Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM: “Most importantly, in two seasons, Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka will be the same age as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh when they united. All three of those guys became better decision-makers and defensive players as they moved later into their careers, a transition the Thunder stars are likely to make as well. And when the Big Three came together in 2010, the Heat didn’t have 2-3 more lottery picks entering their prime in their supporting cast. People are looking at Oklahoma City backwards – this is a young 59-win team with a ton of room for internal improvement. Barring injuries, which you can never really plan for, the 2014 version of the Thunder is going to be worse than the 2015 and 2016 versions. I look at the youth and upside on this team and see a group that could win 70+ games in two seasons. The window for Oklahoma City isn’t beginning to close – it’s only starting to crack open.”
Jeff Caplan of NBA.com on KD: “Durant’s scoring efficiency dipped in the postseason (29.6 ppg on 46-percent shooting, 34.4 on 3s) and his performances from game to game, starting against Memphis’ suffocating defense, were uneven as he averaged a team-high 42.8 mpg. In Game 6 against the Spurs, the magic he performed all season eluded him. Trailing 100-99 in the final 27 seconds of overtime, Durant looked to make a move past defender Kawhi Leonard from a few feet above the top of the arc, but he slipped to the floor and lost the ball for his seventh turnover. Finally, with a chance to tie coming out of a timeout, Durant missed an open 3 from the wing with 15 seconds left. It was his sixth misfire on eight 3-pointers in the game, and his last shot of a long, taxing season. And one Durant will glean plenty of meaning from as he exits into the offseason.”
Watch Steven Adams’ excellent exit interview.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com: “The Thunder regressed defensively after the All-Star break and continue to rely way too much on Durant and Westbrook to carry the offense, which tends to be an issue in the postseason if the opposing team is only required to game plan for two or three weapons. Some of that unavoidably has to fall on the coach. But the vocal minority that tends to assail Brooks conveniently ignores the steady support he gets from his stars and the consistent buy-in he gets from the whole team. Which matter as much as anything in coaching after overall talent.”
Tom Ziller of SB Nation on KD’s free agency and Thunder fans: “Thunder fans are the mystery. Their team is 294-182 (.617) all time, but they have one Finals and no championships to show for it. Some pretty unfortunate injuries — Westbrook in 2013, Ibaka in 2014 — have struck them at the worst possible times. How do they react to the specter of Durant leaving in 2016? How do fans treat the chance that their superstar could bail out for the prime of his career, following the path of LeBron? Will they be Dogs, believing he’ll retire with the Thunder? Or will they be Cats, believing the worst will happen? Perhaps the youth of the fan base means that whatever does happen with Durant will define the type of fans Oklahomans will be for the ensuing generations. What creates Cats and Dogs, after all, if not incredible success and/or heart-rending failure?”
Berry Tramel: “It’s not official, of course, but hearing Thabo talk, I just don’t see his return. His offensive game disintegrated, and his defense wasn’t stellar in the playoffs. Scotty Brooks twice benched Sefolosha – the final two games of the Memphis series, the final four games of the San Antonio – and basically didn’t use him even off the bench. It’s hard to go from starting to not starting. But going from starting to not playing? That seems a clear message. Thabo, whose four-year contract expires this summer, said he had “no clue” on whether he’d be back. But the Thunder is competing in high-stakes basketball. It needs a big-time defender on the wing. It’s no high crime if Thabo no longer fits the bill.”
Sean Highkin of Sports on Earth: “If Presti decides Brooks has taken the Thunder as far as he can, he’d better have a can’t-miss replacement in mind. Last month, the Warriors fired Mark Jackson despite the coach’s widespread support in the locker room. By all accounts, Jackson’s replacement, Steve Kerr, has his work cut out for him to earn the trust and respect of his players. A Brooks replacement would face the same uphill battle. For all his tactical flaws as a coach, Brooks’ teams haven’t exactly been failures: Two Western Conference Finals appearances and a trip to the Finals in 2012, in addition to last season’s second-round exit after an injury to Westbrook. If the Thunder players showed any dissatisfaction with their coach, as LeBron James did with Mike Brown in Cleveland and Dwight Howard did with Stan Van Gundy in Orlando, Brooks’ job might be on the line. But his superstars are sticking up for him, and as long as that’s the case, a change seems unlikely.”