Why Kevin Durant Needs to Stay With The Thunder

By kmartinez | May 4, 2015

Feb 9, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. The Thunder won 124-114. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /

Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant is set to become a free agent after the upcoming 2015-2016 season. By now we’ve all heard about the possibility of KD playing for his hometown team, the Washington Wizards. Well, the Golden State Warriors can now be added to the list of possible destinations, according to Dan Feldman’s report at Pro Basketball Talk.

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Whether or not there is any real possibility of Durant joining the Warriors is something that will only time will tell, but I’m here to tell you he shouldn’t. I actually don’t think he should go anywhere. I ultimately believe he should play out his career with the team that drafted him in the Thunder.

Report: Mychal Thompson (Klay’s dad) claims the Warriors will ‘go hard’ after Kevin Durant. http://t.co/MYSsIJgJ3M pic.twitter.com/oBqApnqv7d
— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) May 1, 2015

As the old saying goes, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. I believe this to be true.

LeBron James started a trend back in 2010 when he took his talents to South Beach. The trend is for star players who don’t win with their current organization to “go away to college” as BusinessInsider.com called it, by joining another team where they can win.

Durant may not be as lucky as James was. Fellow stars may be able to sway him away from the Thunder, but it doesn’t ensure success. More often than not, super teams have have failed. Just ask the 2013 Los Angeles Lakers, 2014 Brooklyn Nets and the Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire-led Knicks.

Even when James joined the Miami Heat they didn’t win right away either. They needed to experience a humiliating loss to Dirk Nowitzki the Dallas Mavericks. Bottom line is: it isn’t as easy as it seems.

I believe it would be easier for Durant to win as a member of the Thunder than with with any other team. They already have a championship formula. The tweaks made to the roster during the trade deadline may be enough to put them over the edge. Unfortunately, they have caught some bad breaks. Injuries have prevented them from returning to the Finals. Still, this team may be the one to do it.

If Durant was healthy enough to go, they could have beaten the Golden State Warriors in the first round, and nobody would have been surprised. Hell, if Durant and Russell Westbrook were healthy all season, they could have very well been the top seed in the Western Conference.

The sexier option might be for Durant to leave, but loyalty can go a long way. The club has already proved that they are willing to make moves.

This upcoming season is going to basically decide what happens with KD. If they win, he stays. If they go out in the Conference Finals or sooner, he just may want to try something new. And with Russell Westbrook becoming a free agent soon, the Thunder have no choice but to win. They can’t afford to lose two superstars if they hope to be relevant in the near future.

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