NBA Rumors: Kevin Durant will be in a no-win situation next summer

NBA Rumors: The Knicks and Lakers don’t give Kevin Durant the opportunity to regain the love of the NBA community while capturing the title of best player, which leaves him in a no-win situation next summer

There has been a fair amount of media speculation on the potential landing spots for Kevin Durant in free agency during next off-season.

Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes appeared on FS1’s Undisputed and stated that the New York Knicks would be in the running to acquire the services of Durant:

"” The New York Knicks have a very good shot at luring KD away from the Bay Area. The reason I say that is his business partner, Rich Kleiman, is based in New York. A huge New York Knicks fan. Their business is located and based in New York. KD’s dad is a big New York Knicks fan. The same allure that LeBron had toward the Los Angeles Lakers, just the building, the culture, the same thing, the same way, I know that KD feels about the Knicks.”"

The Knicks aren’t the only team connected to Kevin in free agency as Brandon Robinson of basketball society stated that he is planning to join the Lakers:

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"“Just like LeBron planned his move LA a year or more earlier, #KD is doing the same right now. They want to form the best duo in the NBA and set up KD to be the face of the Lakers post-#LeBron.”"

Although these two locations are appealing to most free agent, neither seem like the right landing spot for Durant. Kevin has shown signs that he doesn’t like the backlash created by the decision to sign with Golden State in the summer of 2016.

Durant has fallen into the habit of always trying to justify his decision to random fans. According to SI, Kevin replied to a twitter user by the name of ColeCashwell who wanted an explanation as to why he left OKC by stating the following:

"“he didn’t like the organization or playing for Billy Donovan. His roster wasn’t that good, it was just him and russ.” He followed up with another tweet that said “imagine taking russ off that team, see how bad they were. Kd can’t win a championship with those cats.”"

Therefore, he needs to sign with a team that gives him the opportunity to regain the love of the NBA community. Sadly, that is not with the Knicks because if Kevin Durant decides to pair up with Kristaps Porzingis in New York, there is a high likelihood that he will be the lone star on the court for a significant portion of the season. Kristaps has missed 60 regular season games in three NBA seasons due to various ailments.

Porzingis was sidelined for nine games over the last month and a half of his rookie year with a contusion on his left leg and a sore/strained right shoulder. Over these nine games, the Knicks compiled a record of 4-5 averaging 3.9 fewer points per 100 possessions and surrendering 1.5 more points per 100 possessions.

The following season, Kristaps missed 16 games with numerous injuries like a sore his left Achilles tendon and a sprained right ankle. The team went 4-12 averaging 0.2 more points per 100 possessions and surrendering 2.3 more points per 100 possessions.

This past season, Porzingis was unavailable for 34 games with multiple injuries including a torn ACL. The organization went 7-27 without him averaging 2.3 fewer points per 100 possessions and surrendering 4.9 more points per 100 possessions.

Therefore, it would be challenging for Durant to win the East without adding another star to the roster. Unfortunately, the other stars in the 2019 free agency class have injury issues of their own. Kyrie Irving has missed 117 out of a possible 558 regular season games throughout seven seasons in the NBA due to injuries.

During his tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kyrie was sidelined for 95 out of a possible 476 regular season games with various ailments (including a broken left index finger and hyperextended knee).

The trend continued with the Boston Celtics this past season as he missed 22 regular season games and the playoffs due to a myriad of injuries (facial fractures, left quad contusion, left shoulder and quad soreness as well as knee surgery).

Kyrie’s injury history is a big reason why the team lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers. According to NBA.com, the Celtics averaged 108.7 points per 100 possessions with Kyrie versus 101.9 points per 100 possessions without Kyrie.

Kyrie is not the only free agent star who has been plagued by injuries as Jimmy Butler has missed 78 regular season games over the span of seven NBA seasons due to injuries. In six seasons as a member of the Chicago Bulls organization, Jimmy missed 55 games due to various injuries like a strained left knee and sprained left elbow.

Butler’s injury absences would have a dramatic effect on how the team performed. Jimmy missed about three weeks of action (3/2/15 to 3/23/15) with a sprained left elbow. During this stretch, Chicago accumulated a record of 5-5 while averaging 99.1 points per game and surrendering 110.2 points.

The trend continued during the following season as Jimmy was sidelined for a month with a strained left knee. Chicago played 10 games over that span amassing a record of 3-7 while averaging 111.5 points while giving up 120.1.

Jimmy Butler played one more season for the Chicago Bulls before getting traded to Minnesota before the 2017-18 season. The change in medical staff didn’t improve his chances to stay on the court as he sat for 18 games with a torn meniscus in his right knee. Over that stretch, the Timberwolves went 9-9 averaging 108.3 points and surrendering 109.

As a consequence, NBA teams should abandon their pursuit of Jimmy Butler. This is because teams would have to give multiple assets to acquire a player who has a difficult time staying on the floor.

Consequently, it would open the door for fans and media members to discredit Kevin Durant’s accolades with the premise that he could not carry a subpar cast to the finals as LeBron did.

Not only will he need a team that gives him the opportunity to regain the love of the NBA community; but Kevin also needs an organization that provides him a chance to capture the title of best player.

Durant on numerous occasions has hinted that he would like to be recognized as the best player of his generation:

"“I feel like it’s easy to be the best player when you don’t have good players around you,”"

Therefore, if he signs with the Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin lowers his chances of becoming the best player. This is because they will share the credit for team success preventing him from closing the gap. As a result, the easiest way to achieve the objective is by leading a team to victory over LeBron.

The only team that can help Durant get back into the fans good graces while giving him the best opportunity to gain the status as the best player is Oklahoma City. Kevin played for the organization during the first 9 years of his career opening the door for him to have a reason to come back with the premise of unfinished business.

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Furthermore, he would be the primary option on the team because he is currently recognized as a better player than Russell Westbrook or Paul George. Therefore, it would raise the chances of him achieving the goal if he can lead the Thunder to a series victory over LeBron and a championship.

Unfortunately, Durant may have to wait a couple of seasons for this to happen because Thunder fans will have to realize that they cannot win a championship with Westbrook as the first option. If this happens, there should be a groundswell of support for him to return to OKC.

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