Conventional wisdom says Kevin Durant signs a new deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder this offseason, the short kind allowing him to hit the market again with Russell Westbrook next summer.
It makes perfect sense, too, especially after Durant’s Thunder did the borderline unthinkable this postseason and upended the San Antonio Spurs before an embarrassing loss to the Golden State Warriors after jumping to a 3-1 lead. Durant has little reason to go elsewhere and abandon a core that came within a game of beating one of the best teams of all time.
Right?
There’s always money and sneakers to consider, like it or not. It’s why The Ringer’s Bill Simmons makes an excellent point about Durant’s future when viewed through a Nike lens:
In February 2014, Durant and LeBron had the best-selling shoes among all NBA players. Two years later, it’s all about Under Armour (Curry) vs. Nike (LeBron and Jordan Brand); if you surf around, you can’t find Durant in any story about top-selling NBA sneakers. His representatives at Roc Nation know it; so does Nike. And if you think they haven’t mentioned this to him, repeatedly, you’re bonkers.
This doesn’t sound like a major deal at face value. More like a ridiculous run of bad luck, as Durant inked a deal and then got hurt just as Under Armour and Stephen Curry blew up. This year he put on an epic comeback, but few cared because the globe was too busy throwing Kobe Bryant a retirement party.
But imagine if Durant was in a Los Angeles or a Boston or some other large market. Surely Nike wants to, as Simmons went on to point out:
You might remember LeBron successfully reinventing himself in Miami in 2010, then again in Cleveland in 2014. There’s something to be said for a fresh start — it’s a selling point, a fresh narrative that everyone can pound into the ground. Durant returning to OKC won’t help Nike in its holy war against Under Armour unless he wins a title. But Durant building his own Eastern contender in Miami, Boston or Washington, or grabbing the torch from Kobe in Los Angeles for the Lakers? Now that would grab eyeballs and sell sneakers.
Do the desires of a shoe company outweigh Durant’s own desire to contend for a title?
Probably not, but if a contender in a bigger market Nike would like can convince Durant they’re title worthy, this summer might be more interesting than most think. Mainly think about Boston, a team able to ink two max-deal players this offseason with a bevy of picks in the upcoming draft and even before all that a core that made the postseason in the Eastern Conference.
Something as trivial as shoes doesn’t sound like it can play a major role. But this concerns a $300 million deal, one that pales in comparison to the one Durant just watched LeBron get, which was rumored in the $1 billion range for a lifetime. Maybe Durant thinks the latest postseason whiff is a sign it’s time for a change. Maybe he’s been waiting for a chance to get away from Westbrook. Add in the Nike factor and it’s not as trivial as it sounds.
Money talks and Nike has a boatload of cash riding on Durant’s decision this summer. Who said the summer of Durant was boring?
