Finally Kevin Durant Says Something We All Can Agree With
(ESPN) – OAKLAND, Calif. — Kevin Durant, who began his professional career in the Pacific Northwest, believes the NBA should bring a team back to Seattle. As the Golden State Warriors prepare for Friday night’s preseason game against the Sacramento Kings in KeyArena in Seattle, Durant is hopeful that the proud basketball hotbed will be home to an NBA team again soon.
“For sure,” Durant told ESPN. “Most definitely. It’s a basketball city. It’s a sports town. … They have a good representation of basketball in the NBA from Seattle-born players, Washington state-born players. And I feel like that whole brand deserves an NBA team. Just like the Golden State Warriors deserve a team or the Los Angeles Lakers deserve a team, Seattle is that same way. [A team] has that same type of impact in the community. So [we have] a lot of time in life before this whole thing is over, and I’m sure we’ll see a team before it’s time.”
The Seattle SuperSonics selected Durant with the second pick in the 2007 draft. He played one season in Seattle before new owner Clay Bennett moved the team to Oklahoma City and named it the Thunder.
Durant has always spoken fondly of his time in Seattle and still feels a connection with his first professional home.
“I look back on it and picture what it would have been like to [still] live there and play there, but I had no control [over the move],” he said. “I spent some great, great years in Oklahoma City, and that path was perfect for me. But I still got a connection with the Northwest area, always going up there with Nike in Portland, making trips to Seattle here and there, just knowing that I’m always going to be a Sonic. I think no matter what jersey I put on, I think those fans know that.
It may be self proclaimed, but I’ve been pretty vocal on this website as the leader in the clubhouse about Seattle being given back an NBA team. I’ve blogged it here, and here, and honestly this is probably the closest we’ve been in years to this actually becoming a reality. I think it goes without saying that the fine people of Seattle deserve to have basketball back in their lives after it was so ruthlessly taken from them over 10 years ago.
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Which is why I am all for Durant being vocal about this. When the NBA’s 2nd best player talks, the league should listen. It also got me thinking, what would be the #1 way Durant could win back the hearts of every NBA fan who hates him for joining the Warriors? Here’s my idea. Just keep taking 2+1s or 1 year deals every year until Seattle finally gets a team. Then you sign a deal for max money/years and finish your career where it all started. Who could possibly hate him if that were to happen? Let’s say we’re like 5+ years away from this happening, Durant will be in his mid 30s and more than likely still the best scorer in the league. Here’s where my plan gets really crazy. Russell Westbrook has a player option in the 2022-23 season for $47M (jesus fucking christ). What if he turns that down and BOTH him and Durant squash their beef and go back to Seattle together? That alone should convince the NBA to get their shit together and bring a team back there. That gives them 5 years to figure this all out. Sure Westbrook will be 34, but do you think the people of Seattle will give a shit? Just think about how cool it would be to have these two pair back up for the team that drafted them. Sonics fans never got to see Westbrook play since he got drafted in the summer of 2008, so in my opinion it almost makes too much sense. They deserve to see what could have been.
Part of me truly believes Durant isn’t ruling this out. People think he structures his FA deals so he can always re-up when the cap goes up, but maybe, just maybe he’s waiting for the NBA to wake up and bring the Sonics back. Is it crazy? Sure, but as someone who loved those Sonics teams growing up, I’m with Durant on this one. It needs to happen.