There were many surprising moves this summer in the NBA. However, none more so than two.
Kevin Durant shocked a lot of people, especially in Oklahoma City, when he decided to leave for the Golden State Warriors, who beat the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.
Dwyane Wade may have surprised even more with his decision to bolt from the franchise that drafted him, the Miami Heat, and return to the city he's from and play for the Chicago Bulls.
Both moves sent unforeseen shockwaves around the league, both are instances in which a player is leaving a team he's been with for his entire career, and both involve a player going to play for a conference rival.
So which is more surprising? Let's look at both a little more closely.
There was definitely a time when either seemed extremely unlikely but Durant's departure began to gain steam long before Wade's did.
There's always been a belief that if the Thunder failed to win a championship by the time Durant's contract was over that he would look elsewhere. Durant never played into this thought. He routinely evaded questions about his free agency, always talked about how much he loved OKC and what a great fit it was for him personally, and generally said the right things.
Upon closer inspection and especially in hindsight, the writing may have been on the wall with Durant a long time ago.
The former Most Valuable Player developed close relationships with many Warriors players. He bonded with Steph Curry and Andre Iguodala playing for Team USA in the 2010 World Championships and grew close with Draymond Green over the past few years as well.
It's come out that Durant maybe didn't love his on-court relationship with Russell Westbrook so much and that Westbrook maybe wasn't so thrilled with Durant's friendliness towards Warriors players in the Western Conference Finals.
You can also rationalize Durant leaving OKC. There are some parallels between his decision and LeBron James‘ to join the Miami Heat back in 2010. Forming a super team is clearly an interest for players these days. Moving from a small city like OKC to the Bay Area is a big change too that could benefit Durant in ways beyond basketball.
Durant's decision was definitely still relatively surprising but there was not nearly as much there when it comes to Wade's decision to leave South Beach.
Ask any Heat fan, and they'd have told you Wade was retiring in Miami. Dade County was effectively referred to as “Wade County” as Wade's stardom grew. He referred to himself as a #HeatLifer. He helped bring the franchise three championships and became the most iconic athlete in the city maybe ever.
Miami is a destination for aging athletes. They don't have to pay state taxes, deal with cold weather, and can literally ride out into the sunset. Sure, Wade is from Chicago but he made Miami his home.
Even entertaining the possibility of leaving the Heat didn't come about until Wade felt disrespected a few weeks ago. Heat president Pat Riley didn't offer Wade what he thought he was worth and the relationship seemed to never recover. Not many people were predicting that, whether they thought Miami would overpay to keep Wade or he'd take a paycut to remain on board.
When you look at both Wade's and Durant's summers, the outcomes make at least some sense. Heat fans were just less prepared for their star leaving than the Thunder's.
If you're talking most impactful free agent signing, Durant wins by a landslide. But most surprising? Give it to D-Wade.
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