Tom Penn asks, could OKC trade Kevin Durant before 2016?

USATSI

So, here’s what ESPN analyst Tom Penn said today on Colin Cowherd’s show:

“I think this burst from Westbrook makes it likelier – much more likely – that Durant ultimately gets traded next year.

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Sam Presti has proven that he does not ever want to lose anybody for nothing. He traded James Harden a year early to avoid a potential luxury tax problem a year later. The Kevin Durant drumbeat next year is going to be so loud … he will not commit early to OKC because the rules are against that.

If Sam Presti doesn’t that get that commitment, he’ll look to trade Kevin Durant. Looking at the performance of Westbrook and the team around Westbrook will make it easier for him to do that, potentially.”

The Thunder aren’t trading Kevin Durant. I won’t just eat my hat if that happens. I’ll go buy three Lids franchises and eat every single hat in them. I’ll buy a Lids factory even and just roll them straight off the assembly line into my mouth.

This line of thinking from Penn hinges on the fact a lot of other teams have traded stars before they hit free agency — Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Dwight Howard. All of those guys didn’t sign extensions, and so their teams decided to sell high when they could and get something instead of nothing.

The idea is to preemptively trade superstars before free agency. In some cases, it makes sense, because there’s a clear angle being played out behind the scenes with the player and agent. Like what happened with Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Dwight Howard.

But here’s a common theme in all those situations: None of those teams were as good as the Thunder. None of them had a legit chance to win a championship in the final year with their star. Did the Heat ever consider trading LeBron James last season? Of course not. They knew they had a great player and a great chance to win it all, so they played it out and then let the cards fall where they did after the season.

Another critical element here: Kevin Durant is not Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Deron Williams or Dwight Howard. He is very much his own player, his own man. To place him in a box simply because other players have done this is just simply unfair.

This nonsense is the same stuff people got caught up in saying while Durant was ruining opponents in January without Russell Westbrook. It’s just talk, just noise. Westbrook has been fantastic, but the way he’s played hasn’t done anything except reinforce the fact the Thunder have two otherworldly players, and remind Durant that he could play a long time with an incredible star.

Durant may indeed decide not to re-sign with the Thunder in the summer of 2016. But that’s when the Thunder will meet that challenge. Because you take that chance. You take it to the eleventh hour holding on to a prayer you might keep him. You never, ever, ever, ever let Kevin Durant go on purpose. Some might see that as getting nothing in return from him, but really, you got all the time you possibly could with him. That’s more than worth not making a deal.

So let’s be done talking about this, OK?