Rumor: Warriors, not Lakers, have Durant's 'attention' in free agency
Kevin Durant is reportedly intrigued by the idea of joining the Warriors next season. The Lakers, on the other hand, reportedly don't have much of a chance.
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3 min read
After losing to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday, the Golden State Warriors immediately bounced back by defeating the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday. The Warriors have not lost a back-to-back game all season, and since the start of the year they've been dominant and look poised to defend their championship. Of course, anything could happen in the playoffs as teams like the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder are very viable challengers to Golden State's NBA title crown.
For the Thunder, their success in the playoffs could heavily factor into Kevin Durant's upcoming free agency. Durant will be a free agent in the summer and although he has been staying relatively quite about his impending decision, the Thunder All-Star forward has been linked to several teams like the Wizards, Lakers and even the Warriors.
According to The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski, Durant wants to win a championship immediately, which counts out the Lakers and Wizards. And if Oklahoma City can't get past Golden State, Durant may adopt a "can't beat 'em, join 'em"-type attitude and sign with the Warriors.
From Wojnarowski's recent appeareance on The Big Lead with Jason McIntyre (transcribed by Fox Sports):
The Lakers are not front-runners for Kevin Durant, he wants to win a championship. If he leaves Oklahoma, he may end up staying there and I've written that. Golden State is a team that is worrisome for Oklahoma City -- that's a team that has Kevin Durant's attention. Kevin Durant wants to win a championship right away and either he wants to do that in Oklahoma City with the group they have or he's going to go somewhere where he can win a title right away.
"Kevin Durant doesn't care if they have the first pick, the second pick, third pick; no free agent cares. No free agent of his stature cares what draft pick a team has because that guy is not going to help them win championships in the next two or three years. And if Kevin Durant leaves Oklahoma, he wants to be ready to win a championship right away. He's at a point in his career where he cant wait two or three years and hope that it happens. I think part of his criteria, sources tell me, will be, 'Is that team good enough to beat Golden State with me on it? Or is it Golden State? Or can I stay in Oklahoma and continue to be able to do that and compete for a championship?
"Listen, I just don't think that the Lakers are a real significant factor for Kevin Durant."
It makes sense that if he leaves the Thunder, Durant would want to keep playing for a championship contender. The Lakers could be great with Durant in the interim but they won't be anything close to a contender for several years as their younger players like Julius Randle and D'Angelo Russell develop.
The Warriors, however, are the defending champs, and could wind up becoming back-to-back champions. While Durant could possibly play a much different role on the Warriors, his chances of winning a championship would greatly increase if he signed with Golden State in the offseason.
However, by teaming up with Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City, Durant is already part of a championship contender with the Thunder. So as Wojnarowski says, if Durant thinks the Thunder can be good enough to beat the Warriors, he will probably re-sign. If he doesn't think that, it looks like it is very possible for Durant to leave OKC and join Golden State.
