This is how one decision changed the course of two franchises.
If the OKC Thunder had never blown a 3-1 lead to the Golden State Warriors — Durant was likely to never sign a deal with the team and the NBA could’ve of been drastically different today.
The same can be said once again for Durant, because if he had not torn his Achilles in Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors — KD had already had his sights on signing with the New York Knicks.
Jalen Rose of ESPN explained on Friday how the leverage he had over Kyrie Irving joining him on the Knicks was done after his injury.
“KD went from being the lead domino and trying to persuade Kyrie Irving which team they should play for to getting injured and having to miss an entire year to Kyrie Irving persuading him what they should play for,” Rose said. “You clearly see who won out because one guy is going to be playing this year, another guy has to come back from injury. You need somebody to hold it down while you’re not out there, they’re the best of friends, so it makes sense for them to pair up. That’s what ended up making it be for the Nets instead of the Knicks.”
That is just another shot in the gut to the Knicks fans.
