Did OKC make a mistake not trading Durant at the 2015-2016 trade deadline?

[Tr1boy]

Absolutely not.

OKC certainly believed they had a very strong chance of resigning him, they were a small market team contending in the West, & they wouldn't have had nearly as much leverage in the trade market with Durant who was an impending FA as they would've liked.

OKC was an epic choke job away from going to the NBA Finals.

No they didnt. He didnt provide genuine assurance he wanted to stay

Unless they believed "false"

If OKC didn't think they could resign him, they would've moved him last summer or at the trading deadline.   That's just about certain.

According to your logic, OKC met with him over 4th of July weekend not thinking they would be able to resign him?  Ummmm.... okay.   

Then why the heck did they even meet with him according to this logic?

Well what about Durants one foot out the door "play".  That he is looking fwd to the FA process. He loves the city of Boston etc.

Quite the assurance he is committed to stay in OKC. Vs look at how Derozan behaved/said about Toronto/Raptors

[Endless Paradise]

You have to trade anybody at anytime if you thought about trading KD at that time. How many players leave after being so close like LBJ and KD? To me, these teams did about as much as one can to get them to the chip but they still left, it's hard to get there. If Danny/organization gets us to the top, we lose and the star still leaves I can't blame them because what more could they have done? Cavs and OKC were in bad luck moments that any team would have lost in.

Having a chance to win a title... Ok.  But what was exactly okc chance last season , after missing durant for a good chunk of the year?

What? What are you talking about? What are you even trying to say? Who cares about the 2014-15 season?

[Irish Stew]

This is the ultimate Monday morning quarterbacking for those who think that a trade at the deadline was the way to go. They easily could have been NBA finalists.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

You have to trade anybody at anytime if you thought about trading KD at that time. How many players leave after being so close like LBJ and KD? To me, these teams did about as much as one can to get them to the chip but they still left, it's hard to get there. If Danny/organization gets us to the top, we lose and the star still leaves I can't blame them because what more could they have done? Cavs and OKC were in bad luck moments that any team would have lost in.

Having a chance to win a title... Ok.  But what was exactly okc chance last season , after missing durant for a good chunk of the year?

And now what?

Okc is not a place where FA are dying to play for. Imo worst than Boston.  Unless they can steal a trade or two, they will end up being an average team for the long term

From what I have seen , IMO teams shouldnt risk losing their top asset  for nothing, unless assurance is provided that the player wants to stay long term

What did OKC do with a healthy KD before? Healthy last season and they go deep again. It's not easy getting to the WCF much less the nba finals. They consistently go deep with KD, other than winning it all that was one of the greatest situations in bball. He went to only one team with space that was PROVEN to be better (okc beat the spurs but on paper Spurs with KD could probably get to the finals). It's not as simple as you make it, they have been so close multiple times when KD and Russ were healthy, you just don't trade stars in those moments, stars are traded when the team constantly sucks and don't get past the first round or 2. It's fun to say it now but I don't see how you justify trading your star from a team that wins like OKC (healthy players), unless he is telling you he is leaving! It's rare for players to leave in that situation and the exploding cap just made it easier.

KD level players come around once in a blue moon and as you said no one wants to go to OKC, you don't trade him unless he tells you he is leaving, you have to take that risk every day and twice on Sundays.

[Ilikesports17]

No. They went up 3-1 on the Warriors. They could have won a ring this year. Id also imagine they expected KD to be back.

[timpiker]

If I'm not 75% sure I can re-sign him, I'd trade Jesus.

[SparzWizard]

Nah. OKC was in "win-now" mode with KD35, Westbrook, Ibaka while they were making that playoff run. They were up 3-1 in the WCF.

[Eja117]

Thoughts

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

Look at how kings don't want to trade Cousins, when you get stars you don't trade them unless you have no choice, especially when it's a market hard pressed to draw top FA talent! People cry every day about how we don't have top talent (even after Horford, only less), no way anyone would trade KD if we had a situation like OKC. If it was like Melo and Dwight then it would be a different story but it was nothing like that. He even gave OKC 2 chances at a pitch to keep him, one before other teams and then last.

[kraidstar]

No.  Wouldn't have gotten a ton for him given his impending free agency and likely would have cost them Westbrook (who they then would have had to trade and wouldn't have gotten a ton for him).

RW signed an extension. I doubt he would have left either way

If OKC would have traded Durant at the trade deadline, I think it would have angered Westbrook to the point he wouldn't have stayed.

I tend to agree, especially considering they'd already dumped Ibaka. That would have really sent the wrong message.

Now at least they can say they tried their best but were wronged by Durant, giving Westbrook the chance to be the hero - and we know how much he loves hero-ball.

[greece66]

Unless one believes Front Offices have foreknowledge of future events, No.

OKC changed their coach and had a deep run in the playoffs and we would not be asking such questions had they made it to the Finals.

Another thing ppl often disregard in these discussions is how difficult it is to get equal value in these trades:

Could OKC get another top-5 in return for Durant? Certainly not.

Maybe they could get a top-20 player, but one can only guess who it could be and how the trade could happen. (Can you imagine Indiana giving up PG for Durant? Me neither.)

Most likely, they would get a quantity for quality deal: a combo of good but not great players and draft picks (Think Garnett to the Celtics, Love to CLE, Garnett and Pierce to Brooklyn, Rondo to DAL).

The first problem is the reaction of the fans, which in OKC might be a bigger problem than in Boston.

Second and more important, in the summer of 2015 the FO of OKC was justified in thinking they had a top-5 team which was still able to contend, which is the key difference from the situation in all the aforementioned trades. Unlike Minny when they gave up Love, OKC knew they had a good team.

Most teams, when they have a contender try to keep their roster together for as long as they can because re-building is difficult: to be fair to OKC, this is what Boston tried to do (and failed) with Allen.

[SHAQATTACK]

Sure looks that way

[KG Living Legend]

 Yes. Obviously. 100%. I would have put Durant on a lie detector test, and said "I want the truth!" And he would have been like, you can't handle the truth!

[Surferdad]

They choked in Western Finals so no because getting that far you take that chance. And had they won the WCF KD probably stays in OKC.

Plus they were up 3-1.  Thread should have ended there.

[Cman]

In retrospect, yes.
But at the time, no. I think they made the right decision. They were a very, very good team last year. Could have won a championship if things had gone a bit different.