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The Many Ripple Effects Of The Kevin Durant-Warriors Decision

By Gerald Bourguet

May 30, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) is congratulated by Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) after game seven of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Thunder 96-88. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
May 30, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) is congratulated by Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) after game seven of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Thunder 96-88. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kevin Durant
Apr 25, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) brings the ball up the court against the Dallas Mavericks during the second quarter in game five of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

Oklahoma City Thunder

While the construction of a new NBA Death Star is fantastic for the Warriors, you have to feel for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who just lost out on their best chance at a title for the foreseeable future.

While Russell Westbrook is at worst a top-10 player in this league, OKC has been unable to even reach the Finals since their first and only appearance in 2012…and that was with Kevin Durant.

Without him, the Thunder still project to be a playoff team next summer. The Russell Westbrook Show will be in full effect, and the Serge Ibaka trade infused new youth and talent on OKC’s roster between Victor Oladipo, stretch-4 Ersan Ilyasova and the No. 11 pick in this year’s draft, Domantas Sabonis.

As tantalizing as a Westbrook-Oladipo-KD-Andre Roberson–Steven Adams lineup might have been on the defensive end, it wasn’t meant to be. Now the Thunder are left without a starting-caliber 3, let alone the kind of superstar that embodied the franchise the way Durant did.

The worst part is that between OKC’s semi-limited cap space and the shortage of starting-caliber 3s on the free agency market right now, the Thunder’s best option may be playing Roberson out of position at the small forward spot and hoping he and Oladipo can knock down enough threes to spread the floor.

It’s not just about how the Thunder fare in 2016-17, however. Next summer, Westbrook will become a free agent and without Kevin Durant around, there’s not as much reason to stick around.

At this point, OKC tops off as a second round playoff team, and that may not be good enough for Russ to stay, especially when so many other teams start throwing money at him in yet another free agency bonanza.

As expected, Westbrook’s party is not open to renegotiating his contract in order to keep him on the team for the long-term, and according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Thunder may consider trading him to initiate a full roster deconstruction.

Losing Kevin Durant and the shot at a title is bad enough, but shipping off Westbrook after dealing Ibaka away represents the culmination of a domino effect that slowly began the moment OKC traded away James Harden. All that remains of that once tantalizing foursome that reached the Finals in their early 20s is Westbrook now.

Thunder fans may be left wondering what might have been if not for Klay Thompson’s 41-point explosion in Game 6 in OKC. In the last few minutes of that game, the Thunder’s best shot at a title over the next decade may have slipped away.

Next: Dallas Mavericks

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