Written by Sam Amick at USAToday.com
Know this much about the Kevin Durant free agency sweepstakes that has already unofficially begun: He wouldn’t be taking a single meeting outside of Oklahoma City if he already knew what jersey he planned to wear next season.
If Durant is anything, it’s genuine. Love him or hate him – and really, how in the world could you hate this guy? – the Thunder star it not in the business of being inauthentic.
So on July 1 when the Thunder, Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat start to come his way to discuss the prime years of his career, he will be all ears. The man isn’t one to waste anybody’s time.
Yet while that might be enough to keep Thunder general manager Sam Presti up for a few torturous nights, the prospect of Durant returning on a two-year deal (with a player option in the second) to the only franchise he has ever known remains as likely now as it did on the night his latest season ended in that Western Conference Finals Game 7 loss at Oracle Arena. And yes, that’s still the case after the Thunder’s shocking draft night trade on Thursday.
By all accounts, the trade that sent Serge Ibaka to Orlando in exchange for Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and No. 11 pick Domantas Sabonis was, in essence, Durant approved. He wasn’t hopping on the trade call, of course, but the nature of this situation meant his perspective simply had to be accounted for.
The move, which made the Thunder younger, deeper and far more flexible going into next summer’s free agency when they could have had Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka as unrestricted free agents, was the latest proof that Presti is a master of sustained success. Add in the massive edge the Thunder hold on the financial front –one that I chronicled at great length in this May 10 piece – and their pitch is about as close to perfect as anyone else’s in this bunch.
So the Thunder enter into this stage with respectful optimism, knowing Durant has earned the right to hear out other teams and that, both now and in 2007 when they drafted him during the Seattle SuperSonics days, they’re lucky to have him. There are, in other words, no hard feelings about all these free-agency flirtations.
As for the other suitors whose odds of landing him still seem relatively slim? Those meetings will matter – the key word there being “meetings.” If your team doesn’t have one by now, you shouldn’t be feeling too confident about your place in the Durant race.
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