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It’s been nearly three months since Kevin Durant made his decision to join the Western Conference Champion Golden State Warriors. And since then, Durant has been criticized and picked apart by everyone with an opinion. But whether you love it or hate it, Durant will be in Oakland next season and the Warriors will be the favorites. Since everyone still has enough scrutiny to throw around, here’s five reasons you cannot blame Durant for making this decision.
Number 5: The Media
The media checks in at number five for their hypocrisy and ever changing standards on player greatness. To be fair, Durant never received much criticism before the Thunder choked away a 3-1 lead against the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. But once that happened, everything was called into question. Durant was beginning to be seen as a loser. The media has a bad habit of overreacting to the moment. If a player falls short of a championship, they can expect endless scrutiny. We saw this with LeBron James and many other players before him. If you don’t have the ring, the media will do everything in their power to remind you and tell you how much you need one. Once free agency came around, Durant made the decision to put himself in the best position to win a championship and he’s been getting killed for that decision ever since. So how can the media demand a player be a champion, but criticize a guy who puts himself in the best position to do so? If Durant remained ringless in OKC, the media wouldn’t hesitate to bring that up well past his retirement (see Karl Malone and Charles Barkley for examples).
Number 4: He Was a Free Agent
The number four reason you can’t blame Durant is the most obvious; he was a free agent. Durant had the option to go wherever he wanted and he chose the Warriors. He said from the very beginning that he was making a basketball decision and he did just that. Durant played great for the cities of Seattle and Oklahoma City. You can never say that he didn’t put in 100% effort or quit on his team. He helped put them on the map and fulfilled his contractual obligations. Once the contract expired, it was fair game whether you like it or not.
Number 3: Golden State
The Warriors come in at number three for two reasons. Firstly, the Warriors were able to come back from a 3-1 deficit to end the Thunder’s season. If OKC wins the series, who knows what happens in the Finals. And in any event, Durant would be hard pressed to leave a team that was either in the Finals or won it all. Secondly, Golden State made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Only the Warriors could offer Durant a chance to play with a two-time MVP, one of the best two-way players in the NBA, and another great shooter who could also play defense. To make things even more tempting; Curry, Green, and Thompson are in their primes. None of them are over the age of 30. If winning was Durant’s goal, he’d be hard pressed to find a better option than joining the Warriors.
Number 2: Sam Presti
Sam Presti is one of the best executives in the NBA. His knack for drafting, talent evaluation and team building nearly brought NBA Championships to OKC. But there will always be one major stain on his legacy as an executive: the James Harden trade. The Thunder were in the NBA Finals in 2012 and ultimately came up short against the Miami Heat. Going into the next season, the Thunder were considered the favorites to win it all. That was before Presti prematurely tore down a potential dynasty. Going into the final year of Harden’s contract, the Thunder had major decisions to make. As a small market team, they had no desire to pay Durant, Westbrook, Harden, and Ibaka the max and end up paying a steep luxury tax. So they decided to deal Harden to Houston and keep Ibaka as their defensive anchor in the middle. For Harden, the Thunder received Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, and a pick that would eventually turn into Steven Adams. Martin and Lamb are no longer on the team. Not nearly enough for a player that is considered the best shooting guard in the league in some circles. OKC could’ve kept the team together and made an additional run at the championship, but chose the cheap way out and didn’t get nearly enough in return for Harden. Without Harden, OKC never made it back to the Finals.
Number 1: King James
Taking the top spot is LeBron James. Now I’m not going to argue that Durant’s move to Golden State is comparable to LeBron’s move to South Beach. However, LeBron James set the precedent for this whole thing to happen. Before the summer of 2010, it was unheard-of for a Hall of Fame Caliber player in his prime to go somewhere and form a Super team. We’ve seen trades and drafts bring together super teams, but never a player calling his shot like LeBron did. And to top it off, it worked. LeBron got the rings he wanted and still maintained his legacy. When LeBron made his decision, many said his legacy would be damaged beyond repair and that he would never be seen as one of the true greats of the game. After the Heat won their second consecutive title in 2013, that all went out the window. When LeBron delivered a championship to Cleveland, people began to deny they ever questioned his legacy to begin with. LeBron’s legacy remained standing as one of the best players we’d ever seen. You think Durant didn’t notice? LeBron set the precedent. He made it okay for a player of such high Hall of Fame stature to openly pursue championships via super teams, and still maintain a strong legacy. LeBron will forever go down as one of the top five greatest players of all-time even with the Miami move. In the end, winning was all that mattered. And if Durant and the Warriors manage to win a couple of championships, no one will really care how he did it in the grand scheme of things. He has LeBron to thank for that.
