Durant leaves Thunder, giving Warriors look of super team

The 2015-16 season ended less than a month ago for the Golden State Warriors, but Klay Thompson is already itching to get back onto the court after his team snagged the most prized asset on this year’s free-agent market.

Durant answered the biggest question of this offseason when he announced Monday on the Players’ Tribune that he is heading to the Warriors.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported Monday following Durant’s decision that the Thunder would look to try to negotiate an extension with Westbrook – who is an unrestricted free agent next summer – or possibly explore trade options for him.

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant, left, drives to the basket as Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala defends during the second half of Game Four of the NBA;s Western Conference finals on May 24 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He recovered from a broken bone in his right foot that cost him much of last season to post one of the best years of his career.

And it has this summer, to the tune of a $94 million salary cap for the 2016-17 season – up from $70 million previous year, and enough of a jump that the five teams who met with Durant (the Warriors, Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics and Heat) could all sign Durant without having to completely gut their teams to do so.

The Warriors still have Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Clay Thompson in addition to Kevin Durant.

James made the move from Cleveland to Miami in 2010, joining a lineup that featured Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. That Thunder team went all the way to the NBA Finals in 2012, beating the San Antonio Spurs along the way and pushing the Heat before eventually losing in five games. Pachulia started for Dallas last season after DeAndre Jordan committed to the Mavericks, changed his mind and stayed with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Durant meanwhile acknowledged his decision would likely dismay Thunder fans.

“I will miss Oklahoma City, and the role I have had in building this remarkable team. It taught me so much about family as well as what it means to be a man”, Durant said. Durant runs an impressive average of 27.4 points per game since his debut in the National Basketball Association.

Durant had played for the same organization his entire career. Those invaluable relationships are what made this deliberation so challenging.

Before Durant announced his move, Bogut removed all references to the Warriors from his Twitter page, which afterward featured a photo of the 7-footer in an Australia jersey.

The Warriors must now renounce nearly all of their free agents (absolutely Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli) and trade Andrew Bogut (sources say he’s headed to the Mavericks) and get no money in return in order to clear max space.

“What I didn’t truly understand, however, was the range of emotions I would feel during this process”, Durant wrote. On top of that, remaining with the Thunder presented the greatest financial opportunity for the summer’s top free agent, too. “He helped the Thunder grow and succeed in immeasurable ways and impacted the community just the same”.

“Kevin made an indelible mark on the Thunder organization and the state of Oklahoma as a founding father of the franchise”, Thunder executive vice president and general manager Sam Presti said in a statement. But while the tax did wind up helping to lead to the end of the Heat – the team’s decision to waive Mike Miller to save money angered the players, including James – it also had an impact on a young group of budding stars in Oklahoma City.