It's Up to the Oklahoma City Thunder to Keep Kevin Durant in Free Agency

If Kevin Durant leaves in 2016, the Oklahoma City Thunder will have nobody to blame but themselves. 

Fortunately, the Thunder have a season and a half to prove to the reigning MVP that it's in his best interest to stick around. Unfortunately, the rest of the league has the same time frame to come up with ways to lure KD away from the only NBA team he's ever known. 

There hasn't been this much premature anticipation surrounding a free agent since the lead-up to LeBron James' "decision" in 2010.  For the next two years, Durant is the prettiest girl at the bar, and every team will be putting its best pitch together. It will be like men lining up after hearing Kate Upton will be on The Bachelor. 

While a lot can change between now and 2016, Grantland's Zach Lowe reported that the battle for the four-time scoring champion may already be a two-team race:

"Some teams are optimistic it will be open season, and others have heard rumblings that Durant has already made it known it will come down to the Thunder and Wizards."

The allure of the Washington Wizards is understandable. For starters, it's close to home. The nation's capital is a half hour away from Durant's hometown of Seat Pleasant, Maryland. The Wizards also play in the weaker Eastern Conference, and have two rising stars in John Wall and Bradley Beal. 

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Oklahoma City isn't too shabby, either. The Thunder have two star sidekicks of their own in Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka. They have also been a title contender for most of Durant's tenure. Still, with no championship to speak of, the franchise still has work to do to retain its best player's services. 

Where OKC Has Gone Wrong

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In 2012, Oklahoma City was faced with a very tough choice. With the finances of a small-market team limited, the franchise had to choose between paying big money to a blossoming shot-blocker in Ibaka or a potential star in key reserve in James Harden.

Inevitably, the club picked Ibaka, and the move to trade Harden to the Houston Rockets prior to the 2012-13 season is one of basketball's greatest "What if?" debates. 

What if the Thunder chose to wait another year to move their star sixth man and made one last run with Harden, Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka? At the time, the team was coming off its first Finals appearance, losing in five games to the Miami Heat. 

Would the Thunder have won a title if they kept the band together for one more season? Who knows. 

However, the decision to deal Harden doesn't haunt this franchise as much as the return. In exchange for "The Beard," Oklahoma City received Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and a 2013 lottery pick that became center Steven Adams. 

Martin would eventually bolt for the Minnesota Timberwolves after a modest lone season with the Thunder (14 points, 45 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from three). Lamb has been slow to develop, while the jury is still out on Adams. 

As for Harden, he hit the ground running in Houston. He's averaged at least 25 points per game in his first two seasons with the Rockets and has blossomed into the league's best shooting guard. 

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The Thunder find themselves in a similar situation this year. Like Harden heading into 2012, Reggie Jackson is a starter-quality sixth man angling for a new deal. Unlike with Harden, the team is letting Jackson play out his walk year. 

Oklahoma City would like to keep Jackson, but the price may be too steep. According to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, the 24-year-old could nab a deal that would pay him $13-14 million annually. 

After coming up short on the Harden trade, it's crucial for the team to make the right move with Jackson. If he walks, you let your fourth-best player leave for nothing. If he's traded, the return will have to be good enough to compensate for Jackson's absence. 

If it's not, the team's championship window becomes even smaller, and Durant could feel compelled to chase a title elsewhere. 

What OKC Should Do

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In his HBO documentary, The Offseason: Kevin Durant, the star small forward made it abundantly clear what he wants out of his time in Oklahoma City (h/t to SI.com's Ben Golliver for the quotes):

"I'm in this league to win a championship," Durant said. "I have no doubts about us getting there. I feel confident we can get there one day. … That's the biggest thing in this league: winning a championship. It's time to get it done." 

For the better part of the last seven years, Durant has been the NBA's second-best player. During that time, he's watched James leave the team that drafted him to go make four straight trips to the NBA Finals with the Miami Heat. 

The difference between Durant now and James' first stint in Cleveland is KD has a better core around him. When healthy, this is a championship team. While injuries have decimated the roster this season, it has also opened up opportunities for guys like Jackson and Perry Jones to step up. 

Still, the Thunder need to do whatever it takes to reinforce their standing as a title contender inside Durant's mind. That means better coaching from Scott Brooks, who has done a masterful job rallying the troops in the face of adversity. 

It may also mean making a move or two to bring in guys who can contribute right away. Call it "The Reverse Harden." While building for the future is always important, the next 19 months supersede that. With the clock ticking until Durant hits the market, the Thunder can't afford to keep waiting for players to develop. 

If that means moving someone like Lamb or Andre Roberson, so be it. Earlier this week, I wrote that Oklahoma City should consider moving Jackson. With the team ill-equipped to get into a bidding war this summer, why not sell high on the 24-year-old's hot start (team-leading 22.8 points)? 

In the past, teams have been successful in mortgaging the future to win now. In 2007, the Boston Celtics packaged young players to acquire Kevin Garnett from Minnesota. They won the title later that year. Last season, the Wizards traded a first-round pick for Marcin Gortat and ended their five-year postseason drought. 

For the Thunder, a two-way guard like the New York Knicks' Iman Shumpert or a veteran shooter like the Denver Nuggets' Arron Afflalo could come in handy. Even with the 3-6 start, the Thunder can still make a playoff run. One or two proven contributors could put them over the top. 

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For the next two years, Kevin Durant's free-agency plans will be the main narrative in Oklahoma City. Up to this point, the Thunder have done almost everything in their power to keep their star player happy. 

Except win a championship. 

With James winning his titles in South Beach, Durant now becomes the best player in the league without a championship ring. The longer he goes without one, the more nervous the Thunder and their fans should become. 

As with any human being, when you aren't getting what you want somewhere, you're going to look for it elsewhere. Durant wants to win it all. It's up to the franchise to do whatever it takes to make that dream come true. 

If you're Oklahoma City, you don't want to look back and wonder what you could have done. There should be no more "What ifs."

The future for the Thunder starts now and ends in the summer of 2016.