It’s normal for a high profile figure like Billy Donovan to be coy about a transactional catastrophe hitting his Oklahoma City Thunder roster.
Let’s be clear: arguably the most dynamic scorer of the past decade (4 scoring titles in 9 total seasons, all coming within the last 7 seasons) leaving a team in the prime of his career for nothing in return is devastating. There’s no other way to interpret it.
Most people were shocked that Kevin Durant turned down money and an opportunity to continue playing with a championship-caliber roster to go somewhere else, and understandably so.
Donovan said in an interview that while he wouldn’t go so far as to say that he thought Durant would definitely return to Oklahoma City, he thought the Thunder’s free agent meeting with Durant went very well.
It twists the knife to Thunder fans if the head coach boisterously claims disbelief in the situation, so it makes sense that Donovan is more subtle with his comments.
However, the way he emphasizes how great he thought the meeting went clearly indicates that it had to have caught him off guard when news broke that Durant was joining the Warriors.
It isn’t constructive for Donovan to dwell on the departure, and any lingering resentment or sadness risks derailing the upcoming season for the Thunder, or at the very least serving as an unnecessary distraction.
Those Warriors/Thunder games next season are going to be must-see TV, and Donovan’s comments imply how disappointing it was to lose Durant in the way they did.
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