This old Thunder role player recalls Kevin Durant's decision to leave OKC

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Over a decade later, one of the most shocking moves in NBA history still requires a lot of brain power to process. Kevin Durant's decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors in 2016 is one of those history-altering events whose ripple effects can still be felt today.

After giving up a 3-1 series lead in the 2016 Western Conference Finals, Durant joined the arch-rivals to team up with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. That quartet of first-ballot Hall-of-Famers made the following couple of years skippable as they cruised their way to back-to-back NBA championships.

You know the story by now. The Thunder went all in to keep Durant. And despite their organizational pleas and pitches, it wasn't enough to convince the NBA superstar to stick around and run it back. His exit took a decade to get over as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander helped heal the scars with a Larry O'Brien trophy in 2025.

In one of an endless supply of perspectives on Durant's decision, Dion Waiters weighed in with his two cents. He appeared on the 'Real Talk with MJ' podcast in Oct. 2024 to reflect on his exit and how it affected the role player's next move as he signed a last-resort one-year deal with the Miami Heat in the aftermath.

"We was in the WCF up 3-1 against Golden State. Tricked it off, bro. We’re supposed to went to the Finals against Cleveland," Waiters said. "I feel like we would’ve beaten Cleveland. We just messed up at the right time, bro."

The Thunder had pushed the Warriors to the brink of elimination. It would've been one of the greatest upsets in NBA playoff history as Golden State set an all-time record of 73 wins that regular season. Instead, Durant disappeared and Westbrook's shot-making went ice-cold. Nobody else stepped up. Curry and Thompson went en fuego to rattle off three straight wins and shock OKC.

In an alternate reality, Waiters still mourns over what could've been. Had Durant stayed — even if it were on a one-year deal — the Thunder would've rolled it back. Maybe even with new additions to change things up with Victor Oladipo and Al Horford.

"Kev left. Went to Golden State. Before that, he text me and Serge like, 'How y’all think about bringing this thing back for one more year?' I was like, 'If everybody is on board. I'll come back. I'll do one year.' I was willing to sabotage a four-year contract for one," Waiters said. "To bring back that team. Because I've seen how close we was."

Of course, that didn't materialize. Left at the altar, the Thunder had to pivot on the fly. Westbrook became the undisputed face of the franchise. Even though OKC was no longer a title contender, his chase for triple-double history and an MVP trophy made the following 2016-17 season an entertaining watch.

And things even worked out for Waiters. He was a key piece in OKC's 2016 playoff run. Even though Durant's decision pulled the carpet underneath him, he eventually landed on his feet with the Miami Heat and other NBA stops. No hard feelings between the two sides, though. That's just business in the NBA.

"Russ hit me up like, 'You see this s--t? This s--t crazy.' That’s when he called me," Waiters said. "But Kev, that's my brother, though. So I understand it."

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: This old Thunder role player recalls Kevin Durant's decision to leave OKC

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