The Oklahoma City Thunder have a few former stars floating around the NBA. With Luka Doncic dropping a fascinating revelation in a recent interview, it brings up the possibility of one former MVP, Kevin Durant, returning to Oklahoma City before their career is done.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are on top of the world, and they achieved an NBA championship by building a team of players they largely drafted or developed. This group did what the previous generation could not: win it all.
The Thunder had Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden -- all three future MVPs -- on the roster and could not achieve the ultimate goal of winning a championship. Without re-litigating the past, that group of stars has been scattered to the wind and largely moved around the entire league.
Westbrook has been on six teams since leaving the Thunder. James Harden has been on four. Kevin Durant won two titles with the Golden State Warriors, flamed out in Brooklyn, did nothing in Phoenix and has now arrived in Houston (years after both Harden and Westbrook left their marks) to try and help a young team chase the Thunder in the Western Conference.
One topic of conversation that has popped up over the last few years has been whether the Thunder should spring a trade to bring back Kevin Durant. Positionally, he fits their current stars extremely well, and until a few months ago, there was an open question of whether or not this Thunder team needed another alpha scorer to win it all.
If any such trade possibility was ever on the radar, the team never seriously delved into it, and they obviously proved their doubters wrong. What's more, in addition to last year's trophy, they are the overwhelming favorite to win again this year, and are set up with youth, depth and draft capital to maintain a contending team for the next half decade or more.
What if bringing back Durant didn't involve trading major pieces? What if, at the end of his career, he joined up to play a smaller role and try to accomplish with the Thunder what he could not before: winning a title? Perhaps the door to that possibility has been cracked open.
Could a Durant homecoming be in the future?
There is little love lost between the Thunder and Luka Doncic, but his recent revelation could be telling for the rest of the NBA. This summer, a slimmed-down Doncic has been doing the media rounds to show off how good he looks to his ex (the Dallas Mavericks) and to redefine an image that was at least somewhat trampled through the mud.
In his most recent interview, Doncic talked with Jason Gay of The Wall Street Journal about his upbringing, his workout regimen and even whether or not he wants to act in a movie. One topic that was brought up was Doncic's time at Real Madrid, a basketball superpower in Spain, where a young kid from Slovenia spent six years from age 13 until he came to the NBA.
Gay asked Doncic a direct question: would he like to return to Real Madrid one day and help them to win another title? The response from Doncic was fascinating: "For sure."
That obviously has implications for the Los Angeles Lakers. Luka Doncic may be planning his eventual departure from his new team. But it also draws attention to the reality that players feel a pull to return to their former teams -- especially the teams where they grew up into stars.
The odds of Durant suddenly putting down roots and becoming a Houston institution are slim to none. He will likely be open to finding a new team before the end of his career, even if he finds success with the Rockets. Could he come back to the Thunder?
Even in his late 30s, Durant's shooting and length will make him a valuable player. As a max contract? The Thunder cannot and should not make that investment. On a small deal, a pickup in free agency? That's where suddenly a reunion becomes possible -- a storybook ending for this franchise's first great star.
Predicting what Kevin Durant will do is a fool's errand. Yet Doncic has introduced into the conversation the possibility of stars returning home. The Slim Reaper could follow suit. And unlike Doncic, such a time is coming up quickly.
A Kevin Durant homecoming could be on the horizon.