Will Kevin Durant Leave Nets For Lakers, Knicks, Celtics Or Heat?
Will Kevin Durant leave the Nets for the Lakers, Knicks Celtics or Heat?
If history is any indicator, then yes, probably.
Durant, 30, recently did an interview with the Wall Street Journal where he broke his silence on moving from the Warriors to the Nets over the summer and how he feels about the Thunder.
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According to the two-time Finals MVP, the reason he ultimately opted to leave Golden State is because he felt “different” from his teammates.
“It’s been that way since I got here, it’s the Warriors and KD.”
– Kevin Durant on fans and the media splitting him from the team pic.twitter.com/lsWGFnNXrU
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 24, 2019
“As time went on, I started to realize I’m just different from the rest of the guys,” he said
“It’s not a bad thing. Just my circumstances and how I came up in the league.
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“And on top of that, the media always looked at it like KD and the Warriors.
“So it’s like nobody could a full acceptance of me there.”
Essentially, Durant said that although he “felt accepted,” he understood he’d “never be one of those guys,” meaning the guys the Warriors drafted like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
It is a fair point, and he is not the first to make it.
The problem is, Durant’s point ignores the fact that he was already in a situation where he was “one of those guys” in Oklahoma City, and he chose to leave.
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So with that in mind, would he ever return to OKC?
No.
“I’ll never be attached to that city again,” Durant said.
“I eventually wanted to come back to that city and be part of that community and organization, but I don’t trust nobody there.
“That shit must have been fake, what they was doing.
“The organization, the GM, I ain’t talked to none of those people, even had a nice exchange with those people, since I left.”
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It is rare to hear an NBA player who left a team speak so angrily about the response to his departure.
“Such a venomous toxic feeling when I walked into that arena,” Durant said of his return to OKC after he left for the Warriors.
“And just the organization, the trainers and equipment managers, those dudes is pissed off at me? Ain’t talking to me? I’m like, Yo, this is where we going with this? Because I left a team and went to play with another team?”
Now Durant is going to suit up for the Nets. His contract with Brooklyn is for four years and $164 million.
Durant will likely miss all next season and then return to action the following year.
Assuming he remains with the Nets for the next four seasons, he will still only be 34 when his contract expires – plenty of time for at least one more deal.
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And based on his history, it is safe to assume that Durant will not stick around in Brooklyn. He will definitely leave.
If Durant leaves the Nets once his contract expires, what are some potential landing destinations?
The Lakers feel like an obvious choice. Durant will likely fail to win a title with the Nets, much like he did with the Thunder.
If he becomes hungry for a winning environment and a position with a marquee franchise, the Lakers fit the bill.
They will likely still have Anthony Davis under long term contract and the two could form a one-two combo similar to the one Davis is forming with LeBron James now.
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If not LA, don’t sleep on Boston.
The Celtics are a talented young team built to contend for the long term – and Durant could fit nicely there.
The Knicks are another option. If James Dolan is no longer the owner at that point, Durant may view them as an attractive option.
Finally, don’t discount the selling abilities of Pat Riley. If he could lure James and Chris Bosh to come play alongside Dywane Wade, he will be able to sweet talk Durant into pairing up with Jimmy Butler.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
What a whiny bitch.