Kevin Durant Rumors: Where The Knicks, Warriors, Nets Stand In Pursuit Of The Star NBA Free Agent

The impending free agency of Kevin Durant was one of the top storylines during the 2018-2019 NBA season. We’re now just 10 days away from the superstar officially being able to make a decision regarding his future.

Even though a ruptured Achilles will probably cost him the entirety of next season, Durant remains one of the most sought-after players in free agency. He’s expected to get multiple max contract offers in what’s starting to sound like a three-team race for the two-time NBA Finals MVP.

The Golden State Warriors are hoping to re-sign Durant, who’s led them to the finals in all three years with the team. The New York Knicks have been linked to Durant for almost a year. The Brooklyn Nets have emerged as a very realistic landing spot for Durant.

The Los Angeles Clippers have been viewed as candidates to sign Durant, though there haven’t been many rumors of the veteran considering L.A. in the past few weeks.

Does any suitor have a clear edge in the Kevin Durant Sweepstakes? With so much uncertainty surrounding the superstar, it might be hard to peg any team as the favorite.

The Knicks held that title for much of the season, and maybe they still do. Durant’s interest in New York was the worst kept secret of the year with countless reports noting that the free agent planned to play in the Big Apple.

New York traded Kristaps Porzingis in January in order to create enough space under the salary cap to sign two free agents to a max contract. The Knicks have been hoping to sign both Durant and Kyrie Irving and go from the league’s worst team to a title contender in an instant.

Durant’s injury ended any chance of the Knicks playing for a championship next year, and Irving’s preference might eliminate the possibility of the two All-Stars teaming up at Madison Square Garden.

Several reports over the last few weeks have made it clear that Irving plans to sign with the Nets. Brooklyn has put themselves in a position to sign two max free agents, and if the notion that Durant wants to join forces with the point guard is true, it sounds like he will sign with New York’s second team.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on “Get Up” Thursday morning that the Knicks are prepared for the reality that they’re not going to get a top free agent.

But there haven’t been any reports that Durant is committed to going to Brooklyn. Both ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and The New York Post’s Brian Lewis said Wednesday that the Nets might not want to sign Irving if Durant isn’t going to join him, indicating that the franchise is preparing for the possibility that they won’t land the two-time champion.

As the rivalry between the Knicks and Nets spills into free agency, here’s where things appear to stand with the New York teams amid the various reports: Irving is trying to convince Durant to join him with the Nets, but Durant probably still prefers to sign with the Knicks.

There’s even a slim possibility that Durant could go to the Big Apple in a year or so. Windhorst indicated on “Get Up” that Golden State is considering a last-ditch option to keep Durant. It involves signing Durant to a five-year max contract with the understanding that they would trade him to his preferred destination if he asks to be dealt.

Golden State can offer Durant $57 million more than either Brooklyn or New York. There is speculation that he might prefer to re-sign with the Warriors instead of rehabbing with a new team.

Maybe Durant’s injury and the events of the 2019 NBA Finals will keep him in the Bay Area for years to come. Golden State needed their best player as he watched the Toronto Raptors beat the Warriors in six games to win the title.

Durant doesn’t have to resurrect a franchise like the Knicks to earn the respect he seemingly has sought for years.

Before he got hurt in the playoffs, Durant was playing like the NBA’s best player. He could make whatever team he joins the favorite to win the championship when he returns for the 2020-2021 season.