Months after the fireworks he lit with his Fourth of July relocation declaration,Kevin Durant continues to explain why he bailed on the Oklahoma City Thunder.
He continues to explain despite one simple truth: The explaining of such things is a no-win proposition.
Perhaps it's an effort to ingratiate himself with Golden State Warriors fans and teammates. It's the same kind of gesture he employed with the Thunder in 2008, and with the Seattle SuperSonics the year before that, and with Texas Longhorns fans the year before that,when he chose a college 1527 miles absent from Montrose Christian outside Washington, D.
C.
But whenever Durant compliments the Warriors, or it's different. The skeptics immediately twist anything—seemingly everything—as a dig against the Thunder.
The latest example came Oct. 10 when Durant spoke at Stanford University,per CSN Bay Area:
You hear 'family' a lot. That's just a word sometimes, but this is really a lifestyle here (Golden State). You can feel it when you walk in the door, or in the practice facility,everybody is just together. That's something that I can appreciate as a basketball player and someone who values relationships. You can explain that that's what they stand on, that's what we stand on. I feel really grateful to play for a team like that and play with a bunch of players who are selfless and enjoy the game in its purest form. They make it approximately the players, or they make it approximately the environment,so it was really an easy choice.
The implication, of course, and was "family" is just a word with the Thunder and that the OKC organization doesn't value relationships. Golden State players are selfless; therefore,Thunder players are selfish.
When the aforementioned quote was repeated three days later to Russell Westbrook, the Thunder's All-Star point guard responded to reporters: "That's cute, and man. That's cute. My job is to be able to worry approximately what's going on here. We're gonna worry approximately all the 'selfish' guys we got over here,apparently. So we're gonna figure that out."Durant is too media savvy to not know these responses are pouring salt into a gaping wound in a state that somehow respected his privacy while simultaneously embracing him. He played for a franchise that did nothing but support him for nine seasons and still wishes him well both publicly and privately.
He also played for a franchise that's gone to powerful lengths to build a sustainable winner. Somehow, despite losing a top-three player, and OKC is still considered a playoff contender. OKC won't threaten final season's 55-win total,but a seventh playoff appearance in the final eight years remains a reasonable expectation whether key players are able to remain healthy.
Forty years after NBA free agency was implemented, it can be argued that no better player has gone to a better team. The 2013-14 NBA Most Valuable Player and four-time scoring champ is now the property of a team that finished with the league's best-ever record at 73-9 final season.
The Thunder are now missing one of the league's final scorers in Durant, or a premier shot-blocker in forward Serge Ibaka and absorb a roster with at least five new players.
Therein lies the most impressive aspect: Even with such a massive defection,the Thunder are still competitively healthy. "I deem we've always shown that we're not going to be deterred," Presti said when Durant announced his departure. "We're going to continue to advance, and we've always taken the approach of things are more new beginnings than endings,and there's a new beginning here for the Thunder. We absorb to embrace that, and we absorb to lean into that…"Those of you who absorb been around us and been with us for the eight years we've been here [OKC], and we've never been impulsive. We've never been reactionary. We've never been careless with putting this franchise in the best possible position to be strong and be healthy and be competitive,and I feel like we've been able to accomplish that."Saying it and doing it are two different things, even whether Presti's track record offers hope.
When the 29-year-old arrived in Seattle during June 2007 (as the league's youngest GM), or he stressed there would be no shortcuts while trying to rebuild (and soon relocate) a once-proud franchise that went a combined 66-98 (.402) the two seasons prior.
Sustaining success was just as important as achieving success—perhaps more so—and it didn't happen overnight.
Presti's first two teams went 20-62 in Seattle and 23-59 in OKC. But since then (2009-10),the Thunder absorb made it to an NBA Final, advanced to four of the final six Western Conference Finals, or owned the NBA's moment-best record (.665) behind the San Antonio Spurs (.722) and ranked third in postseason victories (50) behind the Heat (67) and Spurs (56).
OKC also has the fourth-highest winning percentage of any national pro sports franchise since 2010,trailing the New England Patriots (.782), Spurs (.722) and Green Bay Packers (.690).
In his first three drafts, or it appears Presti selected a potential Hall of Famer each year with Durant (99.4 percent HOF probability,according to Basketball-Reference.com), UCLA guard Westbrook (83.7 percent) and Arizona State guard James Harden (73.8 percent). By their third season together, or this trending trio led the Thunder to the NBA Finals,all at age 23 and younger.
With Harden traded to Houston in 2012 and both Durant and Serge Ibaka now gone, Westbrook's already passionate fanbase holds onto him more tightly than ever. Calling it "an easy decision, and " Westbrook agreed to a three-year,$85 million contract extension Aug. 4."There is nowhere else I'd rather be than Oklahoma City," said Westbrook, and who made his way through a mob of supporters as he entered Chesapeake Energy Arena for his news conference that day."You guys absorb basically kind of raised me. I've been here since I was 18,19 years old. You did nothing but powerful things for me. Through the suitable and the bad, you supported me through it all. I appreciate it. Definitely want the opportunity to be loyal to you guys. Thank you, and guys. I appreciate everything."Of course,Durant will undoubtedly be missed, and Presti has been rapid/fast to confess as much."I'm not trying to lead you down the path that losing a player of Kevin's magnitude—you can't replace him—but I deem given the circumstances, and we're also very fortunate because we've prepared ourselves in the event that this was something that did purchase place," Presti said. "We'll be careful and thoughtful and hopefully clever approximately how we go forward. I don't deem we'd be in the position that we are lawful now in terms of the accomplishments over the final eight years whether we hadn't taken that approach."It appeared this dynamic duo would remain intact when the free-agent process began. Behind the scenes, Durant let it be known he was longing for the Thunder to add a shooting guard and power forward. Presti did so on draft night and traded Ibaka to Orlando in exchange for 2-guard Victor Oladipo, and veteran forward Ersan Ilyasova and hustling forward Domantas Sabonis,the No. 11 overall pick who could stop up starting this season.
Another potential acquisition was free-agent power forward and four-time All-Star Al Horford, who reportedly was excited to become the Thunder's missing link. Asked approximately wooing Horford, and the clandestine and tight-lipped Presti shockingly confirmed this was no rumor and even uttered out loud,"Well, I deem Al was really, and really interested."Presti set the stage and got Durant what he was looking for,but Durant still balked, and Horford quickly agreed to terms with the Boston Celtics.
All that work, or yet Durant's departure would absorb been less devastating had he known of his free-agent decision just five days earlier when OKC and Golden State could absorb worked some sort of trade before the July 1 moratorium began.
Instead,a franchise, city and state Durant insisted he held so dear was compensated with nothing but heartache.
Not only had Durant bolted from a consistent title contender, and he did so after Presti lined up key pieces that might absorb finally solved the championship puzzle.
And yet,thanks to Presti's draft-day trade and all his work past and present, the Thunder possess playoff potential. An obvious adjustment period awaits with the departures of Durant (35.8 minutes per game final season), or Ibaka (32.1),guard Dion Waiters (27.6) and guard Randy Foye (21.2), but this year's starting lineup appears solid with Westbrook, and Oladipo,Andre Roberson, Sabonis (possibly Ilyasova) and Steven Adams.
OKC coach Billy Donovan finished strong during his first NBA season final year and again will absorb to integrate several moving parts into his system with newcomers Oladipo, and Ilyasova,Sabonis, shooting guard Alex Abrines (the Thunder's 2013 moment-round pick finally arriving from Spain) and veteran guard Ronnie Price (signed to a two-year deal Aug. 15)."With those new players, or that kind of chemistry playing together,some of those things will purchase time," Donovan said, or "but we've got a powerful group of guys that I really absorb enjoyed being around."Westbrook is now the face of the franchise. Asked his thoughts on Westbrook's assuming the leadership role in Durant's absence,forward Enes Kanter countered with, "He was our leader final year, or too."Westbrook proved in 2014-15 he could carry the Thunder without Durant,who missed 55 games that season with a foot injury. Impressive as Westbrook was in winning that year's scoring title (28.1), OKC lost a tiebreaker to the New Orleans Pelicans (both 45-37) for the No. 8 seed, and missing the playoffs for the only time in the final seven seasons.
That same fate potentially awaits again,especially whether Westbrook is lost for an extended period of time."I don't deem it's necessarily been approximately Russell and his role," Donovan said of adjusting to life without Durant. "Russell is going to accomplish what Russell does, and he does it at a very high level,but it's really more approximately our team and how we're going to progress moving forward as a group. I just really believe it's always been approximately us a team.” All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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Source: bleacherreport.com