Kevin Durant Reveals Thunder Nearly Traded for DPOY in 2009-10

Kevin Durant is still going strong at 36 years old and remains one of the top players in the league with the Phoenix Suns .

However, before he became an established legend and a two-time champion, he was a rising star with the Oklahoma City Thunder .

Durant spent nine seasons with the franchise before infamously joining the Golden State Warriors in 2016.

At the time, it was clear he made the move to finally win a title.

He did just that.

But recently, Durant revealed that the Thunder nearly made a trade that would have sent a defensive anchor to Oklahoma City in 2009-10.

If the trade happens, there is a chance that he wins a title in Oklahoma City.

In turn, this could have led to him remaining with the team for much longer than he did.

In an episode of the Out the Mud podcast, NBA champion Tony Allen revealed he nearly signed with the Thunder before they acquired Thabo Sefolosha .

Additionally, Durant also revealed that the Thunder nearly traded for Tyson Chandler .

However, a failed physical led to the team rescinding the trade.

We were supposed to get Tyson Chandler, too.

We had traded for Tyson, the trade had went through [in the] 2009-2010 season, then our doctors said something was wrong with his toe, so we rescinded the trade, and that next next season, he went on to win the chip with Dallas, Durant said.

Kevin Durant Reveals the Oklahoma City Thunder Nearly Traded for Tyson Chandler What Happened Instead Allen went on to join the Memphis Grizzlies after his departure from the Boston Celtics .

As for Chandler, like Durant said, he was traded by the then-Charlotte Bobcats to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2010 offseason.

Chandler spent one season in Dallas before getting traded to the New York Knicks .

However, in his one season, he played an instrumental role in Dallas.

Chandler finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting that year.

Furthermore, he started all 21 games during Dallas NBA Championship run.

If he had joined the Thunder, who also had Serge Ibaka at the time, there is no telling what their ceiling was.

On the flip side, the Thunder had Nenad Krstic for the first 47 games of the 2010-11 season.

Ultimately, the Thunder traded him, along with Jef Green, to Boston in exchange for Kendrick Perkins .

The Thunder made the NBA Finals the next year before losing to the Miami Heat in five games.

The Last Word The California native ended up winning the Defensive Player of the Year award with the Knicks and was a serviceable big man for nearly two decades.

If he had joined the Thunder, they would have been better off competing for a championship in 2011.

Furthermore, it is fair to wonder if the Mavericks win it all that year without Chandler.

Chandler in OKC is an interesting hypothetical.

Even if it seems like a relatively minor move, it started a major ripple effect.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission..

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