Less than a 10-minute walk from the Chesapeake Energy Center is KD’s, a sports bar serving traditional American food on Johnny Bench Drive in Oklahoma City. It was a welcomed spot in the Bricktown section of Oklahoma City until this week. Once Kevin Durant announced his decision to leave the Thunder for the Golden State Warriors, the negative reviews began pouring in.
Visitors to the Yelp review page for KD’s were greeted with a warning on Thursday. An “Active Cleanup Alert” was under way on the page because so many reviews not specific to the place of business were being placed on the site. Most were backhanded shots at Durant leaving. Few were defenses. One cited a search for “the best ingredients.”
Durant’s decision to leave the Thunder rumbled through the league in uncommon ways. Fans are one matter. But, it even drew the focus of players across the league, including in Washington, and influenced the futures for dozens of players.
The Wizards thought they had a chance to woo Durant before the bonanza for his services began. They quickly learned they did not. Which caused them to be watching along with the rest of the league, knowing Durant’s decision could shift power in the league and even influence the collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players.
“You’ve got to pay attention to it,” Wizards forward Markieff Morris said.
Two sides emerged after Durant chose Golden State. One argued that by joining a team his Thunder lost to in the playoffs was the easy way out. Another said that Durant’s choice to be part of an organization unlike others in the league was understandable and that his pursuit of an NBA championship as part of the team that finished the regular season with the best record in league history made sense. Morris is the former, not the latter.
“I don’t think it’s right, but it is what it is,” Morris said.
Morris’ initial elaboration was terse.
“You know what I mean by that,” Morris said. “That ain’t right, but you know”
If he were Durant, an unrestricted free agent with a dozen choices, would he have stayed in Oklahoma City?
“I wouldn’t say that,” Morris said. “I wouldn’t have went there. For sure. First of all they just beat [the Thunder]. So, that’s more important. There would have been a fire inside me to beat them next year. But, a lot of guys are different. I just didn’t expect that from Durant. I know him a little bit. I didn’t expect that.”
Durant’s decision to not provide Washington with even a chat pushed the Wizards into Plan B (and beyond). Thursday, they announced the signings of center Ian Mahinmi, forward Andrew Nicholson and center Jason Smith. Mahinmi is a defense- and rebounding-focused player expected to be the backup to Marcin Gortat. Nicholson can score and stretch the floor, but needs to improve his defense. Smith is a banger who can also be used in pick-and-pop situations.
Washington needs to sign wing Tomas Satoransky before it can have the proper salary cap space to give Bradley Beal his agreed upon maximum-value five-year extension.
The Wizards also announced their trade for Utah Jazz point guard Trey Burke on Thursday. Burke, a former top-10 pick, comes to Washington in exchange for the Wizards’ 2021 second-round pick. In a press release, Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld referred to Burke as John Wall’s “primary backup” at point guard.
Several other deals were announced throughout Thursday, the first day players could sign with new teams. Durant was introduced by the Warriors during a 30-minute press conference during which he joked, explained how the fit with Golden State felt natural and that he understood not everyone was going to be happy with his choice. He didn’t have to visit the reviews of his restaurant or talk with Morris to know that.
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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