean, that's part of the process, but I did not think he would go to those two teams ... I felt like afterward, I was talking to Isaiah, like maybe after you sit back, you shouldn't have told him everything, but who the (expletive) thought he was going to Golden State, realistically? It was like a slap in the face for us, basically."

After Durant's decision, critics loudly decried what they saw as Durant taking the easy way out. Crowder said the sentiment around the league has been similar.

"That team is for sure the villain of the league," Crowder said. "Every other NBA guy, friends of mine, are really disgusted from how the league is turning on that standpoint. Everybody is joining together, everybody wants to go to Golden State or Cleveland."

The Celtics, meanwhile, will look to move forward with a strong team, only made stronger by the acquisition of Horford. While Crowder said he is looking forward to playing the Warriors, they aren't his primary focus.

"I'm looking for sure to beat Golden State the most, probably, but at the end of the day, our task is the Eastern Conference," he said. "We have to see Cleveland. That's where my focus is, that's what drives me. We have to beat those guys to advance."

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