I have Kevin Durant free agency tired head. Already. And the coming blizzard of articles and analysis on the subject will make the currently moderate snowstorm look rather tame. So far, it’s been the least fun rhetorical snowball fight ever between Thunder fans and much of the NBA Twitterati regarding the varying implications of the second best player of this generation’s free agency. Well, kids, the snowball fight is about to get turnt up to a Hoth-esque 11 on the scale of suck. I wish I had better news.
Between now and then, we’ll attempt to do that thing we seem to always do in the current advanced stats-driven jerk-off world of think-piecing when it comes to analyzing situations for which we as interested parties have zero influence or control. We will write about and endlessly consume this subject in an attempt to comfort ourselves with “reason(s),” with some of us believing that doing so might somehow affect the outcome.
1. Kevin Durant can’t sign an extension until after the 2015-16 season
This would appear to be a nuance-free, indisputable statement of fact. But alas, my intelligent readers, you will hear dummies (think your average Sports Animal caller) openly pontificate on why KD “just doesn’t tell us” what he’s going to do. Kevin Durant will never have more leverage over an NBA organization than he has right now. He has his hand on the button, both detonator keys, and all the damn codes. While there’s no real evidence that he plans to use his power for evil instead of good, leverage is always a nice thing to have professionally, no matter the profession. Durant already seems to have the ear of Thunder management and ownership, and ceding such significant power before you absolutely must makes no sense. Furthermore, who knows what may happen in the next 12 months? What if there are catastrophic injuries to key players or Sonic decides to ditch slushes? The guy can’t sign a new deal until after the season anyway, so why commit until you know as accurately as possible what you’re committing to?
2. The obsessive culture centering on player contracts is a form of religious fundamentalism and is ruining the game for you
People who obsess over death and the afterlife are, by definition, people with “certainty” issues. They need to know now about what happens later even if that means now has to suck while they figure it out. And I hate watching Thunder games with these people. Because in the middle of a Mozart-like Russell Westbrook fast break, they’d rather drone on and on about whether or not KD and Russ are going to re-sign a long time from now instead of enjoying the Point Break-level brilliance before their very (stupid) eyes. This increasingly pervasive mindset amongst the Thunder fan base colors every moment they have with this team and will unnecessarily rob them of the joy of watching a great team play great basketball. Stop torturing yourself! Live in the now!
3. The Okie inferiority complex clouds the issue
I can’t tell you how many people I’ve spoken to around town who believe Kevin Durant (and to varying degrees Russell Westbrook) will undoubtedly leave — even if they can’t explain why. Sometimes it’s, “Well, why wouldn’t he want to go to L.A. or New York?” Or a bigger city. Or a cooler city. Or a city with a bigger nightlife scene. Or a place with more to do. These are less like actual reasons and more like nagging insecurities about the town we live in as it relates to the wider world. We’ve taken our broadly unfulfilled wanderlust and projected it on these guys while ignoring the fact that ultra-rich athletes in the 21st century live in a world with nearly limitless travel and entertainment options. The procurement and enjoyment of which is generally tied to having a healthy situation at their jobs, wherever they may be. The famous, elite, well-paid athlete can be that person anywhere. In Oklahoma City, they get to do so under a far less powerful microscope.
In all likelihood, there won’t be a better team he could join with both the talent to compete for a title and the necessary cap space to sign him. And Durant seems to pretty consistently go out of his way to praise the city, the organization and even to pontificate about the pride he feels in wearing the jersey and the subsequent desire to have said jersey hanging in the rafters one day. While Durant may still leave, he’s gone as out of the way as he can to comfort your lame ass going into next season. How about we all agree that there’s a slightly better than average chance — based on the facts and his statements — that he stays in Oklahoma City? The Thunder organization, the roster, the relatively light media scrutiny and the ability to still get a flood of endorsements (KD and Russ are everywhere) despite being in the little-engine-that-could town of Oklahoma City makes re-signing a highly attractive proposition.
Having said that …
4. “Just because you’re paranoid, don’t mean they’re not after you”
Much of the reason that number 3 is a thing is because of the generally dim view that much of the national NBA media has about Oklahoma City, its lack of “coolness” or even “worthiness” as an NBA town. And while some of this is very real, Thunder fans and Oklahoma City residents in general need to grow a thicker skin. Yes, the implication is that a place like Oklahoma City has to do/prove more to its stars to make up for its comparative coolness/ocean-accessibility deficit. And yes, if the same roster and organization were in Chicago or L.A. or Miami, it’s hard to imagine you’d be hearing such a doomsday-tinged narrative as it relates to the Thunder.
But it’s important to remember that much of the core logic hinges on speculation about what a title guarantees or what the financial balance of power will actually mean in the league’s fast-changing economic climate. You’ve undoubtedly heard and will hear that if the Thunder don’t win it all next season, he’s gone, as if the Thunder not winning a title would be on everyone else — the organization, the roster, the city — but somehow not Durant. Or that somehow a title automatically equals re-signing, despite the fact that LeBron just left Miami after winning a title. This has also fueled the argument that if the Thunder do win, KD is more likely to go because he can fly the “Mission Accomplished” banner over the ‘Peake and jet home to D.C.
You’ve heard and will hear that KD may want a “bigger market,” which generally is either coded language for a “better” city in which to play or has specific financial implications (the Thunder didn’t keep Harden — shoot me in the head — because they don’t have the extra money that bigger markets have at their disposal to pay over the cap). Never mind that most of the “bigger markets” aren’t exactly lighting the NBA on fire in recent years (Knicks, Lakers, Nets, anyone?) and that the huge influx of cash through the new national TV contract weakens much of that line of reasoning. But you’ll hear new and nuanced versions of these well-worn arguments in a variety of formats repeated over and over again in the coming year. At the end of the day, arguments don’t equal outcomes, and most of this is sports nerdery via rhetorical masturbation meant to make one side or the other feel good in the momentary afterglow. The effect doesn’t tend to last long and it’s less and less relevant as time goes on.
5. Kevin Durant cannot and should not bear the burden of our entitlement and insecurity
The most unfortunate sin of much of the Thunder fan base is that we’re making this all about us. KD’s decision will either validate the rising tide of momentum and enthusiasm/general good feeling of Oklahoma City in the post-bombing era or will lay bare every nagging insecurity we’ve ever had about this place and our association with it. We’re doing what we’re most adept at as humans: making something so personal for someone else all about us. It’s a burden far too heavy for one man — even one as great as Kevin Durant — to have to bear, and it’s a burden borne out of a sense of entitlement. You and I do not deserve a particular outcome. The idea that in a world full of poverty, slavery, terrorism, and systemic discrimination that we deserve any kind of sports-related outcome is ludicrous.
For many of us, Kevin Durant is the face of the dream we have for Oklahoma City. Yet we must remember that a face alone does not define a soul or its ultimate fate. We as a city and a fan base will move forward either way. Though, like you, I’d prefer the version of the dream that includes the most dangerous scorer in the world, and a hero we can truly call ours. For as long as fate lets us have him.
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Photo by Keith Allison is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Based on a work at https://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison/.
