Spiraling Rockets vindicates Spurs for opting out of controversial trade target

When rumors that Kevin Durant had San Antonio listed as one of his preferred destinations before being traded out of Phoenix spread, it felt good. I won't lie. He's a big name. It's KEVIN DURANT. So, when he ended up in Houston, it was a bit of a bummer. But hindsight is 50/50, and we can see oh so clearly now. Everything worked out for the best, and I wouldn't change that outcome if I had a magical talisman to pull it off.

The Rockets are currently on a three-game skid, sitting at seventh place in the Western Conference with a 22-14 record. They run through a mini-gauntlet by any means, either. They lost to the Trail Blazers in back-to-back contests and followed that up by dropping one to the lowly Sacramento Kings.

Now, I won't be a hypocrite and act like Portland doesn't have talent. The Spurs just took an L to them, so that's fine. But taking two in a row, only to backdoor them with an L from an organization desperately trying to trade all of their players, is kind of crazy. What's worse is that KD went off in those games, and they still couldn't find a way to win. There's a Durant pattern here that we can't ignore.

Kevin Durant is not a needle-mover anymore

Durant would probably tell me that I don't know what I'm talking about because I'm not in his locker rooms, but it doesn't take a fly on the wall to see that every team he goes to ends up falling short. I'm befuddled as to the reason that keeps happening, but we can't act like it hasn't been the consistent story for his career since he left Golden State.

I'm willing to cut him a little slack for the Brooklyn saga since James Harden was the first one to bail, and that was seemingly because they couldn't get on the same page. Kyrie Irving refused to get the COVID vaccine, and politics aside, you were barred from play if you didn't have the jab. Everything crumbled from there, so I won't put that on Durant, but that was only one stop.

They never won when he was in OKC, and he has to wear that. They were up 3-1 on Golden State in the Western Conference Finals and lost. He had his opportunities. Phoenix started out with promise but ended in catastrophe. So much so that he and that fan base are always at odds on social media, and Durant recently revealed that he was offended by the organization because he felt scapegoated.

They traded him where he wanted to go, and to make that happen, Houston had to give up Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green. Turns out Brooks is the real needle mover because ever since he returned from his early injury, the Suns have been the better team and just passed the Rockets up in the standings.

Had the Spurs traded for Durant, they would have had to give up a couple of depth pieces or one of their young guards, and for some mystical reason, this season wouldn't be as successful as it has been. I don't know why. That just seems to be the Slim Reaper's reality. Maybe it's penance from the basketball gods for his Golden State decision. What a terrible time for competition that was.