Durant's Former Teammate Reveals Past Free Agency Psyche Amid Rumored Knicks Links

Kevin Durant will enter free agency later in July and since the start of the season and more so in recent months, every action of the Golden State Warriors small forward has been analyzed to find out whether he will re-sign with his current employers or look to find a new team in the summer.

If Durant spoke to another player, for example Kyrie Irving, who was also entering free agency, there were talks that they could team up for next season. If he spoke about his needs when he enters free agency, there was an analysis of what could make him stay and what could prompt him to leave the Warriors.

Now his former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Anthony Morrow has given an insight into Durant’s psyche when it came to leaving Thunder and joining the Warriors in 2016. At the time, it was reported that the forward did so to get away from the Oklahoma franchise’s de-facto leader Russell Westbrook.

Durant and Westbrook had come up through the ranks at Thunder having been drafted by the franchise in 2007 and 2008 respectively and despite being among the top players in the NBA at the moment they were unable to lead their team to a title. And in 2016 after losing the Western Conference Finals to the Warriors, the former decided to jump ship and join Stephen Curry and company in the Bay Area.

Morro has gone on to clear the air about Durant’s departure and revealed that Westbrook had no part to play in the small forward’s departure. The shock departure which earns Durant criticism even to this day was said to be more about the player concerned about his legacy after eight years in the league.

Durant was keen to win the NBA championship and came to a realization that he will be unable to fulfill his dreams with Thunder and hence decided to join the Warriors, who had won the title in 2015, but lost it despite leading 3-1 to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.

“It wasn't as much to do with Russ as the media made it look like. I know that for a fact," Morrow told AmicoHoops.net, as quoted on Yahoo Sports. "He wanted to build on his legacy. He wanted to win. He felt like we tried, 10 years, it ain't work. ... I could tell you that's how he was thinking about that."

The 30-year-old has since gone on to win two NBA titles with the Warriors, while also picking the NBA Finals MVP on both occasions. He will again be at the cross roads later in July when he opts out of his contract and has a decision to make – either stay with the Bay Area and continue to chase titles or join a different franchise and continue to build his legacy by winning with a different team.

Meanwhile, the Las Vegas oddsmaker The SuperBook at Westgate has been busy trying to predict Durant’s future and Jim Sherman, who oversees NBA odds, has put the New York Knicks as the favorites to land the in-demand forward, according to ESPN.