Predictions Let Loose By Kevin Lange Grief may not be present in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s front office just yet. It’ll gradually creep into noticeability like the Omen theme song. It’s a shame if they haven’t realized it yet, but the Thunder shot themselves in the foot, and they won’t feel the pain until the end of the 2015-16 season. Yes, when Kevin Durant becomes a free agent. Almost exactly a year ago, the Thunder traded 2011-12 Sixth Man of the Year James Harden to Houston for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, and two 2013 first round draft picks. At the time, it all seemed legitimate. Martin was a proven scorer, and the draft picks sounded reassuring as solid depth on a championship-contending roster. Houston can glance back at the past and chuckle. Martin wasn’t resigned by OKC after a season more inconsistent than dumpster divers’ lunches. As for last year’s playoff elimination, Durant’s dependency on rim-attacking, offense-facilitating point guard Russell Westbrook was highlighted. OKC’s Batman, Durant—playing for the first time in the league without his Robin, Westbrook—seemed to soar off the skyscraper of the regular season and keep flight through the first round of the playoffs, but when Westbrook plummeted with a torn meniscus, Durant’s production followed suit. What seemed perhaps just as apparent was the vacancy of another outside-scoring star—you guessed it: James Harden. Yup, the guy who put up 26 points per game on them the series prior, though lost. And so he had to watch his former team play the Grizzlies in the following round, unaware that his own team would soon be the more superior in a couple months with Dwight Howard in town. But with that possibility relevant for another day, the playoffs progressed. Durant was forced to single-handedly maneuver an offense in lack of backcourt substantiality, much like LeBron James had to in the 2007 Finals against the Spurs. Each a young small forward forced to lead a team by himself through a postseason, James was only 22, Durant this past spring 24. Each faltered in no more than five games. James was gradually brought more skill around him in the three following years, but when free agency crept up on him in the summer of 2010…we all know the story. Scarily ironic, Durant now, after his own postseason flunk, has three seasons to win the big one before he’s playing on team Summer Free Agency, weighing his options meticulously. Can he bring a title to the loyal basketball city of Oklahoma city? It’s not debatable to say any other team has a community that appreciates him and the team more, for this is the only pro sports team this city has to root for. These guys rasp their voices in chants all game, standing the entire time. (Literally, at every home game’s end, every seat of Chesapeake Energy Arena is as cold as it was before the game.) So rounding up reasons to leave, at least right now, sounds tougher than a Harvard class. “I love my teammates,” Durant said. “I love where I live. I love playing for this organization. So I’m just taking it a day at a time.” It was much the same for the king himself, James, who had the burden of having to flip a coin between staying in the home-sweet-home Cleveland community, a baseball toss from where he grew up, versus moving to a place that would provide the best chance to win titles. Why wouldn’t Durant follow? Follow the idea, not LeBron’s GPS instructions. (Don’t get excited, Miami.) Given that Durant’s demeanor is calmer than Dumbledore’s, nap or no nap, this time the idea of a top-tier player signing with a top-tier team doesn’t sound as dramatic as when LeBron did it. OKC, you can trust you won’t be humiliated with any ‘The Decision’ show or ‘Not five, not six, not seven’ ramble if it does happen in 2016. NBA analyst Jalen Rose recently shot an idea that threw everyone off guard. “You heard it here first,” a grinning Rose said on Grantland’s NBA Preview video. “There may be a chance when Kevin Durant becomes a free agent…when he plays out a couple of years on his contract, he’s going to Houston to play with Dwight Howard and James Harden.” Don’t disregard this as blasphemy. Keep in mind that Durant never wanted Harden gone. They’re still buds, they still play in summer leagues together, and the trade has yet to affect any of that. Durant has strong ties and immense support for the University of Texas, of which he played for and happens to be a short drive from Houston. To throw some frosting on, here’s another point to consider: he’s yet to play with any dominant or even real good offensive low-post presence, exactly what this team was missing when they were pounded by the Heat in the 2012 Finals. The following year, this past spring, we finally saw what this team really was without their point guard. In their four losses of the five-game series against Memphis, Durant went a combined three points on one-for-seven shooting and a horrendous -14 efficiency rating in late and close situations. What he was missing was some help. Someone to help relieve the pressure. Some Mr. Reliable you could throw it into and trust is going to draw attention, ultimately opening up the floor. As you know, Dwight Howard has joined a top-three rebounder in the league in Omer Asik in the front court for Houston. You get the drift; the trip to Houston is a viable option to hold as a foreshadow. What Jalen Rose predicted was pretty provocative, so the spotlight’s target must have some thoughts on it, no? “Nah, I’m here for the Thunder,” Durant said, laughing. “I mean, that’s all I can say. I’m not thinking far down the line at all.” And why should he? He’s got three seasons to make it happen, to win the big one. At the sunrise of the 2013-14 season, the horizon holding the future is nothing to gnaw your nails to the bone in anxiety for. The ‘if’s aren’t predicated, just up in the air. As I say this, everyone must know this: IF the Thunder come up short these next three years and the Rockets play up to their potential, which beats out the entire Western Conference, Jalen Rose may have hit this right on the money. If Durant’s heavyweight contract dollars have green, bruised faces by then, two things will be true: Rose prevailed, and we can’t say we didn’t see it coming.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Oct 2013 19:05:40 +0000