John Kim 
Kevin Durant leaving Oklahoma City was a tough pill for a lot of NBA fans to swallow. The “Slim Reaper” was officially unveiled as part of the Golden State Warriors organization yesterday, with images of the former MVP in yellow and blue threads drawing considerable ire on social media. As Durant eloquently stated in his Player’s Tribune statement, the decision to leave Oklahoma City was incredibly difficult for him to make, but it’s a decision that will only advance his legacy as one of the best players ever. What most don’t care to consider is the business side of basketball that heavily influences a player of his stature to make such a bold move.
There was simply nothing promising about OKC’s pitch to KD; they had just traded away an important piece in Serge Ibaka, and Russell Westbrook’s looming free agency would be nothing but a distraction throughout the regular season. Maybe OKC had plans of trading Westbrook mid-season as a “rental” so they wouldn’t lose him for nothing. The roster got younger and more inexperienced, and that simply cannot compete with the 73-win Golden State Warriors or the San Antonio Spurs. It wasn’t quite clear of OKC was ready to win it all or start from scratch knowing that Westbrook and Durant could both be gone by the end of the 2016-2017 season.
Kevin Durant did so much for Oklahoma City. It put the small town on the pro sports map. He brought them to the Finals in 2012 and reeling in an MVP award in 2014. He donated a lot of his own time and money during the hurricane relief efforts. He made OKC his hometown and did all the right things in his nine seasons with the franchise. If we’re facing the facts, Durant has maybe five-to-seven years of elite level play in him. That’s the same mentality LeBron likely had when he painfully left Cleveland to win championships. Barkley recently quipped that “your life won’t suck if you don’t win a title”. That sort of passive, “meh” attitude doesn’t resonate with a player like KD who is playing the best basketball of his career. The same Barkley, who has been chastising players for leaving their teams for greener pastures, twice forced his organizations to trade him to contenders.
Golden State’s future is incredibly promising, but nothing is guaranteed. While the core of Steph, Klay, Draymond, and Iguodala are there, they lost big pieces in Harrison Barnes (who became dispensable after the acquisition of KD), Festus Ezeli, and Andrew Bogut. There will be, without question, some adjustments that need to be made, and it might not all gel as fluidly as one might believe (the Heat were at one point a .500 team with prime LeBron, Wade, and Bosh). Hate KD all you want, because all he can control is his own future. He’s not here to make you happy.
