Analysis: Kevin Durant validates Oakland as prime destination

The Warriors’ signing of Kevin Durant immediately alters the balance of power in the NBA, but it does more than that. It signals, more than anything that preceded it, the emergence of Oakland - Oakland! - as the ultimate destination in pro basketball.

Durant had options. Man, he had options. A seven-time All-Star and the 2014 NBA Most Valuable Player, he had been wooed ardently by the Clippers, the Spurs, the Heat and the Celtics, who enlisted NFL star Tom Brady as part of the recruiting team.

Most telling, Oklahoma City wanted Durant back for a ninth season (10th if you include his year in Seattle, before the franchise moved to oil country). Russell Westbrook’s future with the Thunder is unclear, but there’s no question he and Durant had become the most exciting tandem in the league. They forced the Warriors to the brink of elimination in the Western Conference final before losing Game 7 at Oracle Arena, and almost certainly would have been competitive against Cleveland in the NBA Finals. Durant was a beloved figure in Oklahoma City.

He said no to all of those options, instead choosing the Warriors, a team that had finished 23-43 (in a lockout-shortened season) as recently as four years ago, and which had made exactly one playoff appearance in 18 seasons before breaking through under then-coach Mark Jackson in 2013.

It is impossible to overstate how much things have changed for Golden State. Before Monday, the biggest free-agent signing in franchise history, not counting sign-and-trade deals, was … who? Corey Maggette in 2008? Untested Lithuanian rookie Sarunas Marciulionis in 1989? Aging Mark Price in 1996?

For years, this wasn’t a place that attracted the NBA’s top talent. More often, it was the place players fled to get a shot at a ring elsewhere. Even when the Warriors made a move, they were often trumped. Such was the case in 2011 when they signed restricted free-agent center DeAndre Jordan to an offer sheet, only to have the Clippers match the offer.

Durant, with one signature, has changed all of that. His decision confirmed what Bay Area sports fans had boasted of for a year or two - that Oakland, not L.A. or Miami or San Antonio, is where everyone wants to play now.

The reasons are numerous, and they start at the top. Owner Joe Lacob and his partners made good decisions in hiring Jackson and young general manager Bob Myers, and an even better one when they brought in Steve Kerr to replace Jackson as coach in May of 2014. None of those three men had previous experience in the position to which they were hired. Each has excelled in the job.

The Warriors, despite the heart-wrenching, seven-game loss to LeBron James’ Cavaliers in the Finals, have entered a renaissance period under Kerr. In 2014-15 they restored the NBA crown to Oakland for the first time in 40 years. This year they set a league record by going 73-9 in the regular season.

More than that, the Warriors have won with style, and with a look of joyful exuberance. Off the court, Kerr cultivates input from assistant coaches and players alike, injecting wisdom and self-deprecating humor into team interactions. On the court, Golden State has become a machine that plays snarling defense at one end and routinely sets 3-point shooting records at the other. As the Warriors got deep into their record-setting 24-0 start this season, their fans sometimes seemed to outnumber the opposition’s even on the road. The team’s pre-existing superstar, Stephen Curry, has the persona of an Eagle Scout.

Who wouldn’t want to play here? Someone might fit that bill, but it isn’t Kevin Durant.

Durant’s impact on the Warriors’ quest to win another championship will take longer to determine. Certainly, it’s easy to see what made him irresistible. No basketball player has ever combined Durant’s height, quickness and scoring versatility. He tormented the Warriors in the West final.

Still, this move entails risk. Golden State came within five points of a repeat title last month. Lacob and Myers could have decided to keep the roster intact, and would have been justified in doing so. Instead, they brought in one of the most coveted free agents in NBA history.

Center Andrew Bogut and small forward Harrison Barnes, both headed to Dallas, had limitations. But they bought into Kerr’s system and were popular in the locker room. There is no guarantee that Durant will mesh with Curry and the other Warriors on the floor, or that he will be content to play for a team that has several real scoring options, as opposed to two.

Professional sports aren’t about guarantees, though. They’re about maximizing your odds, and the Warriors feel theirs just got better. Maybe better than anyone else’s.

You can reach staff writer Phil Barber at 521-5265 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. Follow him on Twitter @Skinny_Post.