Kevin Durant's season may be over in Oklahoma City. Could his Thunder career see the same fate?
CBSSports.com is reporting that the Thunder have shut down the reigning MVP's basketball activity after a setback from his foot surgery. Because of that, general manager Sam Presti speculated that we may have seen the last of Durant in 2014-15.
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"The screw that was inserted during the procedure was irritating a bone and had to be replaced. It would be a few more weeks before the Thunder would be back to their old tricks (if Durant were to return).
"Then came the news that Serge Ibaka would miss 4-6 weeks after having knee surgery, and Friday, the announcement from GM Sam Presti that Durant was being removed from all basketball activities, is out indefinitely and likely is done for the season."
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Durant's contract runs with the Thunder through the 2015-16 season, so the team doesn't have to worry about losing half of the most dynamic duo (along with current MVP candidate Russell Westbrook) until after next season.
Unless. ...
The Thunder already are guilty of putting the future ahead of the present once when they traded James Harden to the Houston Rockets when he had a year left on his Thunder contract. The Thunder had just gone to the 2012 NBA finals, but have not returned since Harden's departure.
Speculation is rampant that Durant will test the free-agent market in 2016, with his hometown Washington Wizards figuring prominently in the rationale behind his possible exploration.
Would the Thunder, believing Durant could leave in 2016, pull the trigger once again and try to get compensation for him this summer?
Last week, Presti dismissed the notion.
"It's ludicrous to assert that we would trade Kevin," Presti told The Oklahoman. "There's no way to measure what he represents to our organization on and off the floor. He has helped build this organization from the ground up and personifies the Thunder: past, present and future. When he's done playing there will be streets named after him throughout the state and younger generations of Oklahomans will learn about the role Kevin has played in elevating this community in ways beyond basketball."
That was before the news that Durant may be done. Perhaps, Presti has learned from his past mistakes, but he did get rid of Harden prematurely when everyone around him thought he was breaking up a championship team.
If a frustrated Durant says he wants out of OKC, can Presti guarantee that he still wouldn't trade Durant?
And it's not as if Durant has made any guarantees about staying put.
"I just don't know who's gonna be competitive, who's not gonna be, you know?" Durant said, according to the New York Post. "That's why I can't really think too far in my mind. Because you don't know who's going to be where. You know what I'm saying? It's something you can't control."
Not exactly a pledge of faithfulness to the Thunder.
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