When the history books look back on the career of Kevin Durant, he will be recognized as one of the greatest to ever play the game. His masterful skill has shone in the NCAA, FIBA, the Olympics, and the NBA, winning him numerous awards, accolades, and honors. Affectionately nicknamed the Slim Reaper, he has long been a feared opponent by many teams.
At the same time, the last several years of his career have been difficult. A tumultuous run with a supposed super team on the Brooklyn Nets went nowhere, followed by another huge nothing burger with the Phoenix Suns. Despite his relatively high caliber play for his age, Durant has appeared largely unable to recapture the magic of his tenures with OKC and the Warriors.
With another trade on the horizon, KD's next destination seems to be the San Antonio Spurs. This is a young squad with an already stacked roster that simply needs to gel and get on a roll, hopefully avoiding any major injuries this year. Given that Kevin seems to be in the diva stage of his career, it's hard to see what the Spurs really need from him. It could be the mistake that holds them back.
Kevin Durant is a living legend
When talking about the KD in any context, the man absolutely deserves to be given his flowers. He is rapidly closing in on his 20th season in the NBA and has achieved a level of greatness few can even aspire to. Durant is part of the holy trinity of NBA players of the past two decades that includes him, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry. These are the names that have defined this era of basketball.
Kevin is a two-time NBA Champion, as well as a two-time NBA Finals MVP. He's also been the NBA's Most Valuable Player, a two-time NBA All-Star Game MVP, a 15-time NBA All-Star, the NBA Rookie of the Year, a six-time All-NBA First Team member, and a four-time NBA scoring champion. That's not even all of his NBA accolades, just the highlights.
On top of that, he has won four Gold Medals at the Summer Olympics in Men's Basketball. It's safe to assume the sport, but him winning his medals in Rhythmic Gymnastics would have been amazing. Durant also has a Gold Medal from the FIBA Basketball World Cup. He is the only player in history to be named MVP in the NBA, Olympics, and World Cup. And all of that doesn't even get into his college career, which included being the first freshman to be awarded Naismith College Player of the Year.
This is a long way of saying that Kevin Durant cannot be denied. HIs career is absolutely legendary and he is a first ballot Hall of Famer without question. That being said, it is worth noting the vast majority of those honors came before Durant left the Golden State Warriors in 2019, the team he won his two NBA Championships with.
Ring chasing with Kevin Durant
The Slim Reaper was a major part of the Warriors' dynasty. He was there for their titles in 2017 and 2018, helping the franchise hold off the LeBron James led Cleveland Cavaliers for two of their NBA Finals meetings in four years.
But a clash of egos and a desire to prove he didn't need Steph Curry to get a ring reputedly played a big part in his departure from the Warriors after only three seasons. Heck, he left OKC after nine seasons to go to the Warriors to win titles, then kind of bailed.
Unfortunately, that became a pattern for Durant. He spent four seasons on a Brooklyn Nets super team that included Kyrie Irving and James Harden. Injuries, the pandemic, and coaching strife meant that this team went nowhere fast. The end of a road was a trade with the Sixers that included Harden going to Philly and Ben Simmons heading for the Nets. And Ben Simmons arrival is never a good sign.
Durant requested a trade and ended up with the Phoenix Suns alongside Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. Again, it was a supposed super team that went nowhere fast, and the team is already looking to trade him after two seasons, likely for a solid rebuilding package of young talent and/or draft picks. Unfortunately, the team can't simply trade Beal due to his inexplicable no-trade clause, a move that would most certainly go a long way to fixing the team's woes. A buyout may be in his future.
Look, KD is not the sole reason for his rough tenures in Brooklyn and Phoenix. On the Nets, Harden was crazy arrogant and Kyrie's refusal to get vaccinated during the pandemic greatly reduced his playing time.
In Phoenix, Booker played well as expected, but Beal has been an unmitigated disaster. Plus, the team has no depth thanks to their incredibly expensive top three guys. At the same time, Durant hasn't been the difference maker he used to be.
The wrong move for the Spurs
Since the Suns started actively shopping Kevin Durant around the league, the trade rumors have been flying like crazy. That includes the speculation that the Suns want the trade done before the NBA Draft starts on June 25. They're likely hoping to get a draft pick or two they can use this year, or be in the mix for young players in some capacity.
So far, the most likely trade partner has seemed to be the Spurs, though it's hard to imagine why. This is a team with veterans like De'Aaron Fox and, for now, Chris Paul to help season the young guns. They have back-to-back NBA Rookies of the Year in Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle. Their roster includes solid players like Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, and Harrison Ingram. Plus, they have the number two pick in this year's draft.
Outside of a veteran presence, it's hard to imagine what the Spurs get out of bringing KD in. While he's still productive and even brilliant at times, this is not the legendary Durant of old. The Spurs would have to give up something big to get him, too.
It's unlikely that Wemby is on the table, but to get someone of Durant's reputation would require some massive trade pieces. At least Fox and Castle would have to be in the mix as well as the Spurs' 2025 draft pick.
Given the Slim Reaper's propensity for ring chasing since leaving OKC in 2016 and the diva-esque behavior that led him to move on from the Warriors so quickly, this is a big risk for the Spurs. Over the past nine seasons, he's played for three franchises.
The Spurs could easily be giving up great talent and future superstars for a guy who is likely to be off to the next team in a couple of seasons if it doesn't look like he's going to win a title right away.
All respect to the living legend but Durant is inevitably closing in on retirement and his prime is well behind him. The Spurs are not going to get five or six great, productive years out of him. Even if he does hang around the league that long, he'll likely move on quickly to the next team, leaving the Spurs to figure out what's next and trying build the team they have now before they brought KD in.