Kevin Durant flip flops, returns to Oklahoma City
It seems absolutely absurd on the surface. How can the likely 2017 NBA Finals MVP return to a city that has disowned him? How can he regain a once strong relationship with Russell Westbrook? What would this do for Durant’s image in the league?
At this point, it seems relatively obvious that Durant will remain with the Warriors over the long term. He loves the Bay Area community. His presence on the Warriors has helped the former MVP come out of his shell to an extent. He has a great relationship with his teammates, two-time MVP Stephen Curry included.
But if asked you 12 months ago whether Durant would lave for Oakland, most would have thrown that idea down the window. Sure there were rumors he might be inclined to join the Warriors, but it still seemed like an unrealistic scenario.
In any event, Durant shockingly deciding to return to the Thunder would leave the Warriors themselves hanging big time. It’s not just his presence on the roster. Instead, it is what the Warriors gave up to sign Durant last July. We’re talking Andrew Bogut, Harrison Barnes, Leandro Barbosa and Festus Ezeli — four players who had big roles in the team’s first championship back in 2015.
Even though Golden State can re-sign Durant and Curry this summer, that’s due to the fact that NBA rules allows the team to go over the cap in order to do so. If Durant were to bolt, the Warriors wouldn’t be able to replace him with another high-end free agent. That would leave the team with a shorter bench and lacking that second MVP it took to dominate the Association’s landscape this season.
We’re definitely not looking to throw gas into the fire here. Durant leaving the Warriors isn’t likely to happen. But it sure would shake up the power structure around the NBA. After all, look at what KD did against LeBron James in Cleveland in Game 3 of the Finals on Wednesday night. Whew.