NBA superstar Kevin Durant today announced his decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder to join forces with Steph Curry and the record-breaking Golden State Warriors. So what of the impact on the Thunder, the Warriors, and the league as a whole?
Newshub's Cameron Russell and Stephen Foote weigh in.
Stephen: Make no mistake about it, this is one of the most audacious, weak, and cowardly, moves in professional sports history.
Leaving a team which was about four minutes of ice-cold shooting away from an NBA Finals appearance to join the very squad which beat you, it goes against every fibre of competitive being Durant used to so proudly laud.
LeBron James may have formed a 'super team' with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh back in 2010, but they had to build from scratch on a side that had just been eliminated from the playoffs in the first round the season prior, having never played together.
Furthermore, James didn't jump on board with his Celtic adversaries. Durant is plugging into an established system on an historically great squad, it's the epitome of 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'. It's unprecedented and brutally disappointing, on so many levels.
Cam: While that's fair and viewed as "easy way out," it's also the smartest basketball decision he could have made. Will he be hated for it? No doubt, especially since few saw this happening.
Durant's letter on the Players Tribune is nothing but apologetic. He's prepared for the backlash, but he's decided to become his own 'general manager' in a sense. The fact he left no clues along the way stings OKC fans like a plaster being torn off.
He wants that Championship ring, because that's ultimately what basketballers are remembered for. After nine seasons in the league, he now finds himself with the best chance to achieve that, and when it comes to shoot-first point guards, would you rather Westbrook or the MVP Steph Curry?
Cam: One thing's for sure, Adams will get paid. A lot.
The Thunder can't afford to lose any more young talent, and big men can be hard to come by in the NBA. Adams, 22, will have to shoulder more, but he'll continue to grow. Things could go one of two ways for the rest of the Thunder as a team.
They could hand Russell Westbrook the keys, throw money at him to stay, and attempt to build around him. Or they could trade him for assets (similar to Orlando and Dwight Howard, or the then Hornets and Chris Paul) if he wants to leave before this Durant situation happens again a year from now.
The unfortunate thing for Oklahoma City is the fact they're a small market in the NBA, so it could be some time before they return to one of the NBA's powerhouses (or playoff locks, for that matter).
Stephen: Agreed. Holding on to Westbrook in the hope that he re-signs with them when he becomes a free agent at the end of next season would be massively risky business for the Thunder, he may well walk for nothing. But there's no doubt Russell is a 'chip on the shoulder' ultra-competitor, he may well be galvanised by the move and the freedom involved in having the ball in his hands that much more.
For Steven Adams, at least from an individual standpoint, this is all roses. He's set to become a much greater feature offensively, his combination with Westbrook which blossomed last season will be that much more critical.
Financially, he'll be bracing for a windfall.
As a restricted free agent the Thunder will have the chance to match any offer sheet he may receive from other teams, of which there will be plenty, and keeping him has just become borderline essential. A young, rapidly improving, 7-footer…I'm estimating a deal in the vicinity of $30 million ($41.5m NZD) annually over the space of 4 years.
Losing your best player to your biggest rival, this is a gut-wrenching day for Oklahoma City sports. They're now a borderline playoff team.
Cam: Let's not get ahead of ourselves, a moment will come when this team is unexpectedly doubted. It always does in basketball. The Warriors, fresh off a historic 73-win season, were down 3-1 to the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals and were being written off. The same happened when Cleveland (who few expected to win at the start of the season) were down 3-1 in the finals.
Ultimately we had three solid title contenders (Warriors, Spurs, Cavs) before this move, and other than the Warriors shortening their odds, things haven't changed.
The Warriors will again be must-watch television, much to the NBA's glee, but people will mercilessly root against them.
Stephen: Sure, the Warriors are set to become the target of widespread hate, but you may as well start engraving the Larry O'Brien trophy now, for the next few years. They were arguably a Draymond Green suspension away from securing back-to-back titles last season.
Their now removing the weakest link in their starting five in Harrison Barnes, who had a nightmare Finals series, and replacing him with one of the greatest small-forwards of all time.
In essence, they now have the second and third best players in the NBA, and two more of the top 15 in Green and Klay Thompson. It may take some time to get all the cogs aligned, but this is a true 'Big Four', and as superhuman as LeBron James may be, this is a bridge too far for his Cavs.
The National Basketball Association is now a two-team league, at best. Any semblance of competitive balance has completely gone.
This is a dark day, Cam. A dark day.
Newshub.
