They didn’t meet in the Hamptons. They chose, instead, a San Antonio apartment that overlooked the river.

The Spurs brought in a chef from Houston, as well as some pie charts to show Tim Duncan. But the meeting didn’t go well. Because the Spurs were low on draft choices and cap space, Gregg Popovich was pressed to explain what they would do next to improve the team.

Duncan faced the kind of decision in July 2000 that Kevin Durant just faced, and the Spurs were right to be nervous. “It was probably a lot closer decision,” Duncan said years later, “than people even think.”

These are the moments that change franchises and cities, and these are the moments that change careers.

This is a moment to remember Duncan, too.

Memories of Duncan the basketball player might be all that is left now. A member of the Spurs staff said last week that he would be “surprised” if Duncan didn’t retire, and Pau Gasol’s arrival further supports that possibility.

Here’s a suggestion, San Antonio, if Duncan does retire now: Celebrate that you had him the past 19 seasons instead of being depressed he won’t play a 20th. After all, the Spurs weren’t merely lucky to win a lottery that had a player such as Duncan as the prize. They were also lucky the prize stuck around.

This isn’t to say Durant is flawed because he left Oklahoma City. He was free to choose where he wanted to live and work, and a 73-win team certainly comes with a few plusses. Besides, no one in San Antonio would have had a problem with Durant relocating had he chosen South Texas instead.

Durant will go through an occasional bump next season. But with Steph Curry on one side and Klay Thompson on the other, he will get open shots he’s never had before. If Popovich thought the Warriors were “in a sense unsolvable” last season, wait until he tries to create a defense for this lineup. Durant will have fun.

So will Steve Kerr. His best-in-history 85-percent winning percentage is about to get even better.

Still, this decision couldn’t have been easy for Durant. He’s always come across as if he cares what people think. He wants to be a nice guy, and that’s why Oklahoma City is confused today. Durant often talked in terms of becoming to OKC what Duncan became to San Antonio.

When asked four years ago, for example, which duo “in the history of the game” he would like to become with Russell Westbrook, Durant pointed to Duncan and Tony Parker.

Not Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen?

“Oh,” Durant said then, smiling, “they would be tough to top.”

Durant said then he just liked what he was seeing in San Antonio. “Longevity, wins, championships,” he said.

That was the Oklahoma City blueprint. The Thunder owner was once a Spurs owner, and the Thunder general manager once worked for the Spurs. Durant’s role was to be Duncan, the humble superstar content to remain in a small market.

Durant’s game has always differed from Duncan’s, but Durant saw a common trait in the two when interviewed in 2012. “Personality,” Durant said.

Maybe there are similarities, and maybe Duncan would have reacted the way Durant did in this money pot of a market. Maybe winning the 1999 title before becoming a free agent changed the equation for Duncan, too.

But what we know is that Duncan had an aging roster around him in 2000. He didn’t have a player such as Westbrook next to him, and he wasn’t coming off the promise that even a Game 7 loss can bring.

Duncan still stayed. And while others find the need to join talent in order to win, consider this: By the time Duncan won his third title, in 2005, he didn’t have one teammate remaining from 1999.

Duncan built something, and he did it in an unlikely location. In the last 40 years only one franchise outside the top 18 U.S. media markets has won an NBA championship. And the Spurs did it five times.

Now he’s on the cusp of leaving, with his legacy established, as Durant leaves Oklahoma City.

bharvey@express-news.net

Twitter: @Buck_SA