Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder is licking his wounds together with his teammates following their heart-breaking series loss to the defending champion Golden State Warriors in the NBA Western Conference Finals.
Durant and company had a golden chance to pull the rug from under the Warriors after taking a seemingly commanding 3-1 series lead. Instead, the Steph Curry and Klay Thompson stepped up and anchored one of the rare comebacks in NBA history to march on to the NBA Finals.
Advancing to the NBA Finals would have been a surety that Kevin Durant would be staying put in Oklahoma, win or lose. But after coming short, will the former NBA Most Valuable Player want out?
Kevin Durant in no hurry for next move
Per USA Today, Durant would rather touch on his upcoming free agent status in the Summer. For now, Durant is trying to get over the debacle and take some time off.
“It’s hard to think about that. Especially right now, especially when you’re battling every single day. It’s hard. Give me a couple weeks and talk to me then, but I just don’t know right now, man,” said Durant.
With that said, Thunder management will likely be sitting on pins and needles until they are sure that Durant has signed on the dotted line. Despite the fact that KD has shown all indications of staying put, anything can happen at the last minute.
LeBron James did it before with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat, a surprise that is still talked about to this day. Durant is no different and that possibility, no matter how small it may be, can surprise many.
Thunder management need to pull some strings
While that remains unsettled, the Thunder may want to get busy by restructuring the team with more support players than what they have now. The team is composed of young and talented players in Steven Adams, Enes Kanter and Dion Waiters, all of which shone brightly in the NBA playoffs.
“It’s up to him,” said Adams on Durant via the NY Times. “We’re just here to support him, and he knows that.”
Right now, it may be all about fine-tuning. Billy Donovan obviously passed with flying colors as a first-year coach and Russell Westbrook will still be around.
Remember that one of Durant’s wish is to win an NBA title and being paid properly as well. Right now, the Thunder do have a promising lineup and the Thunder need to simply show some minor tweaks as it continues its progress towards becoming a future NBA power in the Western Conference.