Kevin Durant leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder to sign with the Golden State Warriors has sent shockwaves throughout the NBA. Durant’s future has been up in the air for quite some time, but the consensus was he’d simply re-sign with the Thunder. The one-time NBA MVP put an end to the speculation on Monday by taking to The Players’ Tribune to announce his intentions to join Stephen Curry and company.
With Durant agreeing to sign a two-year deal with the Warriors to create an unprecedented team filled with All-Stars, there were plenty of reactions around the league among the media and players. Two of the Los Angeles Lakers best and brightest took to Twitter in the aftermath of Durant’s decision to express their thoughts. Larry Nance Jr. was the first to chime in claiming Russell Westbrook will be on another level next season:
Westbrook is about to go OFF next year
— Larry Nance Jr (@Larrydn22) July 4, 2016
D’Angelo Russell also had something to say with his emphasis being on how ridiculous the Warriors will be, especially on NBA 2K17:
See what I tell yaw! Now the Warriors will be illegal. #2k
— D’Angelo Russell (@Dloading) July 4, 2016
Russell was referring to his tweet from a few days ago when free agency had just gotten underway with players agreeing to deals left and right:
Not gone lie some of these teams gone be cold on 2k
— D’Angelo Russell (@Dloading) July 1, 2016
Although the Lakers struck out in their attempts to sign players like Durant, Hassan Whiteside, and Al Horford, Mitch Kupchak and company have still put together a group with some promise.
The additions of Luol Deng, Timofey Mozgov, and rookie Brandon Ingram are all upgrades and seemingly steps in the right direction. Russell and Jordan Clarkson have been putting in the work this summer and appear to be determined to improve their game. Los Angeles may finally be able to start to turn things around next season.
Along with adding a couple of decent free agent signings and a talented rookie, the team still has some cap space left and may not be done bringing in players. There may be one or two players the team can sign that may further bolster the roster, especially if they part ways with Nick Young as expected.
There’s still a long way to go for the Lakers in terms of returning to prominence in the NBA. This team needs to come together and buy into Luke Walton’s system while facing some stiff competition in the Western Conference. Despite the tough task ahead, the Lakers have the pieces to get back on track.