Kevin Durant: ‘Sonics need to be back in Seattle’

By Mark Medina

The Mercury News

Kevin Durant waved to the fans. He clapped his hands. He motioned for them to chant louder.

“Save Our Sonics!!!” a sell-out crowd pleaded. “Save Our Sonics!!”

Durant had just finished what he considers the most memorable game of his NBA rookie season. The reasons went beyond keeping the Dallas Mavericks from clinching a playoff spot. Though Durant did not know it definitively at the time, that game on April 13, 2008, marked the last time the Seattle SuperSonics would play at KeyArena before relocating to Oklahoma City.

More than a decade later, Durant remembers vividly the words and chants that filled his eardrums.

“It was indescribable man,” he said. “I can’t put into words the energy of the building and the amount of love. The support that was in the building was incredible.”

Durant might experience something similar when his Golden State Warriors play the Sacramento Kings in a preseason game Friday at KeyArena. It might spark pleasant reminders of Durant’s lone season in Seattle (2007-08), which ended with him winning the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award. It might yield frustration over the Sonics franchise changing its location (Oklahoma City) and name (Thunder). And it might also provide hope that Seattle will field an NBA team someday.

All of which captures a memorable — albeit short-lived — legacy Durant left in Seattle.

“People are probably looking at him as a shooting star,” said Rick Welts, the Warriors’ president and chief operating officer. “He’s here for a minute, and gone. But that minute was incredible with his rookie-of-the-year season. The franchise seemed to be on an amazing trajectory at that point.”

Welts’ words carry perspective considering his career includes ties to the Sonics franchise as a former ballboy and public-relations official. He was instrumental in setting up the preseason game in Seattle. “I thought it would be a neat thing to be able to do, not only for (Durant) but for the city,” Welts said.

Amid that backdrop, Durant might want to bring a pair of earplugs.

“Everybody in the basketball world and the NBA knows the Sonics need to be back in Seattle,” Durant said. “I’m looking forward to going out there and playing. Hopefully we give them a show.”

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The Sonics had hoped Durant could provide more than just a show.

After finishing with the NBA’s fifth-worst record in the 2006-07 season (31-51), the Sonics had a less than 10 percent chance of landing the No. 2 pick. Durant, who had just finished his freshman year at the University of Texas, said he figured he would play for the Boston Celtics (24-58) or Atlanta Hawks (30-52), which boasted the NBA’s worst records that season.

As soon as the unexpected happened during the NBA draft lottery on May 22, 2007, former Sonics vice chairman and president of basketball operations Lenny Wilkens said he “knew that would yield us Kevin Durant.”

Wilkens correctly predicted the Portland Trail Blazers would use their No. 1 pick to select Ohio State center Greg Oden, whose short NBA career was riddled with injuries.

“I felt we were getting the better player,” Wilkens said. “This is a guy who could come in and play three positions right away. I thought the future was wonderful. I just knew that kind of talent was going to be outstanding for Seattle.”

Wilkens received enough signals about then Sonics’ plans to move that he resigned in protest on July 6, 2007. Less than a year later, the Sonics’ new owner, Clay Bennett, announced the team would relocate to Oklahoma City. Since then, Durant has played the “what if” game on how his NBA career would have turned out had the Sonics franchise stayed in Seattle.

“I knew for sure the energy would’ve been crazy about making our first playoffs like we did in OKC and guys getting MVPs,” said Durant, referring to the Thunder’s eight playoff appearances (2010-2018) as well as MVP awards for Durant (2013-14) and Russell Westbrook (2016-17). “I try to think about that sometimes. It would’ve been really, really cool in Seattle sports for all of those teams to be doing well.”

Perhaps Durant would have remained tied with a franchise that already had a rich history with luminaries such as Wilkens, Jack Sikma, Gus Williams, Spencer Haywood, Nate McMillan, Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton.

“I don’t know why it would’ve been any different with the success they had at OKC,” Welts said. “It’s the same group, ownership and GM. You would expect they would have the same trajectory.”

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Unlike Wilkens, Durant did not sense the Sonics’ relocation was imminent. He quickly made himself comfortable in a city he never visited until working out there shortly before the NBA draft. He instantly found Seattle welcoming after spending his childhood in Prince George County, Maryland, and his lone year in college at Texas.

“It was really chill for it being a big city,” Durant said. “I thought it would be faster. But once I got out there, it was smooth sailing.”

Durant’s mother, Wanda, moved in with her teenage son to give him company, help around the house and ease the transition into the NBA. Durant’s former agent, Aaron Goodwin, was based in Seattle, which further helped Durant establish himself as one of the league’s most marketable players.

Former NBA player Spencer Hawes, Durant’s best friend on the high school basketball circuit, lived in Seattle and soon became close friends with his family. The Sonics also had traded star Ray Allen to the Boston Celtics for a fifth overall pick that was used on Jeff Green, who grew up with Durant in PG County. And Durant became friends with Seattle’s NBA home-grown talent, including Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson. Though he mostly remained a homebody, Durant enjoyed local eateries, such as Junior’s and Dicks.

“I kind of felt like I was a part of that group with those guys,” Durant said. “Just hooping with them every day and being around them and that community. It was deeper than just me playing for the Sonics. I had a little family there as well.”

Durant purchased a home in Mercer Island because “I was settling down there.”

“That drive across the bridge was always beautiful,” Durant recalled. “It was rainy a lot, but you could see the water. Then in the spring time, you could see the mountains as well.”

Durant did not exactly experience pleasant surroundings with the team. The Sonics had a 20-62 record in his rookie season, far from the success Durant experienced when the Longhorns advanced to the second round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament.

Yet, Durant lived up to his trajectory after becoming the first freshman to win the National Player of the Year award. After Durant scored 27 points against Phoenix in just his second NBA game, Suns defensive standout Shawn Marion gushed about Durant’s potential. Steve Kerr, the former Suns general manager and current Warriors coach, heard the commentary.

“‘That guy is going to be a problem once he grows into that body,’ ” Kerr recalled Marion saying about Durant. “You could see it right away.”

Durant averaged 20.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists as a rookie, becoming the third teenager in NBA history to average at least 20 points. In what he considered “the best game his rookie season,” Durant scored 37 points and helped the Sonics to a double overtime win against a Denver Nuggets team that featured Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson and J.R. Smith. In his rookie finale, Durant had 42 points, 13 rebounds and six assists against Golden State, joking “that’s when I started loving Oracle (Arena).”

Through the tough losses and glorious individual play, Durant relished KeyArena’s intimate environment.

“It was very small. But when they packed in there, the crowd was incredible,” Durant said. “From wall to wall, you can hear it.”

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Even with the fans yelling “Save Our Sonics” in the team’s home-finale, Durant did not sense that would be the last time he would play in Seattle. Shortly before the end of the 2007-08 season, Bennett addressed the team about its uncertain future.

“We talked about where we might move to. That came up. But he didn’t tell us the timetable or anything,” Durant said of Bennett. “We just knew it’s going to be a lot of noise around us moving and the franchise relocating. But we didn’t really know too much.”

It appeared the Sonics would stay considering Durant represented the team at the NBA draft lottery. The Sonics used their No. 4 pick on Westbrook. But on July 2, 2008, Durant heard the team’s plans to relocate while attending summer classes at the University of Texas. On one hand, Durant said he felt “excited” about moving to Oklahoma City because of its proximity to Texas. On the other hand, he understood why the Sonics’ fanbase felt abandoned.

“Just think about the people that come to those games that need that outlet for an hour or two. They just need to release for a little bit and enjoy the game,” Durant said. “I kind of sympathize with the fans and just know that it’s tough not having basketball there, especially as a deeply-rooted basketball city.”

As easily as it was for Durant to move to Seattle, it was extremely difficult to leave. Literally.

“It was hard to sell. I regret actually buying that house,” said Durant, whose house was sold in 2013. “I learned from it.”

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Since then, Durant often experiences reminders of his short time in Seattle.

He has a “real big bin” of all of his Sonics gear that includes jerseys, shoes and memorabilia.

Durant has experienced more nostalgia on a handful of trips to Seattle for promotional appearances, Crawford’s pro-am league and a court refurbishing in 2016 to benefit the city’s Boys and Girls Club. And with the Warriors’ plans to play next season at Chase Center in Mission Bay after spending the previous 46 seasons at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Durant has a newfound perspective on the Warriors’ final season in Oakland.

“Luckily we’re not moving to the middle of the country. We’re moving across the bridge for a 20-30 minute ride. Hopefully that is a little better for fans to take,” Durant said. “I know it’s tough for us to move out of Oakland. But we just want to come out this season and let them know that even though we’re moving, we’re still going to be here in the Bay Area and still will be your team.”

The Seattle fans did not have such a luxury. At least for one night, though, Durant hopes he can replicate the nostalgia from his rookie season. Perhaps then, fans will chant “Save Our Sonics” once again. Perhaps then, Durant will encourage them to yell louder once more.

“It was very devastating how we up and left in the middle of the night,” Durant said. “Those fans have been yearning for basketball for a long, long time. Even though it’s just a preseason game and it’s one game, hopefully we can give them a nice little show.”