What if Kevin Durant never left the Golden State Warriors in 2019?
Former Golden State Warriors teammates Kevin Durant and Draymond Green's interview stopped the basketball world for about 25 minutes on Wednesday after it was dropped on YouTube by Bleacher Report. The two discussed their time together with the Warriors, their argument in the Staples Center in 2018 and why Durant chose to leave the franchise in 2019 for the Brooklyn Nets.
But what if things had happened differently? What if Durant had been happier in California? Would he have re-signed with the Golden State Warriors and how would that have affected the futures of Kyrie Irving, James Harden and D'Angelo Russell?
Could the Golden State Warriors have kept Kevin Durant in 2019?
Even before Kevin Durant arrived in Oakland from Oklahoma, the Golden State Warriors were a great team. They had been in back-to-back Finals against the Cavs, prevailing in 2015 and losing in Game 7 in 2016.
With Kevin Durant alongside Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and 2015 Finals MVP Andre Iguodala, however, the Golden State Warriors were a different beast, going 125-39 over the next two regular-season campaigns. What was different, though, was their playoff run, losing just six times on their way to back-to-back titles, sweeping the Cavs in 2018 after beating them 4-1 the previous year.
However, the cracks in the Golden State Warriors' armor began to show after Kevin Durant and Draymond Green had a heated argument courtside in a loss to the LA Clippers in November 2018. During the season, despite playing 78 games, Durant would often be seen drifting away from the team's huddle during timeouts, and avoided speaking to the media.
The rumors regarding what he would do with his upcoming player option heightened when Ethan Strauss of The Athletic reported that insiders believed he would leave at the end of the season to join the Knicks. While he wasn't wrong that Durant planned on leaving, it was instead to join the Brooklyn Nets with Kyrie Irving, something the two players had decided to do in the summer of 2018.
The excessive speculation and awkwardness felt among members of the Golden State Warriors organization, the players and the media was not Kevin Durant's fault, though. It's always going to happen when a superstar has a player option in his contract, and hasn't made it clear he wants to stay.
But could the Golden State Warriors have done more? What could they have achieved if Durant had re-signed? Both he and Draymond Green agreed in their interview that they would have completed the three-peat. 'Easily', as Durant put it, if injuries had not held them back against the Toronto Raptors.
The Golden State Warriors created one of the greatest dynasties in league history and arguably could have challenged the Chicago Bulls' tally of six titles in eight years had Durant stayed. However, they still would have had a year without Durant, Klay Thompson and Steph Curry, who were all sidelined in the 2019-20 season.
If Durant had stayed and combined with Curry last season, there is no doubt the Golden State Warriors would have made it to the playoffs, and from there who knows how far they could have gone. Durant had an unbelievable postseason with the Nets this year, and was a toe's length away from sending the Milwaukee Bucks home in game seven. Meanwhile, Curry topped the scoring charts, averaging 32 points per game in a career-high campaign.
With his shooting prowess, along with Curry's and the return of Klay Thompson this year, the Golden State Warriors would be favorites again. It is tough to know currently who could challenge them. The LA Lakers, for sure, and the Milwaukee Bucks, but where might James Harden and Kyrie Irving have ended up at had Durant not left the Warriors? Could they have formed their own superteam elsewhere, or would they have been apart?
If Kevin Durant had stayed with the Golden State Warriors, what ripple effect would that have had on the NBA?
While the writing appeared to be on the wall that Kevin Durant's time with the Golden State Warriors was coming to an end, it was even clearer with Kyrie Irving's future in Boston. Although he had made a verbal commitment to re-sign with the franchise, he wanted to move closer to his family in New Jersey, which resulted in him teaming up with Kevin Durant.
But if Durant wasn't ready to leave the Warriors, perhaps Irving would have stayed or persuaded another star to come and join him in Brooklyn. Or maybe he would have become the face of the New York Knicks. Given how well they performed this year under Tom Thibodeau and with Irving in the side, they certainly would have become a force to be reckoned with in the East.
It also begs the question of where James Harden may have ended up at. He may well have joined Irving. But perhaps the Miami Heat could have clinched a deal for him, which they came so close to doing in January when Harden was linked with a move away from Houston. With Harden, Butler and Adebayo combining, another run to the NBA finals would not have been out of the question.
When Irving joined the Brooklyn Nets, it prompted the Golden State Warriors to acquire D'Angelo Russell on a huge 4-year, $117-million contract, as he became out of favor. Russell's time with the Dubs didn't last long, though, and he was soon sent to play for the Minnesota Timberwolves in a trade for Andrew Wiggins and a first-round pick.
Therefore, Kevin Durant's departure from the Golden State Warriors had a profound effect on the NBA. The Brooklyn Nets have emerged as one of the league's best teams, while the Warriors await the return of Klay Thompson to be competitive again.
James Harden got the move he wanted, and Kyrie Irving is now closer to his family. Although there is still a lot of basketball to be played this season, a battle between the Nets and the Warriors in the NBA Finals would be absolutely thrilling to watch.