Kevin Durant’s unexpected decision to take his talents to the Bay Area sent major shockwaves throughout the league this past July. From fans, coaches, front office personnel, and even fellow athletes (not just Basketball players), the World reacted in every which way — Surprise, anger, disbelief, with gratitude and understanding, or even with joy, depending on which side you were on.
Thunder head coach Billy Donovan, in his first interview since Durant’s decision to leave Oklahoma City, offered his own thoughts on the situation.
For Donovan, what highlighted the summer debacle was how honest Kevin Durant was during the process.
“I think Kevin on the front end was very, very honest”, Donovan told Adrian Wojnarowski of the Vertical on his podcast (via RealGM). “When the season ended, he was going to go through this process, and he was going to take a meeting with us, obviously, first. And then he was going to have some other teams he was going to meet with. And I think a little bit later on, after the season ended, they decided to do it out in The Hamptons.
“But I thought the meeting that we had went very well. I think we talked about basketball, we talked about our team, we talked about direction, we talked about obviously his leadership, his role, all those kind of things. I think leaving the meeting it was very, very positive. I thought it was very, very clear. I think there was direction on both sides.”
Both Kevin Durant and the Thunder organization have taken the high road this summer, something that’s come as a surprise to many considering the backlash LeBron James had faced from the Cavaliers franchise for leaving in free agency back in 2010.
“Kevin made an indelible mark on the thunder organization and the state of Oklahoma as a founding father of this franchise,” said Thunder president of basketball operations Sam Presti when learning of Durant’s decision to leave. “We can’t adequately articulate what he meant to the foundation of this franchise and our success. While clearly disappointing that he has choosing to move on, the core values that he helped establish only lead us to thanking him for the many tangible and intangible ways that he helped our program.”
For Billy Donovan, Sam Presti, Oklahoma City and Kevin Durant, a mutual respect still very well exists. Billy Donovan appreciates how honest Durant was during the summer process, also appreciating the professional approach he took through every step.
This situation differs from other free agency decisions we’ve seen in year’s past, and despite the reaction of some Thunder fans, Billy Donovan will always appreciate the way Kevin Durant handled his free agency process.
