Kevin Durant Did OKC Thunder a Favor by Leaving for Golden State Warriors Now

Kevin Durant is not a hero for joining the Golden State Warriors—not outside of Oakland, California, anyway. He did, however, give the Oklahoma City Thunder one thing: clarity.

Unpopular offseason decisions can often be twisted, turned and spun into something they are not. Durant's departure is an exception. 

There is no replacing him, immediately or eventually. There is no overcoming his absence. Russell Westbrook, on his own, is but moderate consolation—Oklahoma City's ticket to fringe playoff contention. In the rush to condemn Durant's character and competitive integrity, though, a key silver lining has fallen by the wayside: If this had to happen, it's better for the Thunder it happened now rather than next summer.

Most people expected Durant to stick with Oklahoma City on a one-plus-one deal that would have set him up to re-explore free agency in 2017. That consensus made too much sense at the time, both financially and logistically, as ESPN.com's Marc Stein wrote:

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Going short term this summer would not only keep the pressure on the Thunder to keep upgrading their roster to Durant's satisfaction, but also set up KD and Russ to potentially share simultaneous exits to new locales in 13 months' time if they so choose, presumably easing the emotional toll (and resulting heat) for both in the process.

The financial particulars, meanwhile, only make it a wiser course of action. Were Durant to be a free agent again in July 2017, coming off his 10th season, he'd be eligible for a projected starting annual salary in excess of $35 million -- compared to a projected $25.9 million this summer -- because of service time and the looming mammoth salary-cap spike into the $100 million stratosphere that will take hold for the 2017-18 season.

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The financial incentives alone rendered this a worthwhile play for Durant. In addition to entering free agency amid another salary-cap spike, he would still be with the team that owned his Bird rights, making him eligible for a five-year deal that, per Stein, might have exceeded $200 million.

Oklahoma City's latest playoff push only made the one-year return more sensible. In the Thunder's first complication-free season since 2011-12, when they made the NBA Finals, they finished one win shy of another Finals bid, nearly overthrowing perhaps the best team ever in the Warriors.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press/Associated Press

Even after the Serge Ibaka trade, Durant had ample cause to run it back with Oklahoma City for another year, if only to see what he and Westbrook could accomplish when enjoying consecutive years of good health.

Except what would that have really done? Prolong the inevitable? Actualize a scenario in which the Thunder lose both Durant and Westbrook for nothing?

Now, they get out in front of Westbrook's future. That wouldn't have been an option had Durant delayed his decision. The Thunder would have retained both and rolled the dice on their returns next summer.

Durant isn't a flight risk you trade, not even when you feel him slipping away. A 6'9" point forward like him isn't just rare; it shouldn't exist.

Members of the Oklahoma City contingent that descended upon the Hamptons to meet with their MVP in New York had an "indication" he would leave, according to ESPN.com's Royce Young. They gutted through the waiting process anyway, making it perfectly clear they would ride with him to the end, no matter what that entailed.

If there would be no trading Durant next season, then moving Westbrook would be out of the question. The Thunder could get away with dealing Ibaka. Durant and Westbrook were the team's title window.

But the latter is fair game now. The Thunder can flip him if they don't have an adequate sense of his intentions. And his impending free agency does not prohibit them from seeking a king's ransom in return.

Alonzo Adams/Associated Press/Associated Press

Would the Boston Celtics really balk at sending back one or both of the Brooklyn Nets' next two draft picks? Would the Los Angeles Lakers actually make either Brandon Ingram or D'Angelo Russell unavailable when a top-seven superstar is at stake? Is there any combination from the Denver Nuggets' vast well of prospects (Gary Harris, Nikola Jokic, Emmanuel Mudiay, and Jamal Murray) and reasonably priced contracts (Will Barton, Wilson Chandler, Kenneth Faried, Danilo Gallinari) that would be off-limits?

Starting over isn't the preferred course of action, but the Thunder have to consider it. Losing two future Hall of Fame talents for nothing within a year of each other isn't an option. They won't withstand those blows.

General manager Sam Presti knows this. Rival executives told Bleacher Report's Howard Beck they think Oklahoma City's front office will trade Westbrook before the season starts. That way, the Thunder would increase the value of next year's draft pick and assemble a collection of potential cornerstones who could allow them to rebuild, swiftly and thoroughly.

Or Presti could go the other way. Sources told The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski that Oklahoma City is holding out hope of renegotiating Westbrook's contract before 2016-17 tips and selling him on the pursuit of impending free agent Blake Griffin next summer.

Either way, the Thunder are no longer roped to a nucleus that's too good to break up but too undecided to count on—and they have the timing of Durant's exit to thank for that.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press/Associated Press

Granted, you have to believe his departure was, in fact, unavoidable to board that bandwagon. In hindsight, there is no reason to believe it was anything else.

"I told myself to put me first, to really think about what I wanted," Durant explained to reporters while practicing with Team USA in Las Vegas. "This is what I wanted. ... It was simple. That's where I want to play basketball."

Golden State's players recruited Durant all year, even as they marched toward an NBA-record 73 regular-season wins, ostensibly in need of nothing and no one. They seduced him during, and after, their meeting with a unique blend of camaraderie and chemistry. They were endearing enough to convince him it was worth the public-relations hit to join the team he couldn't beat.

Another go-round in Oklahoma City without a title wouldn't change that. It would have been more challenging for the Warriors to create cap space, having presumably re-signed Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli, but it wouldn't have rendered them any less appealing.

There are no assurances Oklahoma City could have duplicated its 2015-16 success had Durant stayed, either. The Warriors would have gone right back to dominating the title discussion. The reigning champion Cleveland Cavaliers aren't going anywhere. The San Antonio Spurs, despite Tim Duncan's retirement, are alive as ever. The Thunder would have felt Ibaka's absence.

Likewise, Durant's return wouldn't have portended Westbrook's. One league executive told the Boston Herald's Steve Bulpett the 27-year-old point guard was "100 percent" leaving after next season "no matter what."

This year, when they were up 3-1 on the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, was the Thunder's best shot at winning a title and keeping their two superstars together. They missed it, and Durant left. Under the circumstances, knowing the unprecedented losses that could have awaited in 2017, Oklahoma City is better off.

Beck Diefenbach/Associated Press/Associated Press/Associated Press

No, this was not an aging star deliberately, subtly or inadvertently unchaining his incumbent franchise from a commitment he's no longer worth. The Miami Heat can publicly lament the loss of a 34-year-old Dwyane Wade, then exhale in the background, knowing they are deeper and their future is more flexible because of it.

The Thunder lost a perennial MVP candidate at the peak of his powers and saw their title window slam shut, abruptly and indefinitely, without receiving anything or anyone in return.

Durant, plain and simple, broke the Thunder as we knew them beyond repair. Hot takes wouldn't have rained, his jersey wouldn't have burned and his peers wouldn't have mocked his decision if Oklahoma City had an immediate chance of becoming whole again.

Yet, in his own way, Durant still managed to leave the Thunder with an invaluable, albeit bittersweet, parting gift: freedom to choose what happens next.

Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com unless otherwise cited. Salary information via Basketball Insiders.

Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @danfavale.