Durant: The Franchise

The future of the Sonics in Seattle isn’t on the shoulders of rookie sensation Kevin Durant, but most everything else is. The Texas-ex is the cornerstone of the franchise at the ripe old age of 19.

“I would say he has the potential,” Avery Johnson said when asked if Durant is a franchise player. “It’s kind of hard to give guys that label. That’s a pretty big responsibility, but I’m assuming that’s why they drafted him thinking he can be that type of player.

“He’s really raw right now, still defining his game, but he’s further ahead of a lot of people at that age when they first came into the league, even if they came into the league at 23.”

There’s been talk that Durant has been frustrated lately by all the losing. Johnson said that’s natural considering where Durant was last year.

“It’s just the season itself,” Johnson said. “Even if they were winning more, it’s a long season for somebody who’s never experienced it. Where he is right now, it’s a college season and he’s got to play two more college seasons before the end of the season.

“It could be a long season for a player that hadn’t experienced it before, travel and if the team is not playing as well as you would want it to, it can get pretty long.”