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Despite the torturous backlash Kevin Durant faced for an entire season after leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Golden State Warriors' two-time Finals MVP could potentially seek a LeBron James-like return as the prodigal son of OKC.
Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports explained that there has indeed been a good amount of healing between Russell Westbrook and Durant, having played in two All-Star Games since his departure and now even another Team USA stint during last week's Las Vegas minicamp — something that could set up his eventual return as a free agent.
“The relationship between Kevin Durant and Oklahoma City was never really torched,” said Mannix as a guest of Jeff Goodman's The Good N' Plenty podcast. “Oklahoma City always said the right things about him, and they always did right by him publicly. And the relationship between Durant and Russell Westbrook, while not being great by any stretch, is probably as good as it’s been since he left Oklahoma City. So all those things are gonna factor in and make me think Oklahoma City will at least be on his list of possibilities [in free agency] next summer.”
While the city might not have fully forgiven Durant for the way in which he left — time cures everything, but winning is the one drug that patches things up better than modern-day steroids.
The greater issue here is the obnoxious amount that the Thunder have committed to Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Steven Adams — making even a potential trade a rather difficult maneuver to pull off, giving the gigantic bill the Warriors would need to take on to make the move feasible.
Coming in as a free agent would certainly saturate an already insane $300-plus million payroll, likely forcing the team into salary purgatory for the next half decade if they choose to reel in Durant.
