Did NBA Hold Kevin Durant Trade News To Add Hype To Thunder-Pacers Game 7?
The timing of the blockbuster trade was quite interesting
A blockbuster trade rocked the NBA world on Sunday when the Phoenix Suns sent Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets for two players and five draft picks. The timing was quite interesting, given that news broke about eight hours prior to the start of Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers.
Are the two related? One must wonder.
The NBA, perhaps more than any other major American sports league, is almost entirely superstar-driven. Ratings are low for the NBA Finals, thus far, largely because neither Indiana nor OKC feature a true superstar that resonates with American sports fans.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is easily the best player in the series, but he doesn't resonate strongly among American sports fans for two reasons. The first is that he's not an American. Americans have long shown stronger support for American-born athletes over foreign ones. That's pretty typical for most countries, frankly.
The second is that Gilgeous-Alexander's style of play isn't very fun to watch. He relies heavily on creating contact and scoring from the free-throw line. While it's effective, it's not always enjoyable. On the other side, Tyrese Haliburton is the Pacers' best player. He was voted the most "overrated" player in the NBA – by fellow NBA players, mind you. That doesn't scream "superstar."
Enter: Kevin Durant.
Kevin Durant being traded hours before Game 7 of the NBA Finals is a little too coincidental
Durant is a bona-fide superstar headed for the Basketball Hall of Fame following his retirement. He's a former #2 overall NBA Draft pick, a two-time Finals MVP, and a 15-time All-Star.
The biggest knock on Durant is how frequently he changes teams. Now, that's the modern NBA at work. LeBron James created the "ring culture" – despite his sudden criticism of it – by jumping from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Miami Heat and surrounding himself with other great players to chase championships. Then, he went back to Cleveland before landing himself with the Lakers.
The Phoenix Suns traded Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets and news broke hours before Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and Houston Rockets.
(USA Today Network/Imagn Images)
Durant followed suit, starting his career with the Seattle Supersonics (who later became the Oklahoma City Thunder) before jumping ship to join the Golden State Warriors' dynasty. That paid off, in terms of "ring culture," by helping Durant with two championships. Then, he headed off to Brooklyn before going to Phoenix and now finds himself in Houston.
It's interesting that the biggest NBA news on Sunday came via Kevin Durant, given that he spent the most time with OKC, the team that finds itself one victory away from winning it all.
Of course, Durant trade rumors have circulated for weeks, including the names of the teams for which Durant preferred to play. Of course, because the NBA is a player-driven league, Durant got his wish and went to one of the teams allegedly on his list.
But did the trade really go down on Sunday? Or, did the league purposefully hold that news to help build hype for Game 7 between the Pacers and Thunder? I don't know the answer, but it sure stands to reason that this might have been the plan all along.
NBA Finals ratings indicate that fans need other reasons to tune in
As mentioned, the NBA Finals ratings haven't been great. They've been awful, in fact. But now there's a storyline heading into the biggest game of the season that involves a superstar and neither of the teams involved in the game.
Surely, ESPN is ecstatic. The NBA Finals are on ABC, and now they have given fans a reason to tune into their awful pre-game coverage that includes Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins. Those two are mostly insufferable on NBA broadcasts, and fans aren't tuning in to see those two trade ridiculous "hot takes" for the sake of drumming up interest.
Expect the "hot takes" to be flying ahead of Game 7, focusing mostly on next season. Why not? Clearly, fans aren't all that interested in this series. Stephen A. Smith got it rolling on social media hours before his appearance on pre-game coverage.
The breaking news came from an ESPN insider, too, Shams Charania. Now, Carania is the league's main newsbreaker, so that's not surprising. However, it also wouldn't be surprising if the NBA and ESPN worked together to make sure the news came out on Sunday afternoon.
Is there anything wrong with that? No, definitely not. In fact, I'd argue that it's a great strategy for the league and ESPN. By getting the Durant trade out there on Sunday, there is buzz around the league heading into Game 7.
Plus, by not holding the news for Monday, they pave the way for the NBA Draft – which features a potential new superstar, Cooper Flagg – to take center stage this week. The Dallas Mavericks, who hold the #1 overall pick, have indicated that they intend to select Flagg with the first selection on Wednesday night.
Overall, the timing seems too convenient. The NBA is making itself the biggest story in sports – on several fronts – leading into its two biggest events of the year. Honestly, that's how you would draw it up if you were scripting it.
So, they are probably doing just that.