The Golden State Warriors are in hot pursuit of free agent and former NBA MVP, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Here’s a compendium of the latest, most-trustworthy reports.
Back in early February before the NBA All-Star Break, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo’s The Vertical reported the Warriors were a “serious threat” to nab him from the Thunder in this summer’s free agency period, which begins soon: July 1st.
If Durant leaves the Thunder, the Warriors are the significant frontrunners to sign him, league sources told The Vertical.
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“We’re all about winning,” Draymond Green told The Vertical. “One thing guys on this team don’t care about is who is getting the shots, or who is scoring. Guys definitely want to play here, play with us. We’re smiling. We’re having fun. You can tell that. I definitely think it’s become one of those places where guys will want to play.”
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Perhaps no Warriors player would sacrifice so much on a personal level, yet Green is unflinching in his support of signing Durant, league sources told The Vertical. He’s expected to be a tenacious recruiter of Durant for the Warriors’ contingent.
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Here’s something else, too: Durant is forever searching for spiritual people in his life. It is a common thread of those who’ve found ways into Durant’s circle. It makes Steph Curry the most dangerous recruiter in the world on several levels: His prodigious talent, peaceful soul and grounded life.
However, more recently Green said he would not participate in the recruitment process, essentially out of respect to his current teammates, among them fellow 2012 draftees and now restricted free agents, Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli.
Warriors beatwriter Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle attended a kids’ camp Green led the week after the NBA Finals ended and quoted Green saying:
“K.D. is a great player, but I obviously love the guys that I play with, and we’ve been together for some years now,” Green said Saturday in a rare split decision for the opinionated All-Star, which indicates the difficulty in the decisions facing the Warriors after their championship series collapse.
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“I can’t control if we get K.D. I can’t control if we don’t get K.D,” he said. “It’s one of those things that is out of my hands, so I’ll just go with the punches.”
Green reiterated this a week after that, as USA Basketball’s Men’s National Team convened in New York for pre-training camp media sessions. Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN wrote:
“I don’t know,” Green said when asked how much better the Warriors can be with his new Olympic teammate. “There’s different dynamics to everything. At the end of the day, there is nothing set in stone. I don’t worry about things I can’t control.
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“This is a business. I’ve always been taught that you are either getting better or you are getting worse. Teams are always trying to look ahead at what’s next.”
Shortly after the NBA Finals ended, Frank Isola of the New York Post re-iterated the Warriors’ status should Durant not choose go back to OKC, and the fact that Durant would be meeting with them in due time, with initial indications that the location would be Southern California:
The one player who can change the balance of power in the NBA is expected to meet with prospective teams in Los Angeles when the free-agent recruiting period beings in July, according to a source. Durant had considered holding meetings in New York, but apparently has decided to hear proposals in Los Angeles, where he owns an off-season home.
On the day of the NBA Draft (June 23rd), the Thunder made a blockbuster trade that sent power forward Serge Ibaka to the Orlando Magic for shooting guard Victor Oladipo, power forward Ersan Ilyasova and power forward Domantas Sabonis, the 11th pick of the Draft.
Soon thereafter, ESPN’s OKC beatwriter, Royce Young, founder of DailyThunder.com, an independent blog covering the Thunder, penned a somewhat biased piece that suggested Durant was never fond of Ibaka and that the trade would benefit more than hinder the team’s chances of re-signing Durant.
About four to five days later, OKC beatwriter Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman was able to get a quote from Durant that supported the trade:
“It’s a good move,” Durant told reporters. “I like Oladipo. He’s a good buddy, a friend of mine, and I’m definitely going to miss playing with Serge.”
Durant was quoted before the trade that his decision would be made solely on basketball, also reported by Young:
“I’m worried about basketball,” he said. “That’s what it is for me. It’s a basketball decision.”
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Asked what he means by a “basketball decision,” Durant said it’s not necessarily about the spotlight or the money.
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“Just who I’m going to be playing with and the people I’m going to be around every single day, that’s what it’s all about for me,” Durant told ESPN.com in an interview at Stubb’s Bar-B-Q in downtown Austin. “You tend to hear about the market and the opportunities you can get off the basketball court, but I’m blessed, man, to be making what I make as a basketball player.”
This is being interpreted by most reporters as wanting to win a championship. Chris Broussard of ESPN went on the Mike & Mike radio show and cast his vote for the Warriors, although Broussard has been embarrassingly wrong with his predictions in the past, most notably with LeBron James’ departure of the Cleveland Cavaliers after the 2011 season.
Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead delved into Broussard’s comments some more:
But according to ESPN’s Chris Broussard, there are other issues that hadn’t previously been considered. Such as this: Broussard says that Durant doesn’t want to go through “this” again next year (even though he’ll sign a 2-year deal with a player option, which is the obvious financial move), which could mean any number of things.
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Like he wants his decision this summer to be one that locks him in a spot for awhile. Is that Oklahoma City? One could argue that fashion plate Russell Westbrook is a goner to the (Los Angeles) Lakers or (New York) Knicks in 2018, so why would Durant lock into the Thunder?
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When pressed by ESPN, Broussard said if he was forced to pick a spot Durant would play next year, he’d go with the Warriors.
Marc Stein of ESPN reported that Durant’s three strongest suitors, the Thunder, the Warriors, and the San Antonio Spurs, were to give presentations to Durant:
The Warriors and Spurs, sources say, are both planning to load a plane full of key organizational figures — including Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson for Golden State and Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan for San Antonio — to fly to an undisclosed location once free-agency season starts to try to lure Durant away from the only franchise he has ever played for.
Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group added that Warriors head coach Steve Kerr would likely join the proceedings:
By the way, Kerr told me on my podcast that GM Bob Myers has asked him to be part of the Warriors’ main free-agent presentations, and yes, I would assume that means the Durant pitch.
Wojnarowski specified the location and timing:
The meetings are expected to take place in New York, but teams are still awaiting word on a location.
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The Thunder remain the frontrunners to re-sign Durant, likely on a one-plus-one-year deal that will allow Durant to return to free agency in the summer of 2017, league sources said. But more than any other rival suitor, the Warriors have Durant’s attention, league sources said.
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Durant is planning to leave on a publicity tour in the Far East on July 9, and a decision is expected before the departure date, league sources said.
The list was later amended to six teams, the three additional teams being the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, and Boston Celtics, according to Broussard.
After that, a more precise location and time were reported: In the Hamptons on Friday, July 1st and Saturday, July 2nd would be the days on which Durant’s six meetings would be held, according to Wojnarowski, and on Friday afternoon with the Warriors, according to Marc Spears of ESPN’s Undefeated.
So whom do the Warriors need to get rid of to create salary space for Durant? Kawakami of the goes through this in detail and sums it up as follows…
Easy summary: If the Warriors go after a big-ticket free agent, they would have to be ready to get rid of (pick three) Barnes, Ezeli, (Andre) Iguodala and/or (Andrew) Bogut… and all but one of the other free agents (Marreese Speights, Leandro Barbosa, Brandon Rush, Anderson Varejao, Ian Clark and James Michael McAdoo).
…and also adds…
* I don’t think the Warriors front office will make any move until it knows the end-move. There won’t be a trade or a renouncing to create space unless Bob Myers and Joe Lacob know for sure that they’re adding somebody directly.
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Basically, they won’t sacrifice a player just hoping it creates space. If they dump a player, they’ll do it because they know somebody new is coming in. Or multiple somebodies.
The analysis is also applicable, per Kawakami, for the other big-name free agent the Warriors covet should Durant choose to go back to OKC: Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks.
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @athletefx)
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