Some of the NBA’s finest are lining up for their chance to woo Kevin Durant as the soon-to-be free agent weighs up his options.
The Oklahoma City Thunder superstar will host six teams in New York when free agency commences on July 1, according to The Vertical.
The six franchises in the mix are Durant’s current team, the Golden State Warriors, the San Antonio Spurs, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics.
Oklahoma City remain favourites to retain the 27-year-old who was MVP in 2014, but the report states the Warriors, of all the other suitors, “have Durant’s attention”.
Two factors could potentially work in The Thunder’s favour.
The first is they’re able to offer Durant a maximum contract up to five years, whereas other teams can only go up to four. Their second advantage could be Durant’s desire to sign a two-year deal with a player option after the first season, allowing him to once again hit free agency next July.
That scenario allows Durant to sign a higher maximum contract as the league’s salary cap is projected to rise from $94 million this summer to $107m next year, while also aligning his free agency with Oklahoma City team-mate Russell Westbrook.
Golden State, meanwhile, believe their recent collapse in the NBA Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers, in which they became the first team in Finals history to squander a 3-1 series advantage, has increased their chances to land Durant, according to ESPN.
To make financial room for the seven-time All-Star on their roster, the defending Western Conference champions would have to shed salary, most likely through renouncing their rights on unrestricted free agents Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli, and cutting one more significant contract.
“All I can say is I will be very aggressive,” Warriors owner Joe Lacob said after Game 7 of the Finals.
Speaking at the release of his new signature shoes the KD9 this past Monday, Durant told ESPN.com of his upcoming decision: “I’m worried about basketball. That’s what it is for me. It’s a basketball decision.”
When asked to elaborate on what a “basketball decision” is, Durant answered: “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.
“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.”
Other teams who have reportedly expressed interest in pursuing Durant have been the New York Knicks, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Houston Rockets, the Denver Nuggets and his hometown Washington Wizards, but those franchises remain on the outside looking in for the moment.
Durant is expected to make a decision by July 9, when he leaves the country for a publicity tour to the Far East.
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