J-Speaks: KD Moves On To The Bay Area

It was not that long ago that perennial All-Star Kevin Durant said that he wanted to spend his entire playing career with the Oklahoma City Thunder. That he wanted his No. 35 jersey to hang in the rafters of Chesapeake Energy Arena when his playing career was over. Those dreams were up in the air when he became an unrestricted free agent at the start of this month. While he had meetings with six teams pitching to him on why he would be a good fit for them, it came down to him returning to the Thunder or signing with the back-to-back Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors. Over the past weekend in the East part of New York, the Hamptons to be exact, the No. 2 overall pick back in the 2007 NBA Draft by the then Seattle Supersonics decided that he needed a change and the time was now.

The third leading scorer in the league at 28.2 points per contest this past season agreed to a two-year $54.3 million dollar deal to join the Warriors and their All-Star trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. He officially became a member of the Warriors on Thursday as he was introduced at a press conference on the same day the moratorium period for all NBA free agents concluded and they can officially re-sign with their current teams or their new contracts with their new team. The second-year of the contract is a player option, which Durant is likely to turn down next summer as he would make a lot more money signing a long term deal.

This signing also meant that the days of starting small forward Harrison Barnes were numbered and he was dealt along with starting center Andrew Bogut to the Dallas Mavericks.

Barnes, who was a restricted free agent agreed to a new four-year $94 million contract in a sign-and-trade with the Mavericks.

Bogut along with a future second-round pick was dealt to the Mavs in exchange for a future conditional second-round pick.

“It really pains me to know that I will disappoint so many people with this choice, but I believe I am doing the right thing at this point in my life and my playing career,” the seven-time All-Star and four-time NBA scoring champion said via “The Players Tribune” at the start of this week.

“I will miss Oklahoma City and the role I have had in building this remarkable team. I will forever cherish the relationships within the organization. The friends and the teammates that I went to war with on the court for nine years, and all the fans and people of the community. They have always had my back unconditionally, and I cannot be more grateful for what they have meant to my family and to me.”

To bring into focus how hard of a decision this was for the 2012 All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP) recipient and the 2014 NBA MVP, he had to sleep on it the night before, which was back on July 3. He woke up the next day, Independence Day to be precise at 7 a.m. and he said to his camp that he wanted to sign with the 2015 NBA champion Warriors.

When Durant made his decision he hive fived and hugged all of those he said his decision to and they went on from there.

He also said that making the call to the Thunder was one of the hardest things that he ever had to do in his life. It was so tough that during this moment he shed a lot of tears, but he said during the press conference that this was a new journey worth taking despite the tough aftermath that was expected to follow.

“This is a new journey for me,” Durant said on Thursday. “It’s testing the unknown and I trusted my gut. I trusted my instincts and it’s the unpopular decision, but I can live with it.”

If this situation of an out of this world talent taking his talents elsewhere sounds familiar, it should because six summers ago, three-time NBA champion LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers announced on ESPN to Jim Gray that he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to sign with the Miami Heat and we all know what happened after that.

Fans were crying in the streets of Northeast Ohio. His jersey was being burned and owner Dan Gilbert expressed his feelings saying that the Cavs would win a title before James would.

While there were some images of Durant’s jersey being burnt on social media, Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti took the high road about Durant’s departure from the team he led to the Western Conference Finals four times of the last six seasons, which includes this past one.

“Were all disappointed that Kevin Durant’s career with the Thunder organization has come to a close,” Presti said this past Monday.

“We all liked to think it could have continued forward, but that’s not the case and in these situations, I think before we talked about the future, I do think it’s important to be very grateful and thankful. I liked to thank Kevin for not only what he did for the team and our organization on the floor, but also for what it is that he did for Oklahoma. I think he was synonymous with the Oklahoma City community as well as the Thunder organization. Very rarely in pro sports are you in a situation where a player has that kind of relationship and meaning to a city.”

Thunder Chairman Clayton I. Bennett echoed those same sentiments at the beginning of this week by saying, “Kevin’s contributions to our organization during his nine years were profound, on and off the court. He helped the Thunder grow and succeed in immeasurable ways and impacted the community just the same. We thank him for his leadership, his play, and how he represented Oklahoma City and the entire state of Oklahoma.”

There are a number of questions racing through the minds of many in the NBA universe from Oklahoma City and beyond as to what happened?

Did Durant look at what he had with the Thunder and realized that blowing a 3-1 lead to now his new team the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals really push him to leave?

Was superstar counterpart and fellow All-Star Russell Westbrook not being at the meeting in the Hamptons last weekend the nail in the coffin?

Was trading Serge Ibaka and getting in return guard Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and the rights to the No. 11 overall pick in this past June’s draft Domatas Sabonis to improve the team not enough?

In looking at this from the surface, Durant saw especially up close in the West Finals back in late May, early June that the Warriors, who won an NBA record 73 games in 82 chances this past season had something that KD really wanted.

They were a team that was all about winning no matter who gets the credit. The share the basketball and the accolades. They believe in the power of team, not the greatness of one individual, even they some individual great players.

On top of that, like James six summers back, he felt his best chance of winning a title came with joining forces with other talented high-profile players and again being a part of a team that is about winning it all.

That is what the Warriors did the prior season and were on the precipice of doing so, but blew a 3-1 lead and lost in Game 7 of The Finals to the Cavaliers at home back on June 19.

Receiving a text message from Curry a day prior to his decision did allow Durant to breathe a little easier in the choice that he made and is ready for the challenge of helping the Warriors championships in hopefully the next few years ahead.

“Like I said, I went with my gut and my instincts and I trusted the situation and it’s not the easiest situation because, I’m out of my comfort zone,” Durant said on Thursday.

“I’m looking forward to learning and getting better every single day… I’m super excited man. I’m pumped to get started.”

When Durant, a five-time All-NBA First Team selection and Curry take the court at the start of next season, it will mark the first time in NBA history that two former Most Valuable Player Award recipients were on a team under the age of 30.

Besides getting a five-time NBA First-Team selection and aforementioned seven-time All-Star selection, the Warriors signed a player whose has averaged an incredible 27.4 points per game in his stellar career so far. Only Hall of Famers Michael Jordan at 30.1 and the late great Wilt Chamberlin also at 30.1 had higher scoring averages in their careers than KD.

On paper, this has the makings of a dynasty that has the fans of Oakland thinking championships. The game however is not played on paper or in fantasy land. It is played on the court and like with the Heat back in 2010 when James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade joined forces for the Miami Heat, it took a year and losing in The Finals to the Mavericks in 2011 before they won back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013 and lost to the San Antonio Spurs in The 2014 Finals. Something that is fresh on Durant has learned in his career in OKC, especially in 2012 when the Thunder lost to James and the Heat 4-1 in The Finals.

“Nothing in this league is easy. There’s no shortcuts. We still got 82 games to play. I think this is the hardest road because I don’t know anybody here,” he said. “I never lived in this community. Never played for this team.”

On top of that, Durant and the Warriors might have to face the greatest challenge of all, the fans of their opposition when they go on the road.

Remember for the past two seasons, the Warriors were the darlings of the league. Fans had a level of respect and admiration for Curry and Thompson. So much so that fans in each city would come early just to see the back-to-back MVP do his pregame routine.

With the dynamic foursome now in tact in the “Bay Area,” that might change because in the minds of many die hard NBA fans and some prognosticators, Durant essentially wanted to join the Warriors so that he could win a title on the coat tails of Curry, Green and Thompson.

The likes of Jordan; fellow Hall of Famers Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing and Charles Barkley to name a few felt that if you were the so-called “face of the franchise,” you had to beat the best if you wanted to win a title.

Earlier this week, the outspoken, never hold his tongue “Sir Charles” was quoted on a national radio show earlier about the Durant signing by the Warriors that, “He weakened another team and he’s kind of gravy training on a terrific Warriors team.”

The host of TNT’s “Inside the NBA” also said that he was disappointed in Durant’s decision. “Kevin’s a terrific player. I just wish he had stayed in Oklahoma City. Piggybacking on those guys in Golden State. I don’t know if they’ll win it next year, but there gonna have a chance the next probably four to five years. It won’t be the same as being the bus driver instead of being a bus rider.”

The reality is that was then, this is now and Durant as mentioned earlier was a free agent. He had a choice to make and he did, just like James did and he Wade and Bosh led the Heat to four straight Finals appearances and they won as mentioned earlier back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013.

When we start the 2016-17 NBA season, the Warriors will be looking to make it back to The Finals and win it all and KD will be looking for that elusive title.

It will not be easy, especially because some key cogs to the Warriors success over the past two seasons like guard Leandro Barbosa, forwards Brandon Rush, Marreese Speights and James Michael McAdoo and centers Festus Ezeli and Anderson Varejao all moved on like Barnes and Bogut or are on the verge of moving on via free agency.

The Thunder will be looking to reach The Playoffs again and making sure that Westbrook stays in the fold as he will become a free agent next summer, sticking with the same principles as an organization that have allowed them to be in the championship conversation, thanks to what KD in his nine seasons with the team.

“We’ll be careful and thoughtful and hopefully intelligent about how we go forward,” Presti said on Monday. “I don’t think we’d be in the position that we are right now in terms of the accomplishments over the last eight years if we hadn’t taken that approach. Although the organization will be different without Kevin, the principles. The values. The things he helped establish as one of the founding fathers of the organization remain intact and will serve as the bedrock for us going forward.”

One thing is for sure, not matter what happens, we will all be watching and excited to see what occurs both in “The Bay Area” and “OKC.”

Information, statistics and quotations are courtesy of the 7/4/16 story “Durant Announces He’ll Join Warriors,” on www.hangtime.blogs.nba.com; 7/4/16 11 p.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” with Matt Winer, Ron Thompson and David Aldridge; 7/7/16 edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” with Vince Cellini and Dennis Scott-Durant introductory press conference quotes are courtesy of Comcast Sportsnet Bay Area; http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jordan; http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilt_Chamberlin.