When the Boston Celtics tried to get Kevin Durant in the summer of 2016’s free agency period, the front office went all out looking to add the then-Thunder superstar — even bringing Tom Brady for its free agent pitch meeting.
They fell short, watching the Golden State Warriors make a league-shifting signing that guaranteed them the next two championships and the next three Western Conference championships. NESN’s Sean McGuire wrote that Boston losing the KD sweepstakes could be something Celtics fans might not get over.
McGuire wrote as much in his piece titled ”Five Biggest ‘What-Ifs’ Of Danny Ainge Era With Boston Celtics,’ slotting Durant’s infamous 2016 free agency decision at the No. 3 spot on his list.
The Boston Celtics would have never ended up with Jayson Tatum if they landed Kevin Durant
While NESN’s Sean McGuire did add the caveat that ‘the Celtics still would have had the opportunity to add current stars like Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum’ had they landed Kevin Durant, the truth is that Tatum would have been completely off the table.
Durant’s presence on the 2016-17 Boston Celtics — a team, by the way, that made the Eastern Conference finals in their own right — would have likely resulted in at least an NBA Finals appearance. Perhaps it’s a stretch to guarantee that Boston and KD would have beaten the Golden State Warriors.
Still, the team would have been nearly complete, especially on the wing, and even in getting the No. 3 pick from the Brooklyn Nets again, the team would have likely grabbed a long-term project such as a Lauri Markkanen type as opposed to a Durant backup on the wing.
While Boston winning titles with Durant and the forward possibly even sticking around past his first contract, something he didn’t do in his run with the Warriors, would have been nice, having a homegrown star in Tatum slowly rising to the top has been just as rewarding — assuming the accompanying hardware does eventually come.