Kevin Durant Needs to Win a Championship by Himself to Submit his Legacy
Free agency is looming. There are a lot of questions that need answers. The NBA offseason has become a season of it’s own. All the fans await numerous “Woj bombs” within the first few days from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. But a major question is…where will Kevin Durant go?
After what Kawhi Leonard did in the most recent NBA Playoffs, it is clear what Kevin Durant needs to do next. He needs to go to a new team and make it his own. No matter if you believe the Warriors need Durant or not, the narrative will forever be that Durant joined a 73 win Warriors that already won one championship, and nearly won a second one without him if it weren’t for Draymond Green getting suspended in game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals. While KD has been sensational for Golden State, it doesn’t get rid of the reputation that KD has given himself by joining an already accomplished team.
The thought around the NBA is that Kevin Durant is one of, if not the best player in the league. Many could argue that Kawhi Leonard might have taken that crown after leading this Toronto team to a championship. Toronto was a good team, but couldn’t get out of the second round before Kawhi joined the team. His performance in the playoffs have been nothing short of historic.
LeBron James submitted his legacy when he returned to Cleveland and won them a championship. Kyrie Irving was a good player, but the Cavaliers were still a terrible team with Kyrie before LeBron came back. LeBron took that team on a ride that is similar to what Kawhi Leonard did with the Raptors. Kevin Durant needs to do the same thing if he wants to be looked at in the same light as LeBron James.
Durant could still team up with a player in free agency if he wanted to. That would not affect his legacy, unless he joined another superstar. KD and Kyrie Irving could go to New York or Brooklyn together and it could be the same setup that LeBron and Kyrie had in Cleveland. KD could be the Batman to Kyrie’s Robin. Kyrie proved that he couldn’t be a Batman with Boston this year. He is just a step below.
The problem with joining the New York Knicks is that their ownership and front office has never proven to be a winner. A team can only use their history for so long as a reason to come and play for them. Also, while Madison Square Garden has a lot of history to it, it’s not a reason enough for a player to want to go to that team.
In this mobile era of the NBA that we live in, players are becoming more and more educated on their decisions. Not only are they looking for location and what players to go play with, they are looking at the front office, the owner, and the overall history of the team. Do they have a bad culture with players? Does the owner get too involved in basketball affairs? Is it a stable environment? There are too many teams in the NBA that are incompetent, and the Knicks have been a bit of a hot mess.
Durant would do best with the Brooklyn Nets or with the Los Angeles Clippers. Both teams have been building their teams the right way. They have a good young core, good coaches, and a competent front office. They may both be “little brothers” in their own cities, but does that really matter in the grand scheme of things? Look at LeBron, he went to the incompetent Los Angeles Lakers. They have been like a reality show during the last couple of months. Even getting Anthony Davis in a trade was a mess due to salary cap restrictions that the Lakers were clueless about. The Clippers don’t seem so bad now when you compare the situations. Same can be said with the Knicks and Nets.
No matter where Durant decides to go, he needs to make sure it’s his own team. Usually, this type of thing doesn’t matter, but Kevin Durant is a once in a lifetime type of talent. If he cares anything about what his legacy is or what he’s remembered for, he will lead his own team to a championship and prove every hater wrong who called him a “snake” for joining the Golden State Warriors.
All that being said, he could stay in Golden State and claim that they couldn’t beat Toronto without him. There’s no doubt that if he were healthy, they would have gone to 7 games and might’ve won this series. That’s not to take away from what Toronto did because they still beat a Golden State team with three all-stars, four all-stars when Klay Thompson was healthy. It just highlights how amazing Kevin Durant is.
Whatever Durant chooses to do, he will be heavily criticized. If he leaves, he will be questioned on why he would leave an amazing team and franchise. If he stays, he will be criticized on never being able to lead his own team to a championship. Either way, he can’t win. But that’s the life of a superstar athlete in the spotlight of the press and social media. It will always be like that from now on.
Despite Durant being out for a year, it shouldn’t change his mind on where he will go. The Warriors are put in a tough situation if they sign KD and Klay to extensions, given that both will be out most of next season. KD leaving could be great for his brand and it could help shake things up in the NBA. Spreading the talent out to more teams is always great because it helps make things a little more competitive, which is a win for the fans.
After all, despite this achilles injury, Kevin Durant will still be an elite player in the NBA when he gets back, and hopefully he can lead another team to a title and get the respect and adoration that he deserves.
