Warriors got the best from Durant’s career
Through the great swirl of emotions surrounding Kevin Durant’s departure, the Warriors and their fans should know this above all: They got the best of him.
In time, that will overwhelm all surges of regret. Sunday’s news might even bring some relief, for all concerned. It just might be the best thing for the Warriors and the man about to hook up with a couple of good friends, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan, in Brooklyn.
The NBA has never seen a player like Durant, a 7footer (or something close) who shoots the 3pointer, drills the midrange shot, handles the ball like a guard and throws down savage dunks in traffic. He’s like a dreamy composite of several greats we’ve witnessed through the years.
On the other hand, in its long history, the NBA has seen only one superstar make a seamless recovery from Achilles tendon surgery: Atlanta Hawks great Dominique Wilkins, who underwent nine months of rehabilitation in 1992 and returned in vintage form at the age of 33, averaging 29.9 points in the 199293 season and retaining his status as one of the league’s top scorers over the next three years.
So that’s one. The list ends there. Considering Durant’s longstanding vulnerability to injury, including three foot surgeries over a 167day period during his time in Oklahoma City, it’s a bit of a stretch to imagine him coming back as the same player.
Make no mistake, a reasonable imitation will do. The Nets are willing to take that gamble. But they might not get clarity on Durant’s condition until next year’s playoffs — if then. What if he misses all of next season? Might that dim Brooklyn’s enthusiasm just a little?
That’s where the Warriors come in. It’s not smart business to formulate grand plans over an enormous “maybe.” It seems a little bit crazy to spend $221 million on a project revealed only in the shadows until further notice. You could imagine a cloud of “How’s Kevin?” uncertainty hanging over the entire first season at Chase Center, with no guarantee he could make any kind of a difference until the fall of 2020.
Moreover, truth be told, the Warriors are over Durant from an emotional standpoint. He was a tremendous teammate and stunningly consistent on the floor. He was willing to take significant financial hits in his contracts, making it easier for management to sign other players. But it’s a maddening dilemma in any business when a mainstay to the operation has one foot out the door.
“Are you in or are you out?” That’s not so much to ask. With Durant, the Warriors never really knew — and the tension came to a head when Draymond Green essentially told him to “Get the hell out if you’re not on board” during their notorious clash in Los Angeles in November. Now it’s all about the memories, surely to grow even more precious as the years go on.
Oh, the Warriors got the best of Durant, all right. He came to be part of history and delivered magnificently, hitting those clutch 3pointers in the waning seconds against Cleveland during two sets of victorious Finals. The man simply scored at will, against anyone, no matter what the stakes or the pressure. Just as Durant stands tall over a bunch of admiring kids, that’s how he’s viewed around the NBA, a force of nature without precedent.
“He’s the most talented scorer of all time, hands down,” teammate Andre Iguodala told SI.com during the regular season. “He’s a walking 30 points. He’ll get 30 on 12 shots. That’s very, very hard to do. Most guys need to feel the ball in their hands a lot to get a rhythm. He doesn’t.”
I guess I was the last person to still think that Durant would stick around. For him to be “the man” somewhere else, especially with a franchise on an uphill climb — that just doesn’t make sense, especially with his health in so much doubt. Is he so selfobsessed as to leave a paradise of success and organizationwide class, let alone the Bay Area? But he has his standards, and maybe there’s an element of pure, crazy genius to it all.
In choosing a new start, Durant will shed much of the hatred coming his way in opposing arenas and on social media. Hell, he might even be a sympathetic figure now, leaving all that sweet assurance behind and taking a bold step into the unknown. You almost have to admire someone who trades in a dynasty for Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris and Caris LeVert.
From a personal standpoint, though, Durant faces some immediate obstacles. The New York media can be tough and unrelenting, a far cry from Bay Area journalists who asked some innocent, perfectly acceptable questions and were told that “I don’t trust any of y’all,” in Durant’s condescending words. Despite the Nets’ smart coaching and noticeable ascent to respectability, the Knicks still own that town, and they always will.
It’s nice that Durant can realize his dream of playing alongside his friends, but will it make a glaring difference in the standings? Jordan is a big man of limited skills. Irving, an alluniverse talent who failed miserably as a leader in Boston, will be replacing popular point guard D’Angelo Russell and won’t be lining up alongside Durant for a long, long time.
“I can pretty much figure I can do whatever I want on the basketball court if I put my mind to it,” Durant told reporters not long ago. “Whatever position I’m in, I’m ready to conquer it.”
If he’s really that up for a challenge, he has chosen wisely.