Kevin Durant Just Wishes to Play Basketball

It’s getting way too easy, and boring, to attack the Oklahoma City franchise. So when I first heard the Kevin Durant was playing with the summer league team, I really, really didn’t want to just chalk it up to incompetence on some novice’s part. I mean, who puts the reigning Rookie of the Year out there in these goofy contests, especially one whose prime goal needs to be developing his body and learning to use his height more.↵
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↵Turns out that Durant himself demanded it, for reasons too noble too ignore. From SLAM! Sports:↵↵⇥“For love of the game,” Durant said. “I liked being out there. It was great to play with my new teammates.”↵⇥
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↵⇥“This is something I’ve been thinking about for a while, since we drafted those guys,” Durant said. “I just wanted to come out here and get a game with them, get a couple of games with them, just to see how they play.”↵↵

Pre-rook Russell Westbrook, who strangely refers to Durant as “just a kid,” echoes this in his first impressions of the OKC star. KD wants to build relationships, see his newest teammates in action, and get a chance for some organized run. You can figure he’ll spend the rest of the summer tending to those other priorities. If nothing else, this shows you just completely he understands the burden of being a team’s centerpiece—and how seriously he takes this responsibility. I believe this is one of those “league, look out!” moments.↵
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↵They say you can’t teach talent, or height. But you also can’t teach this kind of fire, or maturity about how to use it. Durant may be kind of slow, and not too springy; it’s this kind of thing that makes you realize why some people dared reach for the Michael Jordan comparison when he left UT.↵