The story back home with the Thunder, though, isn't nearly as warm. Not after a tepid offseason in which Oklahoma City -- still facing steep luxury-tax concerns even after trading away James Harden last October -- let Kevin Martin go in free agency and just lost out to the Memphis Grizzlies in the race to sign free-agent marksman Mike Miller.
Now we're talking about Durant here, so there wasn't a single word uttered during Wednesday's session with the media signaling dissatisfaction with the Thunder's summer.
However ...
It certainly left you wondering when the 24-year-old, when asked to assess his team's business to date in July, offered nothing more than "I love it" before walking away from the assembled press pack to bring the interview to a halt.
Which is certainly not the norm with one of the foremost gentlemen in the modern game.
Because of the long-term money invested in Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City made the decision to settle for creating a trade exception to salvage something from Martin's free-agent exodus to Minnesota. The Thunder, by limiting themselves to low-cost moves in free agency, are thus putting the onus on Westbrook's recovery from knee surgery and the continued development of youngsters such as Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb to enable their star trio to be sufficient to keep the club inching closer to a championship.
Yet it has to sting to hear the latest rumbles in circulation about Miller -- personally recruited by Durant to come to OKC after Miami let him go via the amnesty clause -- choosing Memphis in part because Miller sees the Grizzlies as closer to getting to the Finals than the Thunder.
We repeat: This is Durant. So it's a bit of a leap to outright say he's dismayed with developments in OKC on the basis of one walk-off answer. Many of the reporters around him, truth be told, broke out into laughter when Durant brought a halt to the question-and-answer session so abruptly.
Thunder officials can only hope Durant was simply in a rush to do what always wants to do most. Which is to say ... play.
