A DURANT DEAL TO HOUSTON IS HUGE — AND IT SHOULD HAVE WAITED UNTIL MONDAY
Commissioner Adam Silver has allowed the massive sale of the Lakers and an enormous trade to swallow the NBA Finals, which were headed to Game 7 when Durant was discussing the news in New York City
Rather than discuss a majestic Game 7 in just a few hours — Rick Carlisle vs. Vuori mannequin Mark Daigneault, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a crowd wearing bewitch-or-bury-me “OKLAHOMA” t-shirts, Tyrese Haliburton shooting in the final five seconds — we were interrupted Sunday by a breaking news story.
Kevin Durant was traded from Phoenix to the Rockets. He found out sitting on stage at Fanatics Fest, where he was told by a host, “You’re added to Houston.” As cheers filled Javits Center in New York, Durant smiled and placed his left hand on his leg.
“We’re gonna see, man,” he said. “We’re gonna see.”
Could we have waited to see whatever we’re going to see until after the Oklahoma City Thunder played the Indiana Pacers? In a matter of days, the weathered superstar was traded to his fifth franchise — never mind that the NBA’s superteaming mode has faded away — while Mark Walter bought the Los Angeles Lakers for a valuation of at least $10 billion. Through it all, the Thunder and Pacers delivered an oscillating, enthralling Finals that deserved our attention. Instead, commissioner Adam Silver allows historic events to happen when the NFL allows two worthy teams to hog Super Bowl Week and Major League Baseball allows two worthy teams to hog the World Series.
His approach makes no sense. Websites and radio shows removed major focus from Game 7 and focused on Durant in Houston. Don’t we have an entire offseason to decide if Durant’s 36-year-old body will mesh with tough guy Fred VanVleet, kids Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson and Jabari Smith Jr. and old fart Steven Adams? Will his inimitable mid-range scoring be enough to push Ime Udoka — handed more than $10 million a year as head coach — past the Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors and the Lakers? The Rockets will make a run, sure.
But shouldn’t we have been concentrating on two teams making the ultimate run? You hoo: OKC and Indiana? If Game 7 is the orgy of sport, why spoil it with a trade that could have been announced Monday? Walter could have waited a week and handed more than $1 million to Latinos dealing with President Trump’s ICE raids.
Why now? Why must Silver dominate awareness after claiming Finals ratings, low after Game 6, no longer matter supremely in the league office? The hell they don’t, but the numbers will rise Sunday night.
“I’m glad we did this on stage,” said Durant, thrilled to have landed with a desired team after demanding a trade. “You know, if people could just hang your career in the balance like that and choose what they do with your career, it’s a nerve-wracking feeling. But being able to dictate what you want to do, I’m looking forward to it.”
The Suns accommodated his wishes. “They wanted me to go,” he said of owner Mat Ishbia and executives. “They got what they wanted. I got what I wanted. I will always remember my time there. We’re onto something else. Houston had a great season with good leadership. I feel I will be a good addition.”
Silver should know better. Durant and Walter, Thunder and Pacers? What? This is what he said about Finals ratings: “The whole way media works and television works has changed so dramatically. Just by way of example, all of us of a certain age know it used to be the case that new programs launched in the fall. There were never new programs in the summer. Nobody thinks that way anymore. New programs are launching all the time on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Peacock, whatever service you use. We don’t think that way. Ratings have changed from what they used to be.”
How? “Netflix is the most valuable pure play media company out there. Nobody in this room knows what their ratings are,” Silver said. “We don’t even think in terms of ratings. We think maybe in terms of popularity, buzz around a program. We’re going through a transition, and we’re going to work through that.”
So, why not delay news of a monumental sale and the trade of a 15-time All-Star?
Give us a Finals bedrock.
In due time, this will be Durant’s last attempt to win a conference title. He departed the Warriors and saw them win another championship as he suffered with Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn. We have July, August, September and October to zoom in. We’ll also determine the future of the Suns, who acquired talented guard Jalen Green, a snarling hoof named Dillon Brooks, this year’s No. 10 choice in the draft and five second-round picks. Durant couldn’t create a winning chemistry with Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. Again, he went to the boss, Ishbia, and asked for a trade. He wanted Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra in Miami, which lowballed the Suns. Or Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio.
Or the Rockets. He should make certain he likes Udoka, a hardass. Or this venture could fail, too. Should he have thought about the Eastern Conference, where the Pacers and Cavaliers are alone while the Knicks seek a new head coach and the Celtics are blitzed by trades?
For now, Durant and everyone else should pivot on the crowd at Paycom Center. “The crowd is amazing. You're ultimately in your complete comfort zone,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “The flow to the day doesn't change. You're in your own bed. You eat your pregame meal from your chef. It's very comfortable, the whole flow to the day, and then the crowd is behind you. They give you energy, whether you're up or down. It's an advantage. It's fun, for sure.”
Game 7 is a point of convergence. More trades will happen this week. Maybe another sale or two, also.
Let the league crown the real champions first.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.