Boston Celtics made the right decision on Kevin Durant

On Thursday night, the Boston Celtics clinched their playoff berth with a 127-112 win over the Phoenix Suns at TD Garden, marking their league-leading 52nd win of the season. Without Kristaps Porzingis and on their third game in four nights, Boston pulled off a convincing win in their return to home court and swept the season series against Phoenix 2-0.

“You’ve got your center making 5, 6 threes, that’s tough to stop,” said Suns star Kevin Durant. “We like to pack the paint and hold teams to outside shots. When they spread you out and everybody on the court can shoot, it’s tough to get into those positions…that’s the challenge that this team possesses, that everybody on the team can shoot the three, and they stay patient on offense, and look for the three.”

Boston got a huge performance out of Al Horford with Porzingis sidelined, as the veteran chipped in 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting (6-of-10 from deep) against Phoenix. The performance marked a season high for the Celtics’ elder statesman, and gave another shining example of how fortunate this team is to have the depth they possess. As a collective, the team shot 25-of-50 from beyond the arc, marking a season-high in opponent makes and attempts for the Suns.

“That’s just the name of the game,” said Durant, “Especially in today’s league, you can’t just give them every shot at the basket, you can’t just give any team 50 threes, they’re just going to out-math you. I think they just know the numbers and just beat us at math. Shoot more threes, and if you’re hot that night, you’re going to have a big win.”

That’s some high praise from a talent like KD, especially with the Celtics having some lofty goals for this season. It certainly wasn’t the only time that Durant has thrown praise towards Boston, and he’s never shied away from lifting up Jayson Tatum as one of the best players in the league. Before their Thursday night matchup, Durant named Tatum as one of the next faces of the league with the ability of running the NBA for the next decade.

When it comes to Durant and Boston, there’s been a “What If?” factor at play for quite some time. From Danny Ainge being fined for sitting next to Durant’s mother at Texas games nearly two decades ago to the ill-fated meeting in The Hamptons with a side of Tom Brady, KD and Boston’s fates have been intertwined for years. Kyrie Irving’s back room pitch to Durant at the All-Star Game sealed their partnership in Brooklyn and Irving’s messy Celtics departure, and their loss at the hands of the Celtics during Boston’s 2022 Finals run essentially ended those new age Nets.

The opportunity to finally join together arose once more, after the 2021-22 season, when Kevin Durant formally requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets during the offseason. Immediately, the Celtics became one of the teams expected to be in on the Slim Reaper. Despite coming fresh off their first NBA Finals appearance since 2010, the trade narrative surrounding Jaylen Brown for Kevin Durant quickly gathered steam.

Fans and analysts alike were at each other’s throats, both for and against the move from a Celtics perspective; anyone who followed basketball was weighing in on the potential blockbuster. While keeping the status quo on a team two wins shy of an NBA title is logical, the appeal of adding a generational talent like Kevin Durant was truly tempting.

After a second trade request and a total collapse from Brooklyn, Durant landed in Phoenix at the trade 2022-2023 deadline for a bevy of picks and players. New Phoenix Suns owner Matt Ishbia, who had bought the team in December of 2022, made an immediate splash by acquiring Durant, and doubled down on the move by swinging another blockbuster deal for Bradley Beal that summer.

It’s interesting to look back and wonder what could have been, and the way that both of these franchises turned out regarding their decisions on Kevin Durant. While the Boston Celtics ultimately did shake up their roster after coming up short last postseason, their moves didn’t decimate their depth or cost them too heavily. Yes, trading Marcus Smart hurt, as did trading Robert Williams, but it was necessary to push the Celtics roster to a new level. After trading for both Durant and Beal in a span of six months, the Suns sent out a combined eight first round picks in addition to talents like Mikal Bridges and DeAndre Ayton.

Both the Celtics and Suns share the goal of winning an NBA championship, and both have fallen short in the Finals. After a letdown season in 2022, Phoenix swung for the fences and gutted their roster out for a shorter title window. Boston chose to lock up Jaylen Brown long-term, and after making the tough move of trading heart-and-soul leader Marcus Smart, the team brought in a true third star in Kristaps Porzingis, and he’s meshed almost seamlessly with the Celtics.

Brad Stevens managed to add a star player at a position of need without completely emptying the cupboard, while the Suns are all-in on their trio of Durant, Beal and Devin Booker. One team is leading the entire league in record, while the other is currently slotted to be in the Play-In Tournament.

It’s important to remember how vastly different the outcome could have been for the Boston Celtics if they had chosen the Durant path (or even the Beal path). If they had, not only would Porzingis likely not be in Celtics green, but Jaylen Brown and Derrick White wouldn’t be on the roster. Who knows how it would have changed the approach from the rest of the teams in the East.

As Irving once quoted, “comparison is the thief of joy,” but when it comes to the Celtics and Suns, it’s impossible not to think about how different things would’ve been.