Sorry, LeBron James — Kevin Durant, in fact, is the ultimate Warrior.
Durant needs to realize that he will do himself a world of good if he makes himself a Golden State Warrior in the next few days. He’s been chasing a title for nine seasons and his pursuit would end with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr.
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Durant is the perfect fit in Golden State, especially after the Warriors collapsed in Game 7 of the Finals and finished out the playoffs with a 7-7 mark. Slide Durant in to replace Harrison Barnes, who couldn’t make a shot in the last three games of the Finals, and voila, the Warriors will be the heavy favorites in 2017, 2018 … yes, even with James bound to continue his remarkable NBA Finals run from his position of power in the glaringly superstar-less Eastern Conference.
Durant is absolutely correct in thinking that he should only go to a team that is one K.D. away from winning the title. That’s what some people who know Durant over the years see as what he ultimately base his decision on when he considers his options.
Yes, he has given six teams, including his own Thunder, the chance to meet him in the Hamptons when free agency begins late Thursday night. But three of those teams — the Celtics, Heat and Clippers — don’t have the No. 1 thing Durant wants more than anything else: a ready-made championship team.
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According to NBA sources, the four-time scoring champ won’t uproot himself from Oklahoma City to go chase a title with a franchise that will need to make several other major moves for the 2014 MVP to reach his goal of winning his first NBA crown. For Durant, it’s all about going with a “sure thing,’’ according to a source who admits that no one knows Durant's plans, only what he values and where he's leaning. So it seems that Miami, Boston and the Clippers can enjoy their trips to the Hamptons, but it’s looking like a grand waste of time. And with all that holiday weekend traffic, no less.
The Thunder did get better when they shipped out disgruntled Serge Ibaka to Orlando for Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and its first round draft pick, Domantas Sabonis.
Ibaka never was James Harden, and that has been the Thunder's No. 1 problem since trading Harden in 2012 to the Rockets. In one monumental error, the Thunder chose Ibaka over Harden and haven’t been back to the Finals since.
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During his trip to New York for Team USA’s unveiling for the Rio Olympics, Durant called the Oladipo trade a “good move.’’ But no one is calling it a seismic move that gets Oklahoma City past Golden State. Oladipo has never been in a winning situation as an NBA player, nor has he ever sniffed the postseason.
Oladipo’s addition doesn’t give the Thunder a real "Big Three." It’s still a Durant-Westbrook production, by and large.
So, by staying in Oklahoma City, Durant does not improve his chances of emerging out of the West and getting to the Finals. With Golden State he can relax and just play. They’ll have all their pieces in place for the next several seasons, with Curry, the last one, already committed to staying long term once he’s free in 2017.
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But if he stays with the Thunder, Durant will have to worry whether Russell Westbrook will stay with him after this coming season. If Westbrook might leave next year in free agency, why would Durant stay? So he’d be looking for another team in 2017 and who’s to say that the Warriors will be able to accommodate him then?
Durant has great admiration for the Spurs, five-time champs in the last 17 years, with one championship coming in 2014 after KO’ing Durant from the playoffs in the Western Conference finals.
During the San Antonio series Durant raved about San Antonio president-coach Gregg Popovich: “No matter how many moving parts they have on the team, he always stays consistent on what he does," he said. "Having a very good coach is probably the most important thing in this league. You can have all the great players you want, but you have to have somebody to orchestrate it. That’s what they have. They have great players, but they also have a great coach to put them in position to utilize all their strength as individuals and make it come together as a team.”
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But this is what Durant has to realize: As masterful as Popovich is, there’s no guarantee that he’ll be able to make it all work with Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard. It’ll be far more crowded with Durant at the offensive end and who knows how Aldridge or Leonard will react to that? By comparison, he looks like a seamless fit in Golden State.
Perhaps the larger issue is the Spurs’ point guard position and their glaring need for an upgrade. Tony Parker has been on the decline for several seasons and there is no successor in place to make sure that Durant, Aldridge and Leonard are all satisfied when it comes to touches and shots. Let’s say they do get Mike Conley. Does anyone really know how it would all work?
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Durant will have no such issues going to the Warriors. They’re ready-made for exactly what he wants: winning titles.
He’ll make them the ultimate Warriors.
