Kevin Durant’s NBA Future and the Aftermath of the NBA Finals
The 2016 NBA season has officially ended. The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors 93 to 89, clinching the city of Cleveland’s first championship since 1964. Everyone in the sports world, and in pop culture, spent the majority of the time discussing the Cavs’ title. However, another topic has arose: the NBA future of Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant. Durant is set to become a free agent this July, and so many NBA teams covet his playmaking abilities. According to Bleacher Report, the teams most interested in Durant are “the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder”.While these three successful NBA franchises are the front-runners to sign the former NBA MVP, the New York Knicks, an organization desperate to become relevant again and competing for an NBA championship, are also interested in Durant. As a matter of fact, the Knicks traded for Bulls guard Derrick Rose as a means to attract Durant to New York City. “Phil Jackson believes that by acquiring the former MVP point guard for one starter, a rookie and a veteran with an expiring contract, the Knicks enhanced their bid to land the biggest free agent on the market, Kevin Durant. In spite of all this noise, Durant desires to remain in Oklahoma City, where he has spent the first nine years of his NBA career. But Durant has yet to win an NBA title, with only one NBA finals appearance (2011-12 season), and Golden State and San Antonio won the 2015 and 2014 NBA championships, respectively. Durant cannot avoid the fact that his team blew a 3 games to 1 lead in the Western Conference Finals to Golden State.
Thursday night, the Thunder acquired the eleventh overall pick in the NBA Draft, as well as Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo and forward Ersan Illyasova, in exchange for Oklahoma City forward Serge Ibaka. After that trade, several basketball analysts and sportswriters debated on the impact the trade will have on Durant and his future.The Thunder has a very talented, championship-caliber roster, so why should KD leave the team that originally drafted him? Here’s why.
First, Kevin Durant wants to be paid the big dollars. If he were to sign a one-year contract with OKC for a small but still significant amount of money, then the team would have to back him up and win a title immediately before the contract expires.
Second, Durant wants to be on a team that is ready to compete for and win a championship. If Kevin Durant chose to sign with a team that has no chance to win a championship right away, such as New York or the Los Angeles Lakers, he would be miserable and unhappy.
Finally, Durant wants to be the focal point of a team’s offense. He doesn’t want to be the sidekick to a future franchise player, as James Harden, Durant’s former teammate, now of the Houston Rockets,can attest to. Oklahoma City is the best option.
And so, come July 1st, Kevin Durant will be the most desirable free agent NBA player by many teams. If I were Durant, I would consider all the options, then choose the best one. If Kevin chose the Golden State Warriors, he would be playing second fiddle to the “Splash Brothers,” Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. The same could be said of the Spurs, with Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard, and Tim Duncan leading the team. The Thunder is his safest bet. This team has all the pieces to win a NBA title next season. All it needs is a veteran scorer and playmaker.