It depends on what he already knows or what he believe will happen with the Thunder's roster over the next year. If he knows/thinks that Westbrook is leaving then it's a no-brainer to leave. OKC is a small market team that has always been very concerned about the luxury tax. They were already $15M over the tax line last year and now all of their rotation players except for Kanter (and his max salary) are set to be free agents in the next year. I'm sure OKC will try and get creative but it's a good bet that their roster looks very different after next season. That's got to be a major factor for Durant. Signing a 1+1 deal sounds like the smart move but if Durant is already convinced that they won't be able to keep the team together then he might not want to pass up an opportunity elsewhere.
I'm trying to understand why OKC isn't a great decision from both a money and basketball standpoint. But that aside, being "the guy" doesn't seem like it would be a good selling point with KD; I think he'd rather just win. Honestly staying put in OKC, going to San Antonio, or joining Golden State are all better options than going to Houston. I'd say Houston is the 4th best option (maybe), but it's probably fair to say that a bosh,whiteside, Dragic, wade, Durant team with the Pat Reiley prestige might be enticing to the young man. He's got a lot of options, but his best option will be to stay in OKC, and if I was a betting man, I'd say that's probably what he'll do, at least for a 1yr deal to take another run at it
But he's light years behind Lebron in bball iq and leadership principles/intangibles. Russ has a dome full of rocks. He'll never win a ring as his teams primary playmaker.
LOL, who does OKC really have? That team is Westbrook and Durant. Who else is really special? Ibaka? Certainly not if he can't hit more of his 3's to give him an offense to go with those blocks. Adams? Again, no offense to speak of and just tenacious defense. Kanter? Literally the worst defensive center in the league by some metrics so it's hard to keep him on the court. In game 7 when it really mattered, who could they count on? Just Durant and Westbrook like always. A Rockets team with Durant, Harden, and an additional max FA is the superior roster and it's not particularly close.
I hope Morey presents him with a solid case on how the rockets have more flexibility going forward and how OKC may be in cap trouble Well it's morey, I'm sure the presentation will be great
Interesting. Not that money is a big motivation for KD, but if he signs the 1-yr deal, would he lose his ability to get that extra year in his next contract the year after?
You're basing that on a journalist vote where team performance is obviously a huge factor. Anthony Davis had a better year than LeMarcus Aldridge yet he didn't make any all-NBA team. Davis was better in almost every aspect of the game than Aldridge except for team wins. That doesn't make Aldridge a better player than Davis, it just means that he's on a better team. Yes, I realize that Davis only played 61 games but that shouldn't prevent him from making it since Cousins made 2nd team while only playing 65. We can argue Westbrook vs Harden all day but the bottom line is that Harden's game compliments Durant's much more than Westbrooks. At some point Durant is going to get tired of being doubled on every touch in the playoffs.
No he could still get the extra year, but truly that extra year isn't that big of a deal for a guy like Durant. It only matters if you think you won't be getting a follow deal for huge money after this contract. We've saw Lebron, Wade and Bosh all take shorter deals in free agency to give themselves leverage. Those type of guys aren't worried about getting paid on the follow up deal, they know that they'll get paid. Durant has a massive shoe deal and he doesn't seem to be money driven so I don't think that money is going to be the issue.
No emotions ,,straight business. This will be why he leaves for sure. What team is debatable . Repped
I'd think that our chances will be based on how we propose using that 2nd max salary slot. We really don't know how Durant feels about any of the other available free agents. If there was a guy that he really wanted to play with then that might be a difference maker. If there is a guy that Durant would really want as a third star, then I'm sure that Harden would know about it and have conveyed that to the Rockets. Unless Durant is already convinced that OKC won't be able to retain much of it's roster then I think that it would take an attractive "big three" package like that to convince him to leave OKC.
They had other players. But (i) Billy D. went away from the bigs for some reason, and (2) can you really trust Westbrook? Or Dirant himself at this point - he kind of botched game 6 at home. In any case... You have to convince him that Westbrook is just too inconsistent and poor of a decision maker when it matters. His always on motor and speed is his strength and weakness. I truly believe that anyway and that James is better in that regard... And would be even better with KD by his side. But convince KD that Westbrook is a waste of his career... AND that another max free agent is coming too - Whiteside, Horford, Conley, etc. and you might have a chance.
I think our 3rd star will have to be Conley rather than Horford if we're going for Durant and a big 3. No disrespect to Bev, but we would be so underhanded at PG and after seeing curry this season and Kyrie in the playoffs it's definitely not a position we want to be lacking. We would have to put a lot of faith in Capela and Harrell, but a guy like Tristan Thompson was special because of his energy and hustle. Harrell will have to try to mimic that and try to become a great defender like Thompson is. Now that is some real wishful thinking, but I still say PG is more of a concern.
Your Miami scenario only makes sense if everything stays status quo, Bosh comes back 100% and Miami clears up space to sign Whiteside to max. Don't think either happens, let alone both. If Rockets make a trade for another star, then max either Whiteside or Batum, then the options change. There will be multiple factors that will affect player's future destinations, nothing is writ in stone. I would not be surprised if Rockets replicate 2013 when they "stole" Howard. Or in 2015 when Bosh opted not to sign then got injured, "lost" Parsons but replaced both guys with "lesser" options in Ariza and Smoove, literally riding them to Western Conference championships. I agree that Durant is most likely to stay in OKC on a 1 year or 2 year deal, but would not out right dismiss other options, including Houston.
So just to play this out; dreamcast scenario: Does a team of Conley/Harden/Durant/Beasley/Capela make you think...championship? It makes me think, contender, but certainly not in the same tier as Cleveland or Golden State; and that's probably the best case scenario.
Unless Wade is willing to take a paycut then Miami can't retain both Wade and Whiteside. Wade, Whiteside and Durant is pretty much impossible.
Was just throwing out other potential scenarios that might be more or equally as attractive as Houston. The Clips might be another example
