Kevin Durant's departure from the Warriors was indeed a significant decision in his career, marking a turning point.

This season, the Phoenix Suns were seen as one of the most promising teams but ended up having a disappointing performance.

With stars like Durant, Booker, and Beal, the team was expected to contend for the championship at the beginning of the season.

They were positioned by the media as one of the top teams in the West, not just a fringe playoff team.

However, despite sweeping the Timberwolves in the regular season, the Suns clearly were not on the same level as their opponents in the playoffs.

This brings to mind the first-round matchup between the Nets and the Celtics in the 2022 playoffs.

In that series, the Nets were outplayed in both offense and defense as well as coaching by the Celtics, resulting in a clean sweep.

It's worth noting that the Nets roster at that time included top scorers like Durant and Irving, whose capabilities couldn't be underestimated.

However, when the team's defense collapsed, despite their potent offensive firepower, they struggled to prevent failure.

This season, the Suns were eliminated in the first round, mirroring the Nets' experience, falling into the same pitfalls.

Despite having players like Irving, Booker, and Beal, the Suns' defense still had vulnerabilities.

Facing the Timberwolves, the Suns allowed the team, not known for its offense, to achieve the league's highest average points per game and offensive efficiency, which is unbelievable.

After all, the playoffs emphasize defense, and when a team can exert great pressure on their opponents defensively, success is within reach.

Just look at the Timberwolves' successful defense against the Suns to understand why they were able to sweep and advance.

Throughout the series, the Timberwolves limited the Suns to an average of just 103.3 points per game, even with the Suns' big three healthy and playing.

Although the Suns suffered a setback in the playoffs, Durant's performance was still impeccable.

In the four games, except for the second game where he only scored 18 points, Durant scored 25+ points in the other three games.

When the Suns are troubled by their heavy salary structure next season, they will drift further away from the championship.

This begs the question: does Durant regret leaving the Warriors?

Since leaving the Warriors, Durant has not led a team to the conference finals, instead being swept out twice.

In 2019, Durant suffered an ankle injury in the NBA Finals, but he still chose to leave the Warriors and join the Nets with Irving, hoping for success in Brooklyn.

Although Durant is unmatched on the court, his leadership has always been lacking.

Despite being Irving's leader, he couldn't control some of Irving's actions. When Irving's series of issues affected the Nets both internally and externally, their championship hopes were dashed.

From the Nets to the Suns, Durant is still far from the championship, and whether he can win another championship seems increasingly unlikely.