Is Kevin Durant to Golden State an Actual Possibility?

Kevin Durant is listed at 6 feet 9 inches tall, with a 7′ 4.75” wingspan.

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Let’s not kid ourselves here, Durant is probably closer to 7 feet, and his height, length, and wingspan are some of the reasons why he is arguably the best scorer in the NBA. Couple that with the incredible basketball skill he’s worked his whole life to perfect, Durant is pretty much a guard in a forward’s body. Durant is a matchup nightmare for most defenders, and he’s been terrorizing my Warriors for as long as I can remember.

KD went off on January 17, 2014, dropping 54 points on the Dubs with Russell Westbrook out due to injury. Who could forget March of last year, when KD dropped 30 in the first half, two weeks after returning from foot surgery. And of course, last week in Durant’s first visit to Oracle in 2016 where he scored 40 points and added 14 rebounds, reminding the NBA universe that he’s still a top three player in the world.

KD kills the Warriors, as he does every team, but he especially stands out to me because not many players constantly give the Warriors buckets like Durant. The Warriors have options to throw at Durant due to their wing depth, but it never makes a difference. The ironic part is the Warriors have a shot at signing Durant, as good a shot as anyone at least, which could on paper make the Warriors the most unstoppable team ever and of course vastly change the NBA landscape.

Durant was drafted by the Seattle Supersonics in 2007, who was then joined by running mates Westbrook and Serge Ibaka the following season. Before you knew it, the Thunder core three took the league by storm and took LeBron James and the Heat to a “closer-than-it-seemed” 5 game series in 2012. Since the core three for the Thunder was barely old enough to enjoy an adult beverage at the time they represented the Western Conference in the Finals, it was common believe that they would be back.

Unfortunately for the Thunder, they’d be dealt some crappy hands the next few seasons. Westbrook hurts his knee in Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs in 2013, and bam,just like that the Thunder are robbed of a deep playoff run and we as fans are robbed of a Finals rematch from the previous year. The next season, Ibaka strains his calf in the semi-finals and the Thunder can’t quite dig themselves out of the hole they fall in without Ibaka vs. the Spurs. And of course there’s last season where Durant misses most of the season and the Thunder don’t even make the playoffs.

As a Warrior fan it’s important to enjoy this historical success, because as the Thunder have shown, you never know when the clock will strike midnight on an era. However, the real question is whether the Thunder would even let KD go to the Warriors.

If not for some untimely injuries, the Thunder could be in the middle of a Western Conference run of domination, similar to LeBron and his chokehold on the east. Allowing Durant to go to another Western Conference foe, a historically great Western Conference foe I should say, would make the Oklahoma City Thunder the biggest dynasty that never was in sports history. Durant, 27, is in the prime of his career, and just like everyone predicted his impending free agency would be a top three storyline during the NBA season.

The Warriors may be in the beginning of a dynasty, but adding Kevin Durant could make the Golden State Warriors the greatest sports team ever

In all likelihood, Durant will probably sign a one year deal with the Thunder with an option for the second year so that he can a) hit the free agent market with Westbrook in 2017 and b) get some of that TV deal cash flow that is expected to increase the league’s salary cap to $108 million. That’s a whole lot of cheese. This is the reason why many Warriors fans are ready to part ways with the players the Warriors would have to trade OKC in a (hypothetical) deal with the Thunder that include: Andre Iguodala, Andrew Bogut/Festus Ezeli, and Harrison Barnes.

Bogut and Iguodala are 31 and 32 respectively, and in Bogut’s case it looks like he’s running on stilts at times. The Warriors have groomed Ezeli to be the hier apparent to Bogut the past couple seasons, similar to the way an NFL team will groom a back up quarterback to eventually take the reigns from the starter, and Ezeli has proved that he will be a capable replacement for Bogut when the time comes. Barnes is important to what the Warriors do, his ability to knock down open 3s coupled with his overall versatility and ability to play the 4 are key to Golden State’s success, but him turning down the 4 year, $60 million contract extension from the Warriors this summer has left a bitter taste in many Warriors’ fans mouths.

Add that to the fact that Barnes took his sweet time coming back from an ankle injury, missing the Christmas day game in the process, and suddenly it’s not so hard parting ways with Barnes, especially since Durant plays his position and can do everything Barnes can but better.