The Oklahoma City Thunder are sitting with the best record in the NBA and have the best net rating in NBA history.
However, that doesn’t guarantee they’ll win a championship, as they lost in the second round to the Dallas Mavericks in last year’s playoffs despite finishing as the top seed in the Western Conference.
If the Thunder fall flat again this season, they may need to look at adding an upgrade in the offseason. Bleacher Report predicted that Kevin Durant would head back to OKC before the trade deadline, which is something that can be revisited after the season.
“The Thunder’s postseason opponents will inevitably throw everything they have at Shai Gilgeous-Alexander,” the article noted. “Having Durant around as the prodigal son could be the ultimate counter-punch and perhaps the key in transforming this group from a great team to a champion.”
Durant did not leave Oklahoma City on the best of terms, joining the Golden State Warriors in 2016 just over a month after the Warriors knocked the Thunder out of the Western Conference Finals.
However, redemption stories in sports can warm even the coldest of hearts, as LeBron James returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers and helped them win a championship.
Durant has a chance to rewrite his story in OKC as a wiser, more experienced leader with two Finals MVP trophies to his name while taking a significant amount of scoring pressure off of Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Thunder may need to part ways with Chet Holmgren or Jalen Williams to get this deal done, but at this point, Durant is far more of a sure thing to help OKC hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy.
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