Draymond Green said he knew Oklahoma City Thunder would lose Kevin Durant

Even eight years later, many Oklahoma City Thunder fans aren’t able to find that forgiveness in their hearts for franchise legend Kevin Durant. Had it ended any other way, the former Texas Longhorn would have been cherished for carrying Thunder basketball, all while evolving into arguably the greatest scorer the NBA had ever seen.

After a loss to the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 Western Conference Finals, Durant was so stung that he was perhaps convinced the Bay was the only place he could go to erase the memory of a surrendered 3-1 lead.

While that may have been the case, Draymond Green, who was active in recruiting Durant, has his own theory.

Dray says KD was ready to bounce

In the franchise’s eighth season in Bricktown, the team won a rock-solid 55 games, powered by the bristling play of point guard Russell Westbrook and Durant’s pretty jump shooting. Together, the duo was arguably the most formidable in the league and averaged a combined 51.7 points per game. No. 35 asserted himself once again as one of the most revered scorers in the game, while Westbrook’s 10.4 assists per game were good for second in the association.

Oklahoma City played through another ho-hum year, leaving no indication that Durant had his exit in mind. Asked throughout the season what his pending 2016 free agency would look like, the forward shot down any doubt with consistently nonchalant responses.

However, during a recent podcast episode, Green recounted Golden State landing Durant that summer, and he was rather insouciant when discussing his former teammate’s decision to leave OKC.

“Look who’s a free agent next year — [Kevin Durant],” Draymond recollects of the season before Durant’s decision . “I know he want to get out of OKC. Like, I know too. It’s like the worst-kept secret. I knew this.

History making decision

Durant hasn’t quite been upfront — even to this day — about why he left Oklahoma City during the prime of his NBA career. Many have speculated on almost every possible reason along the spectrum. Perhaps his relationship on the court with Westbrook was crumbling; he didn’t think he could win with the Thunder; his disapproval of management; or maybe he appreciated the Warriors' proclivity to ball movement.

As a player most considered the second-best in the league at the time, his decision to leave OKC delivered crushing public scrutiny. Many believed that the former league MVP was great enough to lift the blue and orange to another NBA Finals and the team’s first championship in the modern era, especially with Russ and a supporting cast littered with emerging talent, like a brute center in Steven Adams and shot-blocking maestro, Serge Ibaka.

While Durant’s move to Golden State was indeed legacy-changing after winning a pair of championships in consecutive seasons, many argue that the future Hall of Famer sold himself short by joining the hunted instead of going to war with the hunters .

His exit from Bricktown was muddy, beginning with his fractured relationship with Westbrook, who was often seen intensely jarring with his former teammate in many of their earlier matchups when Durant had joined the enemy.

The rise of current Thunder stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren has given way for many fans to exonerate Durant’s decision and appreciate the mark he left on the franchise. That era of OKC basketball will forever echo a fun past.

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