Durant era may be boom time for Sonics

On the NBA

By kerry eggers

The Portland Tribune, Jul 17, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (3 Reader comments)

David Dow / GETTY IMAGES

Kevin Durant says he has no hard feelings toward the Trail Blazers for passing him over as the No. 1 draft pick. The Seattle SuperSonics took the University of Texas star as No. 2.

ADVERTISEMENTS

LAS VEGAS – As he walked out of Cox Pavilion on Sunday night, a man with a Seattle SuperSonics cap nudged his companion.

“That was the future tonight,” he said.

For the Sonics, Sunday’s 84-78 summer-league loss to the Trail Blazers was definitely a glimpse of that.

Rookies Jeff Green and Kevin Durant combined for 60 of their team’s points. They’re a potent 1-2 punch that could carry into the 2007-08 season for Portland’s Northwest rival.

And get this: The Sonics are thinking seriously of using the 6-10 Durant at shooting guard. That’s what he played in most of Seattle’s last two games. Against Portland, he made only 8 of 19 shots, including 1 of 6 from 3-point range. But he got to the foul line often and scored 28 points.

“The 2 is a good position,” Durant says, “but I’ve never played it before. Coach (P.J. Carlesimo) thinks I’m capable of doing it. Whatever he needs me to do, I’ll do. The biggest challenge is on defense. Against Golden State, I guarded (Marco) Belinelli. He’s a great player; that was a good test.”

Carlesimo has no doubt Durant could handle the position at the offensive end, though his shooting left plenty to be desired during his four summer-league games. He averaged 24.0 points and made the 14-player all-star team, but Durant was only .333 from the field.

“I did OK,” Durant says. “Every game I got better at both ends. That’s all I was hoping for when I came to summer league. I didn’t want to average 20 or 25 points. I just wanted to get better on my weaknesses. As the games went on, I think I did that.”

Player’s OK with No. 2

It was ironic that Durant had his final summer-league game against the team that bypassed him to choose Ohio State center Greg Oden with the No. 1 pick in the June 28 draft. Did Durant, who spent two days in Portland before the draft, ever think the Blazers would select him?

“I thought so,” he says. “I wanted to dream big. They were telling me I had a good workout and they were strongly considering taking me No. 1.

“But Portland got a great player in Greg Oden. I can’t blame them for not picking me. It’s good to be the second player taken, right after him. I’m happy with the situation I’m in now.”

Durant showed plenty of his arsenal in his final two summer-league games. Blessed with great hands and the wingspan of a condor, he scored most of his points against Portland from the perimeter. But in the third quarter, he swooped in for a cradle dunk that he ought to re-create for the dunk contest during the All-Star weekend next February.

Maybe you haven’t heard, but this is a package that doesn’t come along too often.

1 | 2 Next Page >>