PHOENIX — When Kevin Durant makes his Suns debut Wednesday night in Charlotte, it will without a doubt be one of the biggest moments in the history of the team.
On a Wednesday edition of the Locked On Suns podcast, host Brendon Kleen discussed the magnitude of the moment for Suns fans as well as NBA history.
“Something that I think we will start to understand and feel right away starting tonight is the way that Durant is going to be a part of this team’s history and vice versa,” Kleen said.
Whether a fan tuning in cares deeply about the Suns or is just a basketball lover, the start of a new era for one of the game’s best two-dozen players ever is momentous.
“You know him,” Kleen said. “Drafted to Seattle. Plays the two-guard under PJ Carlesimo in Seattle, then the Supersonics move to Oklahoma City. They make that competitive first-round series against the Lakers in 2010, the Finals in 2011.
“You remember 2016 when he goes up 3-1 against the Warriors, and then the Warriors come back, and then the Warriors lose the Finals and Durant joins them. You remember the Achilles tear, you remember Durant leaving (Golden State), you remember Durant coming back (from the injury) … Obviously the two championships in Golden State before the Achilles tear, two Finals MVPs. You remember even before that, 2013, the speech, ‘you’re the real MVP.”
Except in this case, Suns fans won’t be watching from afar. Even though it’s a road game on the opposite coast, they will be watching one of their own.
“You remember the press conference just last week, when he’s announced and there’s a crowd, and it’s crazy, and it feels real. And you’re going to remember (this game) forever,” Kleen continued. “Except the difference is, he’s going to be playing for your team.”
From a basketball standpoint, expect the Suns to keep things simple. Durant and head coach Monty Williams indicated Durant will be on a minutes limit, and the Suns generally don’t create a ton of structure into how they play.
“What I’m watching for is how much structure does Monty Williams try to impose onto the Kevin Durant Suns” on offense, Kleen said.
“Defensively, how much do the Suns switch? That’s going to be interesting to me,” he added. “Are the Suns’ coaches and players going to embrace that right away, or is that going to be a break-in-case-of-emergency thing?”
There will be just 20 games for the Suns to adapt and integrate their new future Hall of Fame star onto the team and see how they can gel before the playoffs. The Suns and Hornets tip off for the first of those 20 games at 7 p.m. ET.