What a rollercoaster ride it’s been for Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors. First off, Durant would go down with an Achilles tendon injury that would ruin the chances for the Warriors to win yet another NBA championship. And second, KD is officially a free agent and Golden State will be fighting to re-sign the superstar.
After Durant officially opted out of his contract with Golden State to become said free agent, oddsmakers were quick to release their set of figures of where he could potentially go. As we stand right now, the Brooklyn Nets are the favorite to land KD.
On the NBA betting sites, the odds currently have Durant going to the Nets at EVEN. After that, both the Warriors and New York Knicks are in a tie for second place at +300, while the Los Angeles Clippers are in fourth at +800. Rounding out the top five are the Los Angeles Lakers placed at +900, and ending the list, we have the Dallas Mavericks at +1000 in sixth place.
The Golden State Warriors are still a team who a championship without Kevin Durant, and will still be a championship contender with or without Durant, so, why would KD leave the Warriors? Well, it’s certainly been up for debate ever since his injury in the NBA Finals.
Well, until you ask the people who analyze the game. If you ask them, they’ll tell you that Durant was going to leave Golden State regardless of an injury or not, or regardless of a victory or defeat in the NBA Finals. And this is mainly due to his spat with Draymond Green and also just looking for a new challenge. Then you have his legacy to ponder at as well, which a scenario like winning a championship in New York could do wonders for, this instead of staying on a five all-star team winning chip after chip.
However, I can’t help but to see his injury being a serious factor for Durant and his thinking. The Warriors pretty much screwed up their diagnosis for KD’s calf injury, and as a result, he would re-injury himself pretty seriously in the NBA Finals. At this point, it pretty much feels like Golden State owes Kevin Durant a max five-year contract, especially considering this will be Durant’s last max NBA contract in his career — and the Warriors can offer him the most money. Still, KD should be able to get a giant payday no matter where he should go, but he would be giving up a lot of money if he didn’t sign with Golden State. But at the same time, he may be able to cover what he’s making due to living in California, one of the highest-taxed states in America. Interesting times to say the least for Kevin Durant and his career.
You can guarantee that Golden State will make a long-term offer to Durant, as they should. This will help cover the Warriors’ medical situation, and the most obvious reason, well, this is Kevin Durant that we’re talking about. His injury may be tough to come back from for most athletes in history, but if KD can give Golden State just 70% of what he used to be when he returns, he’ll still be among the elites. It’s a risk worth taking if you’re the Golden State Warriors, especially if you want to continue these glory days.
Since the beginning of the 2018-19 campaign, Kevin Durant’s future with the Warriors has always been in the rumor mill, but things are really heating up now with rumors of him potentially going to the Brooklyn Nets or the New York Knicks — remember, the Nets are the current favorites at EVEN, while the Knicks are in a second-place tie at +300.
Both the Nets and Knicks have the cap space to be able to land two max-players, which would offer Kevin Durant the opportunity to play with another superstar. Not only that, but both franchises also have talented youth that would contribute nicely to KD’s game. But what’s interesting about the New York market is that it’s craving for immediate basketball success. Due to his injury, Durant will most likely miss the entire 2019-20 season, and with a historic free agent class loaded with talent, it’ll be interesting to see how aggressive the Nets and Knicks are to sign him — especially considering the Warriors will offer him max money.
One reason why the rumor of him going to New York (with either the Nets or Knicks) continues to pick up steam is due to him having interest in playing with Kyrie Irving. After Irving officially opted-out of his contract with the Boston Celtics, the oddsmakers currently have Brooklyn as the favorite to land ‘Uncle Drew’, which adds even more steam to KD joining the Nets. It’s looking like the ‘BK’ could rack up this summer.
Another interesting team to keep an eye on for a potential landing spot for Kevin Durant is the Los Angeles Lakers, a team that just recently cleared up max player cap space after dealing with the Washington Wizards. Don’t be surprised to see KD take a gander at the club, especially with the current duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Just imagine Kevin Durant to complete a trio like that, wow! Plus, Durant would be in the media market of Los Angeles with beautiful weather and sandy beaches. Problem is, KD isn’t the biggest fan of LeBron and he wants to overtake LBJ’s legacy. Going to LA wouldn’t do that, but still, it’s interesting to ponder.
As far as the other Los Angeles team is concerned, the Clippers, they seem 100% locked in on Kawhi Leonard, so I don’t see them wasting their time on Kevin Durant — Clippers have no chance anyways, so good call by them. And let’s also not forget the fact that players aren’t exactly lined up to go to the Clippers, Kawhi is the only marquee player in history to ever flirt with that franchise to potentially sign there. And with the other options on the table, why on earth would you go to the Clippers if you’re Kevin Durant? You’re not, that’s the thing.
The oddsmakers currently have the Brooklyn Nets to land the former MVP, and it makes perfect sense of why Durant would go to the New York City area to play. First off, you want to play with Kyrie Irving and he’s favored to go to the Nets, so of course, you’re going to give the Nets a serious look. And after all, it has to be in a market and with a team that is going to add tremendously to the ‘Kevin Durant’ legacy. I would prefer the New York Knicks, but the Nets aren’t a bad option either, especially with Irving possibly being there, and potentially them keeping D’Angelo Russell — well, if the numbers work out. Still, that’s a talented team.
Going back to that ‘legacy’ thing I mentioned earlier, Kevin Durant has consistently taken digs at LeBron James and has pretty much let it be known that he wants to best LeBron as the ‘greatest player in the NBA’. He wants to be the media darling and the league icon. He thought going to Golden State would solve that problem, but it hasn’t. So he has to go to a franchise and win where it can be considered ‘him’ and ‘his championship’, and it also has to be in a market to match Los Angeles — where LeBron is currently at. New York City is the only city where he can make that happen, and the Brooklyn Nets, even with Kyrie Irving, is where KD can cement his legacy. It only makes sense that Durant goes to Brooklyn, and he’ll still get his max money as well.
And it’s not just coming from me and the oddsmakers about him going to the Brooklyn Nets, it’s also coming from NBA star Enes Kanter as well — who is familiar with the NYC scene due to being a former member of the New York Knicks. It’s not just Kanter either, it’s coming from someone who will be teaming up with him in Brooklyn: Kyrie Irving. According to NBC Sports, Irving met with Durant in the Bay Area to recruit him to the Brooklyn Nets, and that’s not all, but both Irving and KD have a vacation planned together, and they planned it before Durant’s injury. It surely looks like that Kevin Durant is headed to the Nets to me.
With Kevin Durant officially declining his $31.5 million player option and becoming a free agent, this means that the Golden State Warriors will now be prepared to offer him a max contract of five years with all of the money in the world. Now, will Kevin Durant stay? It’s a bit of a tough question to answer, because even though he might not get along with Draymond Green, he reportedly told Klay Thompson that they had ‘unfinished business’. I can say this though: If Kevin Durant leaves, it may be emotionally tough for him, but if he can leave the Oklahoma City Thunder like he did, he can do anything. And with Durant driven by his legacy the way he is, it would definitely be in his best interest to leave.
As far as the Golden State Warriors and their camp is concerned, they seem pretty optimistic that they’ll be able to re-sign Durant, and that’s because of his interest in a max contract. But there’s also been other reports out there that are saying that the Warriors and Kevin Durant are exploring a sign-and-trade deal, which would help Durant get both his max money and relocation to most likely the Brooklyn Nets. If that’s the case, you have to give the Golden State franchise kudos for being classy enough to help Durant with this. After all, they kind of owe him after the recent NBA Finals debacle.
With that being said, I could certainly see Kevin Durant staying with the Golden State Warriors, but I still have to ride with the oddsmakers that his destination will be to the Brooklyn Nets. The most likely scenario I can see is that the Warriors thank him for the championships, give him max money and five years, and then trade him to the Brooklyn Nets so he can chase new things for his legacy. I think things will work out perfectly for Kevin Durant this offseason, and he’ll be a Brooklyn Net as a result, with a hefty thanks to the Golden State Warriors.
I still think the New York Knicks are a legitimate destination for Kevin Durant, I just think they were a more likely option earlier in the season — the Brooklyn Nets kind of took their shine. Oh, and dropping third in the NBA Draft to lose out on Zion Williamson didn’t help much either. But still, Kevin Durant will look at the Knicks and will surely take a meeting with the franchise in early July.
The Knicks have some things to work, too, to try and lure the superstar to the Knicks franchise. Not only do they have RJ Barrett that Durant could help develop, and they’ll have an extra spot for a max player in free agency, but KD is also close friends with the general manager of New York, Scott Perry. What this could do is give Kevin Durant a lot of power, including over his own contract and branding, team decisions such as free agents and trades, and even coaching staff decisions. That may be too tempting for Durant to pass up. And there’s even a report out there that says that Kevin Durant would prefer to go to the New York Knicks, as would I if I were in his position.
There might be some trust issues from the Knicks franchise though, and that’s because they’ve been described as being ‘cautious’ in their pursuit for the former MVP — they’ve even requested his medical reports. However, that doesn’t mean that New York hasn’t discussed a deal with the Golden State Warriors for a potential sign-and-trade deal. I don’t think the concern should worry Knicks fans either, the franchise is so desperate for relevancy (and it should be), that they should go full-force for KD — I would be shocked if they didn’t. As you see though, the deeper you dig into it, the more you see that the New York Knicks still have a good shot as any. But still, with Kyrie Irving wanting to go to the Brooklyn Nets, that might be the destination for Durant — and that’s why they top the odds. Still, an interesting dilemma that we’ll start to see unfold on Sunday.
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