“You need people like me. You need people like me so you can point your fingers and say, “That’s the bad guy.””
Al Pacino as Tony Montana in Scarface
Kevin Durant might be about to become the bad guy which is odd because it’s a role he’s never really embraced.
Over the career of every NBA player, it’s bound to happen. Even though you can’t please all of the people all of the time, so far Kevin Durant has done a pretty good job of doing just that. Having played all nine of his years in Oklahoma City (except for his very first when he played in Seattle before the team relocated), Durant has been squeaky clean.
Generally playing second fiddle to LeBron James as the league’s top dog (that is until Steph Curry came around), Durant has been the more likeable of the two. When both players were coming off their first contracts, we lambasted LeBron for his “decision” to go to Miami and praised Durant for simply Tweeting that he was staying in Oklahoma City. Heck, when Durant won his MVP award, he praised his mom for being the real MVP during one tearjerker of a press conference. The guy probably rescues babies from burning buildings in his spare time.
Well, Durant’s whole nice guy persona might be about to change.
This summer, Kevin Durant will become a free agent and there’s not a team in this league that isn’t salivating over the thought of having him in their uniform. There are also quite a few that can afford him. Even if they can’t, they’ll find a way to make room.
The post-Kobe Lakers would love to rebuild around him. The almighty Golden State Warriors could probably trim some roster fat to afford him. Even the dominant Spurs have said they’d be interested. And obviously, Oklahoma City would love to keep him.
Like a kid who’s been really, really good for Christmas, Durant is about to be able to name his asking price. With several other teams likely jockeying for position in the free agency sweepstakes, this should be a very interesting summer in the Durant household.
Of course nobody at this point, not even Durant, knows where he’ll be playing next season. That’s where you come in.
Your job, should you choose to accept it, is to not only tell me where Kevin Durant will be playing next season but why. Will he be a Laker? Will he stay in Oklahoma City? Will he join an already established powerhouse even further tilting the balance of power in the league? Important: as your tiebreaker, tell me the length of contract in years you think he’ll sign for.
The person to most accurately tell me in the comments section below where Durantula will be playing next season, and for how long, will win themselves a fancy new SportsChump t-shirt to call their own and bragging rights that they know more than Durant’s agent.
He will stay in OKC, he is loyal and they clearly are very close. He would also have to give up a substantial amount of money to leave in more ways than one. If he stays in OKC he can do a two year deal, opt out next year when he will be a 10 year vet and make even more than the insane amount he could make this year. He can not do that anywhere else as they will not have his Bird rights after just one year.
That two-year deal does sound like the best option, Dan. Although they’ll have to add a wrinkle if they plan on besting Golden State, one would think. And what if he gets hurt?
I don’t know if the numbers add up and I might just be making up this rumor but I absolutely LOVE Joakim Noah heading in that direction to play for his former college coach.
Can you imagine all that energy on one roster, with Noah and Westbrook?
I’d say they could also use some perimeter help. Again, the road to the Finals goes through Oakland.
I’d say Dan’s assessment above is pretty spot on.
As much as I’d LOVE to say the Lakers, I don’t think that will happen. Though I’ll be mighty happy to draft Durant 2.0 (Brandon Ingram) if Philly swoops up Ben Simmons with the #1 pick.
He can take either a two-year or four deal , have a tie-in of a clause there . But I bet he will be taking up with his representatives at RocNation Sports. I guess he and Jay-Z can sit down and break bed ?
It looks as if the big players in this sweepstakes could well be the Heat , Lakers , Hornets and Thunder.
Any thoughts on how the Rays are playing ? A bad team with management which appears to be completely clueless .
I would say this, Bleed.
If Durant re-signs for a long term deal in OKC, that’s good news for the city, not only because they’ll be able to keep their superstar but also because I’d be inclined to think that means Westbrook would eventually re-sign as well.
Two year deals though, man? While that makes sense, it’s still a risk.
Al…
If they proved anything this season, it’s that there are not too many teams out there better than the Thunder.
Washington is intriguing. So are Golden State and San Antonio but I’m not sure I see him jumping ship to the proverbial enemy.
Cap room availability Chris , and the Spurs won’t be major players here , hence the reason I gave you those teams mentioned .
The Western Conference will always be a tough nut to crack and as long as Steve Kerr , Jerry West and Bob Myers are are there with the Warriors , the franchise will continue to get better. The same also applies with the tandem of Gregg Popovich and RC Buford who have gone to seventeen straight NBA Playoff appearances. You can’t get better than that can you with regard to the Spurs ? Yet there are asinine fans continually talking up the accomplishments of the Heat because of LBJ or with regard the resurgence of the Cavaliers. It were as if Spurs’ accomplishments are insignificant ?
Thunder GM Sam Presti and the ownership group headed by Clay Bennett , will have to pull out all of the stops to prove to KD they mean business , in improving the roster if they’re going to convince him to-resign with the franchise.
Al…
My understanding of Golden State’s situation is that they’ll still assemble the same team next year. They can drop some big salaries, like Iguadola (how the hell did HE get one) and still keep the core intact.
Barring injury, they should still be dominant next year. Not 70-win-plus dominant but sixty for sure.
I’ll go out on a limb and say Boston in a shocker. I won’t even say a contract length because I don’t see anyone else guessing the Celtics.
For the first half of the year, I thought the Wiz, with his tie to DC and the Redskins. Now, OKC is there.
You seem to have forgotten, Iggie was their Finals’ MVP last season in the NBA Finals and on nights when Draymond Green wasn’t turning up to play solid defense , it was Iguodala actually making a difference for the Warriors. That’s the reason why Bob Myers (general manager) believed it worthwhile paying the big bucks. I mean by comparison what the hell was Daryl Morey (Rockets’ GM) thinking with regard to the deal offered to Dwight Howard ? So let’s put things into perspective .
Bob Myers and Jerry West make for one of the best front office tandems in the NBA.
I thinks it is off to LA for a four year stint leading the show.
I think his native Washington will make an interesting push.
I do hope a guy gets a four year deal in Washington, but his name is Bernie Sanders, whole other post.
Who would know KD’s fate better than me????
Signs back with the Thunder – 2 years. Then breaks the bank on his last big deal with someone (Thunder or someone else to get that ring if he can’t pull it off in OKC).
BTW, I didn’t use my crystal ball, I used my Ouija board I keep down in the basement. I got it straight from the devil himself (or it could have been Oscar Robertson I was talking to). Let me know if you need to know if Saban & Harbaugh are trading texts laughing at all of us while they get free pub for their programs and I’ll see who I can conjure up.
KP…
I like what Boston is doing but I’m not sure I see him going there.
I think he’d choose DC over Boston.
This is gonna get interesting.
We’ve talked about this before, Al. Jerry West is a freak.
It’s amazing what this guy can do and has done.
And because they’re so sharp offensively, people fail to give Golden State credit for how tough they are both defensively and physically.
This may look like a finesse team because they launch from anywhere but these guys are also tough as nails.
I just don’t see how Cleveland can beat them four times.
Robbie G…
The only problem is that the Lakers are god awful. I mean, they’d have to get another player of KD’s caliber just to compete in the West and even then there’s no guarantee.
The more I think about it, the more I think he’s gonna stay put. Length of contract to be determined.
What I’d really like to know is how much he consults with Russell Westbrook on that decision.
Good call on that free pub, Moose. I can see those two sitting in Saban’s office, drinking whiskey and laughing about it all.
You mean to tell me that college recruiting is a dirty, sneaky-handed business? I never knew.
And thanks for the spooky visuals of your basement. It’s good that you keep the Big O down there. Let him out only when he’s ready to apologize for his comments about Steph Curry.
Chris , the Warriors can do it all. Many seem to be forgetting who their head coach just happens to be and how acclaimed his career remains. Steve Kerr won titles under Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich, Not a bad training ground or pedigree to have as part of a career , is it ?
Serena Williams loses in the French Open Finals to Garbine Murguruza . No excuses from Serena , but I give her a couple of days for it to finally sink in , before she goes all ape $hit and begins to bitch and whine. Meanwhile , USA Today’s Christine Brennan will have a menstrual breakdown because of the loss being that she’s always been a Serena Williams’ apologist and has about as much knowledge of the sport as Sarah Palin does about macroeconomics.
James Shields gets traded by the Padres to the White Sox ? I guess Padres’ owner Ron Fowler and GM AJ Preller really do know what they’re doing after-all ? The Matt Kemp deal and his batting average must seem like icing on the cake right about now , LOL,LOL !! smh !
Rams’ quarterback Nick Foles won’t be attending the team’s OTA’s as he’s not happy with their drafting college quarterback Jared Goff ? So let me get this straight , Foles who has never done anything meaningful in his career, is pi$sed at Jeff Fisher and the Rams’ front office ? LOL,LOL !!!
43 million (money owed as the remainder of his contract) reasons why Carl Crawford is a joke and then you add in the fact he impregnated Chad Ochocinco’s ex. Well, that says it all about him and then one has characterize his joke of a career. Was there really ever a time when Crawford was really that good ? I guess those years in Tampa were simply no more than flashes in a pan, because since his departure . he has proven how overrated , he just happened to be.
Warriors seem to have this series under control, Al.
What’s up with Serena? These Finals losses aren’t doing much in her quest to pass Margaret Court.
I was surprised to hear Shields was on the move again. Is he about done or what?
And Crawford, not too many Rays fans still talking about him. Although when do Rays fans really ever talk about offense?
And… we have no winners. KD to OKC.