The Thunder
know Kevin Durant is irreplaceable, but they also know life goes on in the NBA.
Speculation
surrounding Durant's future was put to an end Monday with the 2014 MVP opting
to join the Warriors, who defeated Durant and the Thunder en route to the NBA
Finals, where they up came one win short of repeating as NBA champions. And
though his departure hurts a lot — videos
of Thunder fans burning Durant's jerseys populated social media Monday
— general manager Sam Presti called for calm.
"Kevin
has earned the right to make a decision that's best for him," Presti told
reporters in a news conference Monday afternoon. "We have to be truly
grateful for what he represented for the Thunder and also for the city and the
community. He gave back with his time, he gave back with his dollars,
and we need to recognize that. We need to honor that."
Durant, 27,
played nine seasons for the Thunder franchise and eight in Oklahoma City
following the relocation of the Seattle SuperSonics. He made 641
appearances for the franchise, scoring 17,566 points (27.4 per game) after
being taken with the second pick in the 2007 draft. He guided the Thunder to
the 2012 NBA Finals, won the NBA scoring championship four times and
earned seven All-Star selections.
And while life
also goes on without Serge Ibaka, who was traded to the Magic on draft
night, Thunder coach Billy Donovan and Co. look ahead to a future with Victor
Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and rookie Domantas Sabonis.
"I would
say that Billy — and this is one of the reasons why I think Billy is so
good — Billy is able to work with and create options on the floor based on
who he has to work with. He's really, really masterful at that," Presti
said. "If I know him, which I do, he's probably already thinking and
has already thought about style of play, things that we have to do differently.
As I said before, you don't replace Kevin Durant. He had the ball in his hands
half the quarter probably. And that's going to have to be an adjustment.
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