5 reasons Kevin Durant stays with Oklahoma City Thunder
By Tom West
1) Oklahoma City is still a seriously talented place to be
Sure, the Thunder aren’t on par with the Spurs or Warriors. That’s because no one is right now. Even LeBron’s Cavs, as talented as they are, struggle to look like a convincing Finals opponent for such dominant teams with so much depth.
So, if Durant is looking for his options outside of Golden State or San Antonio (again, assuming that’s the case), Oklahoma City is right up there with any other team. The fourth quarter issue can’t be ignored even though it’s somewhat exaggerated, and staggering Durant and Russell Westbrook’s minutes still doesn’t give the Thunder a flow of rotations that can match the two best teams in the NBA throughout a playoff series.
The bench — featuring large roles for Randy Foye, the enigma that is Dion Waiters, and Enes Kanter’s woeful defense — simply isn’t good enough.
Nevertheless, if some of those problems can be adjusted through free agency, and the team finds some way to fix those questionable isolation-based plays in clutch situations (this is an “if”), Durant still has an awful lot of talent to continue with. Westbrook has his problems and his decision making can be costly, but Durant loves his running mate and the two are incredibly difficult to stop.
On top of that, OKC is a place Durant can call home now, with a community of friends and teammates he’s grown accustomed to over the last eight years.
In the meantime, until (or if) we hear reports that Durant isn’t happy continuing with Westbrook and facing more years plagued with the task of defeating the Warriors, there are still plenty of reasons as to why Oklahoma City may be his home in 2017.
Unfortunately for Thunder fans and everyone ready to refresh the news throughout free agency, though, no one can know what ideas will be flowing around Durant’s head in a couple of months. There’s absolutely no knowing what the future holds.
All we do know is that Kevin Durant has the opportunity to change the landscape of the league as we know it.
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