When Miller signed with Memphis, a source said one of his reasons was he thought the Grizzlies were closer 
to the championship than any of the teams pursuing him, including the Thunder. While Durant may disagree (and so do we, at least this season), that had to register somewhere in his thought process.
And Bennett’s chintz extends beyond the court as well.
After a devastating tornado blew through Oklahoma in May, Durant donated $1 million of his own money to the relief efforts. It wasn’t until Durant’s generosity became public that Bennett – whose net worth is at least four times that of Durant’s – ponied up on behalf of the Thunder. The lifelong resident of Oklahoma gave the same $1 million as his employee.
You can argue the merits of the Thunder’s financial decisions over the last two summers. Harden wanted to be a true franchise player, which wasn’t going to happen in Oklahoma City. Ibaka may be overpaid now but could be a relative bargain two years from now. No one knew the previously indestructible Russell Westbrook would go down with an injury. For all his shortcomings, Perkins can defend the low post, where Dwight Howard operates. Kevin Martin won’t be a $7 million player three years from now. And the youngsters won’t get better if they don’t play.
Yes, it’s easy to sit here and spend someone else’s money. Bennett’s team plays in the 44th-largest market in the country. Among NBA cities, only Memphis and New Orleans are smaller. But it was Bennett’s decision to move the franchise from Seattle, the 14th-largest market. So we’re not playing any violins.
And yes, Bennett owns the Thunder and can set the payroll threshold wherever he wants. However, it should be pointed out that according to Forbes, the team has an operating income of nearly $90 million (which constitutes a profit) over the last four available years. Again, no handkerchiefs are necessary.
And yes, Bennett is entitled to his firm belief that spending money and winning championships are mutually exclusive. But he should know that the last six NBA champions were taxpayers. That could be a coincidence. Or it could be a trend.
However, clearly a trend is Durant’s current status as second banana in the NBA’s pecking order behind LeBron James. There is no shame in that; Durant could just be the wrong guy at the wrong time, much the way West was to Bill Russell or Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and Patrick Ewing were to Michael Jordan.
But you have to wonder if Durant will feel the same way about Oklahoma City three years from now if Bennett continues to ask players to make financial sacrifices and rake in revenue without raising payroll, depriving the Thunder and their loyal fan base of a championship. Because that’s not “all for one and one for all.”
That’s “all for me.”
When his current contract expires, Durant will be 27, still in his prime with nine years under his belt, represented by a new agent, Jay-Z. That’s nine years of virtually unmatched excellence on and off the court. Nine years of finishing second — or worse, depending on what is to come. Nine years of trying to fill the only void in his Hall of Fame resume.
There’s probably a great owner out there who would love to help him. Time, and money, will tell.
RELATED: THUNDER PREVIEW — FIVE THINGS TO WATCH FOR
RELATED: THUNDER SALARY CAP ANALYSIS
Chris Bernucca is a regular columnist and the managing editor of SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter.
oui je dis pas mais entre lui et ramos je prefere ramos
What you’re missing, is a new function of the new CBA called a repeater tax. I’ve forgotten exact specifics, but basically it provides stiff penalties for teams that are repeat tax payers. The tax rate increases along with other penalties that restrict the ability to add role players around a core.
And the Thunder will be taxpayers next year, season 2014/15, and probably for the foreseeable future. Its unavoidable. Trading Harden wasn’t about paying a luxury tax last season, it was about the tax bill two and three season ahead. This is why it was important for the Thunder to not be taxpayers in this current season, so they can delay one more year, becoming repeat taxpayers.
Its not about just a willingness to pay tax, its about being able to pay the tax in the next two to four years. I really doubt if Bennett or any owner, has drawn any profits out of the Thunder, so that money is still there to be used to pay the extreme tax bill that lies ahead.
You are thinking about right now and playing checkers, Sam Presti and Bennett are playing chess.
and negotiating a sign and trade and rcving a 7 million trade exception rather than NOTHING is ‘saving face’? I mean, what did Clay pee in your Cheerios?
BAD article. Don’t know how good Lamb is yet, Adams could turn out to be excellent Center and completely fail to mention that Harden was demanding max money and most likely would have been gone after the season, regardless. You can do better than this guys.
I know how good Lamb is – not as good as Martin and unqualified to be Harden’s ballboy. Harden is a top-10 player and will be top-5 before his current deal expires. And as long as you are banking on that trade exception, tell me the last time ANY team acquired a player of consequence with a trade exception. I love Durant. I love Westbrook. But Bennett is a cheapskate. Thanks for reading.
Durant has not played his entire career with the Oklahoma City “thunder”.
He was in fact drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics, and he played his first couple of years (very happily) of his career in the NBA there.
He in fact, is still caught wearing Sonics caps during warmups.
Kevin Durant is a great guy, but Clay Bennett is not.
Bennett stole the Sonics away in a very deceitful and dishonest deal, and now he seems to be screwing OKC and Durant as well.
As long as he’s an owner, I hope that his team never wins.
Here’s to bringing the Sonics back next year, and having Durant come back there where he belongs to win his first well deserved championship.
Seasons? Wasnt it just one season? Stretching the truth. Owner who lives somewhere else buys team from starbucks ceo, who would of thought he would move it to where he resides? Be mad at city of seattle for not going to games & not renovating key arena or building a new one. Seattle prioritized qwest(nfl) and safeco(mlb) stadiums over nba facility. I hope the team wins now just due to fact of all sour sonics fans who havent let it go. Keep showing up to playoff games, please. Heres to NBA in OKC. Its a beautiful thing.
> Seattle prioritized qwest(nfl) and safeco(mlb) stadiums over nba facility.
Wrong. The renovation that turned the Coliseum into KeyArena took place prior to Safeco and Quest.
renovation isn’t the same as building a new arena smart guy, but you knew that right? Sonics fans kill me. Go cheer for the lacrosse team. haha
Actually, West was a loser in 1 out of 9 in title series’, not 1 out of 8.
Knew that, AJ, but thanks. Skipped over that last one because it came after he finally one. Still the only guy to win Finals MVP for the losing team, something I really can’t see happening ever again. Thanks for reading.
Great piece. It has always boggled my mind why millionaire owners want teams yet are so frugal when it comes to luxury taxes.
OKC has gotten lucky with drafting (especially “falling” to 2nd place to get KD), but it seems they feel it’s enough in today’s NBA. It’s not.
Not just millionaire. In some cases, billionaire. Thunder minority owner Aubrey McLendon is worth $1.2 billion.
Jackson will most likely be first “wing” off bench. Come on now, hopefully you are not getting paid for this. I know this and have $0 involved.
All the more reason why the notion that Lamb is ready to fill a role Harden held less than a year ago is an absurdity. I like what Jackson showed in the postseason, and he can allow Westbrook to slide to the 2. But at some point, Westbrook has to rest. Thanks for reading.