The Transition from KD to Gree-D

There are so many directions I could have gone when Kevin Durant found his way to Oklahoma City eight years ago. I was already a fan of the Mavericks and the Thunder were a local version of the Supersonics that had moved from Seattle. I had a passing interest in the New Orleans Hornets when they rented out Oklahoma City’s arena for a season, and I certainly believed it would be a good thing for my son to have an opportunity to grow up with a local professional team around to root for.

The reason I say there are different directions I could have gone with KD had to do with a variety of issues. KD chose to play for UT, by and large my least favorite team in any sport. That alone would have been enough to not root for him. But KD seemed to be a nice guy and through the years, he continued to portray himself as a genuinely good person whose virtues included loyalty and trustworthiness. He said all the right things. He was charitable. He stayed out of trouble. What really resonated with me personally was when one of the weekly services at LifeChurch centered around KD and it came to light that he attended the same church that I did.

As we have been finding out since he turned his back on his fans and his professional family, KD is not all that he had positioned himself to be. He wasn’t loyal and he wasn’t trustworthy. He made a business decision, but he didn’t make what an intelligent person would label as the best basketball decision. The best basketball decision would be to stay on the team that had Russell Westbrook, Victor Oladipo, Steven Adams and Enes Kanter. Maybe Dion Waiters too. Sure, choosing to join a team that had two-time reining MVP Steph Curry, sharpshooter Klay Thompson, All-Star Draymond Green and 2015 Finals MVP Andre Iguodala is a promising lineup. But they didn’t need KD to win a title. Any championships they win with KD are rings they would have just as likely won without him. They wanted KD so they could validate losing this past season. Because this year’s team won the most regular-season games and still couldn’t get it done. Then, they brought in the ultimate “can’t get it done” player in the NBA.

Did KD do anything wrong by leaving OKC to sign with Golden State? No. The NBA rules allow for it. They also allowed OKC to offer more money because, frankly, it is better for the NBA’s marketing efforts for players to be linked to the same team rather than be a journeyman player chasing titles. Ask Kobe Bryant. But, what KD also did was alienate himself as a player and as a person. Not just in OKC but to the world. To every small market in every corner of the league. Do you think a hard-working blue-collar worker in Minneapolis is feeling good about Karl-Anthony Townes sticking around to bring his team a title when that next contract is up? Teams like OKC won’t ever have a chance when teams in Texas, California, Illinois, Florida and New York are always going to get the best players.

And let there be no doubt, there is nothing wrong with people in OKC being upset about KD’s decision. We had a relationship with KD and when we asked for a lifetime commitment, he walked away. There is a reason this felt like a girlfriend sleeping with our best friend. But this was even more – this was asking a girl to marry us and then having her sleep with our five worst friends and then running off to marry our most hated enemy. That would be unforgivable socially but completely legal, which is just the same for KD. He is allowed to make his choices but he also has to face the consequences of those decisions.

So, how should I feel about KD? Well, at this point he is just one more player I am going to be rooting against on the “Dream Team” that has been compiled at Golden State. But, because of the way he left OKC, it will be more than that. He left us in a way that made him irreplaceable. At least this season. We built a team around him and he bolted to play for a team we could have defeated this season had KD played up to his potential. So, do I respect KD? No. Do I think he is still a good person? Maybe. But his own former church pastor has always said, “Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.” Based on what has happened this week, I can only assume KD has some very shady friends and a future that won’t involve the words “legacy” and “class.” Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Gree-D or Sha-D or whatever new nickname you will have from here on out.