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The city of Oklahoma City and the Thunder franchise have been mourning since the news broke that Kevin Durant will not return to the team next season, instead choosing to sign with the two-time Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors.
A variety of factors reportedly led to Durant's decision, including some rising tension with fellow star, Russell Westbrook. Still, his connection to the organization and the city was not easy to walk away from. Durant said the weeks leading up to this announcement were “by far the most challenging” of his career.
In fact, exactly a year ago, Durant had absolutely no intention to leave, at least according to what he told new head coach, Billy Donovan.
A recent piece by ESPN's Royce Young included a pair of texts KD sent to Donovan right after he was hired:
“It's our year next year!” he said.
He sent another.
“Then Ima sign back and build a sick ass house and keep stacking chips!! That's [the] goal.”
Over the course of the last 365 days or so, Durant's sentiments clearly took a turn.
It wasn't long ago that Durant repeatedly said “I'm no frontrunner” in a feature for Sports Illustrated. By joining the team that just set an NBA record with 73 wins last season, that seems to be exactly what he's doing, even if that's not the context he sees his decision in.
At the end of the day, the proposition of forming a dynasty alongside some of the game's best, most unselfish stars was just too good for KD to turn down.
[button width=”full” button size=”bigger” color=”custom” align=”center” textcolor=”#ffffff” texthcolor=”#ffffff” bgcolor=”#8b0000″ link=”https://clutchpoints.com/durants-frustration-westbrook-led-leaving/”]NEXT: Durant’s frustration with Westbrook led to him leaving[/button]
