For a guy that was tired of being second, that hasn’t been much of a problem these past three years. Since Durant’s July 4th departure from rogue right Oklahoma he’s done nothing but win. He’s won two straight NBA rings. He’s won two straight Finals MVPs. And he’s now won his second All-Star Game MVP in his storied career to date.
Pretty heady stuff. Jerry West and Bob Myers knew exactly what they were doing.
Durant has been taking some fairly heavy heat for what he did almost three years ago. I was mad at him for at least six months myself. But as time has moved on…I have no problem whatsoever with the decision he made. In fact, part of me somewhat admires what he did albeit not doing an interview and straight up telling the college market in Oklahoma why he felt it was time for him to explore something different in his life.
Recently Durant walked out of an interview because he’s still getting heat for all of this and to some degree for being surly with Ethan Strauss. Durant didn’t do anything different from what Russell Westbrook has done consistently over the years with the Daily Oklahoman’s Barry Tramel so I’m not sure why this is that big of a deal.
If I were Durant this is what I would say and I’d say it openly and put all this behind me:
“I left Oklahoma City only after fulfilling my contractual obligations to the fullest. My time there will always be a part of who I am, yet can you really blame me for leaving a place where Donald Trump garnered almost 70% of the popular vote and elected Mary Fallin governor twice. I wish it were different. I wish they would have grown up somewhat and become something more than a college market with an NBA team due to Hurricane Katrina.
We made it to four Western Conference Finals and one NBA Finals. My relationships with Russell, Nick and Sam Presti will always be something I treasure and I hope to repair these relationships over the years.
I also wanted to pursue basketball at the highest level possible and in all truth I felt like I couldn’t go any further with Russell Westbrook because he still continues to play high risk, low reward basketball when exactly the opposite should be the model in Oklahoma City.
I know in saying this I’ll probably enflame the haters in Oklahoma even more. But at the end of the day, I not only have to be honest with myself, but with the public. It is what it is. This is me. This is who I am and I said it on Sixty Minutes. Why should I pretend to be something I’m not?
As far as where my career goes from here…I don’t know for sure. I want to play for a coach I respect and Steve Kerr is that type of a coach. I enjoy winning. I want to be the best I can be and if Warrior ownership wants to keep myself, Klay and Steph together then why not.
Bill Russell won eleven championships in thirteen seasons with the Boston Celtics. I think that’s very cool. I also respect Bill Russell for being his own man and openly addressing racism is America not only back then but in the present as well. We need people to speak openly about our country.
Just like any other human, I want to wake up every morning and make the effort to become a better person every day.”
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If I were Durant I’d say that and be done with it. If people in Oklahoma still want to boo that’s on them. I’m still waiting for Russell Westbrook and Paul George to make a public statement of substance in regards to what it feels like as a black man to play in a market which has so fully embraced the most racist president in the history of our country. That’s on Westbrook and Paul George. I had no idea signing a n NBA max deal excluded a person from having First Amendments rights.
If I were Kevin Durant.. I’d quit worrying about what people in Oklahoma or Ethan Strauss think. I’d answer questions with complete candor. There’s no way in hell I’d go play for the Knicks though. That wouldn’t be on my radar screen.