Kevin Durant's free agency run is already the talk of the NBA, and it is still months away from beginning. The Oklahoma City Thunder star is playing on an expiring contract with the intentions of hitting the market getting a max contract. The former league MVP has the attention of a lot of teams, but he has not spoken on his plans yet. However, he is making it clear that the Thunder remain in the running.
The Thunder are trying to win a championship this year. With Durant's contract expiring and Russell Westbrook's deal ending next season, Oklahoma City is in win-now mode. That is not going well, as the team has suffered ugly losses to both the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers. If they are going to win an NBA title, those are two teams that they must beat in a seven-game series. Rumors are swirling that Durant will leave if the Thunder fail to win it all this year, something the star is denying to be true.
"To me, it doesn't [make sense]," Durant said. "You put too much pressure on everybody if you say something like that. Especially my teammates and the organization. They don't deserve that. So I never said that, I never thought that. Like I said, I can't control rumors from people who sit behind their desk every day and think of stuff to say."
The origin of the report came from Sirius XM Radio Host Joel Meyes, who was doing play-by-play for the Thunder's game against the New Orleans Pelicans. He said on air that sources say Durant is gone should the Thunder not win a title this season. With teams like Golden State showing interest, they look more favorable because the chances of a championship are greater. While that might be true, Durant is not interested in feeding into the gossip of the league heading into the offseason.
"If it didn't come from me or anybody I know, like I said in the summertime, I don't know where it came from," Durant said. "Everybody makes up rumors around this time of year and everyone wants clicks for their stories, so that's a part of it. I have nothing to do with that."
Durant will have plenty of options this offseason. The Warriors are going to look his way. The New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers will have the money to sign him. The Houston Rockets have James Harden ready to recruit. The Boston Celtics have young talent emerging to help. Durant told the media that the expanding salary caps mean that he could really sign anywhere at this point in time. He wants to capitalize in a max contract while also landing with a team ready to win. Durant said things will be "wide open" this summer.
"You could just look it as a positive thing, that our game is growing and you can be able to do whatever you want as an owner, a (general manager) as a player, and ultimately that's what you want: to make a decision on your own and to make a decision that makes you happy. That makes everything just wide open at this point," Durant said.
