NBA Oklahoma City Thunder

Kevin Durant Finds Himself In Cruel Irony With Oklahoma City Thunder

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By @DSchultz89

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Yesterday, Kevin Durant admitted what we all knew was the case when he decided to drop out of the 2014 FIBA World Cup before the tournament got underway.

Despite initially saying fatigue was the primary reason for his exit from the team, Durant revealed recently that Paul George’s injury had a huge effect on his decision. Durant was quoted as saying:

“When you see something like that, so gruesome, in front of you, of course you’re going to think, ‘This could happen to me.’”

This is a very understandable reason given how disturbing the injury to George was, and Team USA was considerably shaken after seeing one of their leaders suffer something so terrible. Durant probably did not want to risk hurting himself in the tournament the way George did, even though it was a freak injury that could have happened to anyone, and this is why he eventually decided to leave the team.

However, Durant suffered a foot injury before the NBA season even started and is projected to be out at least another month. His partner in crime with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Russell Westbrook, is also expected to be out for the next 6-8 weeks.

It seems cruelly ironic that not only did Durant leave Team USA to avoid injury only to suffer one before the start of the regular season, but also that the Thunder might actually miss the playoffs this year given the massive uphill battle they find themselves in. It was only two and a half years ago when his team was in the NBA Finals and people were asking themselves not when the Thunder would win a championship, but how many they would win given their cast of Durant, Westbrook and James Harden.

Now, Durant is not only on a mission to defend his MVP crown again this season against the likes of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but to win a title to establish himself as one of the all-time greats.

Also, Durant will most likely go through the same whirlwind of rumors that James went through during 2009 and 2010 before he eventually decided to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat. Durant only has two years remaining on his contract, and it has become a trend in the league for players to request a trade coming into their final season with the team if they feel the organization is not headed in the right direction.

Rumors are already out there that Durant is definitely interested in coming home to play for the Washington Wizards, although this could not become a reality until the summer of 2016. But this is not stopping the press from drumming up this storyline. Of course, no player wants to go through the same process that James went through when he eventually decided to leave the Cavaliers, but unfortunately for Durant, this is where he finds himself now.

All of this might seem very unfair to deal with when you are one of the league’s best players, but the all-time greats have always shown the mental fortitude to rise above it all and prove the doubters wrong. Durant has all the attributes to be a legend, which will make it intriguing to watch the reigning MVP battle the cruel irony he finds himself in right now.

Dan Schultz is an NBA sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @dschultz89. “Like” him on Facebook and add him on Google.

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