Kawhi To Replace Durant? One Of Only Two Options, Kellerman Says

Kevin Durant’s future with the Golden State Warriors has been one of the hottest topics for discussion in recent months despite the new NBA season getting underway in October.

There are varying opinions on what the Warriors small forward will do next summer when he almost certainly will enter free agency yet again. He was an unrestricted free agent this summer, but he again signed a short-term 1+1 deal with the Bay Area team to have more control over his future.

Many believe this will be Durant’s last season with the Warriors whether he wins his third straight NBA title or not — the reigning champions are favored to win. While an equal number believe he will re-sign with the Warriors as he will be eligible for a max five-year contract worth $221 million next summer.

However, Durant’s future at the Warriors was again thrown into doubt after his recent altercation with Draymond Green. It occurred on the bench as they lost in overtime to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night at the Staples Center.

According to one Warriors player, there is no way Durant is coming back after what was said during the altercation between the two All-Star’s. The Warriors will be keen to retain the two-time NBA Finals MVP’s services, but if it becomes clear he is looking for a change, they will have to start looking for able replacements.

"With what was said, there is already no way Durant is coming back," one Warriors player told The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson, as quoted on CBS Sports. "The only hope is that they can say this summer, 'See, KD. We've got your back. We protected you from Draymond.'"

According to ESPN’s Max Kellerman, there are only two players available at the moment that can replace Durant if he chooses to leave the Warriors next summer — Toronto Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard and the New Orleans Pelicans’ Anthony Davis.

Leonard will become an unrestricted free agent next summer after he was traded to the Raptors by the San Antonio Spurs earlier this year. His preference is said to be one of the Los Angeles franchises, the Lakers or the Clippers.

But the Toronto-based franchise are hoping to convince him to stay and their start to the new season shows they will one of the contenders to progress to the NBA Finals from the Eastern Conference.

Davis, on the other hand, is contracted to the Pelicans until 2020, with an option for the 2020-21 season. He will not be available on a free, but there have been talks of a potential trade, especially after the power forward changed agents earlier in the summer.

“Of course they don’t want to lose KD,” Kellerman said when asked about Durant’s heated bust-up with Draymond Green, as quoted by the Express. “It is almost impossible to replace him. ... If you try to get a piece to replace KD’s value, you have to get either Anthony Davies or Kawhi Leonard.

The Greek freak [ Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo] isn’t available, LeBron isn’t available. The only two others of equal value are AD or Kawhi,” he explained. “If you think you aren’t going to get one of those two, you aren’t going to replace KD. You would have to replace Draymond.”