The main reason Durant won't stay with OKC this summer

[CelticSooner]

I wonder if Durant bolts if OKC is willing to cut their losses and send Westbrook out to LA a year early for Russell, Randle, and picks.

I think they'd be wise to deal Westbrook for the best offer they could get.

[trickybilly]

Everyone is saying LA, but I'd like to see Russell go to a team that is truly his, like Chicago in a swap for Jimmy.

[Endless Paradise]

My biggest gripe is that everyone is saying it's a "lock" Westbrook leaves for LA next summer. Didn't everyone say that about Kevin Love? Wasn't Durant himself supposedly going to Washington and now they can't even get a meeting? If you believe everything you read, the Lakers would have every major free agent of the last 4 years and made every major trade. No one knows what these players are thinking this far out  and Westbrook doesn't seem like the type of guy that would willingly puthimself in a losing situation.

When was Love supposed to go to LA? The trade for Cleveland ultimately made that scenario less than likely.

Tons of respected media personalities reported that last year, including Zach Lowe. Love even had to address the rumors during the season:

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/237930/Insiders-Expect-Kevin-Love-To-Leave-Cavaliers-In-Free-Agency
http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2015/2/8/8002619/kevin-love-free-agency-cavaliers-lakers-2015

Westbrook's publicly gone on record as saying he'd rather win on a good team than lead a bad team (when he was discussing Reggie Jackson forcing himself out), so I don't buy this "he's more interested in glitz and glamour" argument. I mean, he's still got his Barney's line and fashion interests despite playing in OKC. It's 2016, it's pretty much impossible to be locked out of that stuff if you're truly invested in it.  Not to mention, the dude's dislike for the media is well-documented. "Westbrook just seems like an LA guy" isn't a compelling argument to me. The dude's hyper competitive and hates losing. If you're going to sell me on the Lakers putting together a good team to attract him, then sure, but if I'm expected to buy that Westbrook's going to leave for the Lakers just because it's Los Angeles, we're just not ever going to agree.

I don't see any way Durant leaves this off-season. It just makes very little sense to me. After only one year of Donovan, who showed impressive growth as a coach in the playoffs? After seeing his younger teammates make some really huge strides in the postseason, most notably Steven Adams? After playing a key role in choking away a 3-1 lead in the conference finals? His team is right there. Durant's not going anywhere this summer. Next summer, maybe. He's using this summer to scout other teams in the event that he decides to leave in the future. He gets the most money, gives the Donovan-led Thunder one more shot, and aligns his free agency with Westbrook's.

Durant will recommit with the Thunder come July 9th. That's where my money is.

[Endless Paradise]

I was out all day yesterday, so I waited to get back home to compose my thoughts.

Needless to say, you were 100% right and I was completely wrong, jpotter. I just didn't see Durant doing this and most certainly not to leave for the Warriors. This decision runs counter to everything - literally everything - he's said or done since entering the league, so I thought I had a good enough read on the guy to outright dismiss this.

I'm still shocked - this is a guy who, just a few months ago, proudly proclaimed how the Thunder "ain't no frontrunners" who goes off and does arguably the most frontrunning thing in the history of professional sports. I just didn't think there was any way he'd be satisfied with how he ended this season - with statistically his worst offensive playoff campaign since his first year making the postseason, culminating in giving up a 3-1 lead over his eventual new team, including a horrific Game 6 performance.

This is definitely causing me to re-evaluate quite a few things about a guy who, before yesterday, was my favorite player in the league. I'm disappointed in him, more so anything. I'm not angry at him for leaving - he has that right. But it's such a clown move to leave for a 73-win team that just beat his in the playoffs after he played a key role in choking away a 3-1 lead against them. I just thought the guy had more pride and competition in him.

We really don't know these guys as well as we might think we do. Oh, well.

[PhoSita]

I really thought Durant would stay in OKC.  Clearly jpotter had the right idea here.

Ultimately, I think the opportunity to form a superteam and make history was too good to pass up.

Based on Zach Lowe's article, it sounds like Durant wasn't that interested in any team apart from the Warriors.  He considered his options, but I think it came down to stay in OKC for another year, probably for good, or go to the Warriors and form the kind of team the league has rarely, if ever, seen.  Durant chose the Warriors, for good or for ill.

[SHAQATTACK]

I wonder if Durant bolts if OKC is willing to cut their losses and send Westbrook out to LA a year early for Russell, Randle, and picks.

I think they'd be wise to deal Westbrook for the best offer they could get.

They really have no choice .  He is worth a lot of assets to some teams ......he is typical Heat , Clippers , Lakers player. 

If OKC can get Russel  or Ingram and some draft picks ......they should ASAP

Westbrooke belongs on the Lakers.

It also keeps CP3 off the lakers .

[knuckleballer]

Think back to when you were kids and you would play basketball or any other team sport at recess or with neighborhood friends.  Even as kids you knew to balance the two teams.  The two best players were named and they would take turns picking their teammates.  If one team kept beating the other, as kids you would know to try make a change to balance it out better to make it more competitive.

In this case, the best player of the losing team declares he is switching places with the worst player from the winning team.  And he tells his former teammates, "this is what's best for me.  I'm a winner now.  Yay me."  The fact is, this wouldn't happen because even kids would know it was lame and would lose respect for the guy as a competitor.  And that kid wouldn't even try to do that because he would have at least some competitive fire in him.

This decision by Durant is the most anti-competitive and lamest thing ever done by a pro athlete.

[Moranis]

You can't just assume that Westbrook will leave just because Durant left.  They may or may not be related.  I wouldn't be surprised if Westbrook thrives in OKC without Durant and that team is better than people think it is going to be (assuming they don't trade him of course). 

[jambr380]

TPs to EP and knuckle for describing my sentiments exactly and to jpotter for being spot on with his analysis.

People who think this all sour grapes from Cs fans don't know what they are talking about. Of course we would have love to have him, but knew that it was a long shot at best. The fact that such a prolific athlete in his prime made such a cowardly move just goes against all I know competitive sports to be.

This isn't hating somebody because they are good and have a questionable personality (Lebron, Kobe), this is being extremely disappointed in a player that we all thought was better than this. Paul Pierce's tweet pretty much said it all...