Durant’s legacy is hanging on the balance. If he doesn’t want to be remembered in history as the guy who road the coat tails of a 73 win team to titles, he needs to pave his own way to a championship. It’s like how people view LeBron differently for bringing a championship to Cleveland opposed to how they perceived him in MIA. Believe this - not every title is equal. That one championship LeBron won for Cleveland means much more than the two he won in Miami because he did it for a city who likely would have gone another fifty years without one if he didn’t come back. Durant needs a new franchise to make his Cleveland. Out of all the teams with the cap space to give him the max contract he deserves, Sacramento stands out. He can be their saving grace who not only brings them to the playoffs for the first time in over a decade, but can bring them to the finals and possibly deliver a ring. He could even be the guy that turns that franchise around and prevents them from having to uproot and move to a different city, because they are for sure a candidate for that.
I look at Sacramento’s roster, and people think they have overachieved this season when I don’t think that’s the case - their young guys are just really good. Not to mention Dave Joeger has them playing hard. Hield and Fox have been a great backcourt duo (I see them as Wall/Beal without the horrendous chemistry issues), and Bagley and Cayley-Stein have performed admirably upfront. The only glaring weakness on that team seems to be at small forward, where Durant would help a ton. Say what you want about KD, but with the amount of talent that guy has, I think if you plop him on that team right now they’re beating anyone out west. Plus, all the young guys are on rookie contracts which gives financial flexibility to continue to be players in free agency even after signing him.
Put the Kings over the top, save the franchise, and mentor and teach these young guys what it takes to win a title all while being the main guy and breaking scoring titles in the process. That’s how Durant redeems himself. Just a random though. Probably a long shot to say the least, but something I think he should consider
Now of course I don’t know Durant, but it seems like he’s really bothered by the criticism he has reviewed for joining GS. Secure and confident people don’t have to fight with teenagers on social media. Going to SAC gets him off the hook a bit, and puts him in a good situation roster wise for quite a while, as SAC is still really young. And I don’t really think Durant is one to want the spotlight ofNew York like everyone thinksr.