FILE PHOTO – Jun 10, 2019; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) warms up before game five of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Less than 48 hours before NBA free agency begins, Kevin Durant’s plans may be coming a little more into focus.
According to a report by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday night, Durant is planning to talk with four teams after free agency begins on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET — the Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors, the team with which he spent the past three seasons.
According to the report, the discussions will be a combination of face-to-face talks and other means of communications, and talks will include both Durant and his agent, Rich Kleiman. The report also stated that Durant’s decision-making process could last “well into next week.”
Durant, 30, tore his right Achilles tendon in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, a series the Warriors lost in six games to the Toronto Raptors. Prior to the injury, Durant was expected to be the most heavily pursued free agent this offseason. Now, he is expected to miss most, if not all, of next season.
The two-time NBA Finals MVP declined his $31.5 million player option with the Warriors and, according to reports, will get a max five-year, $221 million offer from the team. Other teams can offer him four years and $164 million. Durant has been in New York since undergoing surgery, and he and Kleiman reportedly will handle all communications from teams from there.
After spending the first nine seasons of his career with the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder franchise, Durant signed with Golden State before the 2016-17 season.
Durant won titles in each of his first two seasons, and was MVP of the Final each year, and the team looked poised to make it three straight this season. However, he sustained a strained calf in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Houston Rockets and missed more than a month. After less than 12 minutes on the floor in his first game back, Durant sustained the Achilles tear.
Durant has averaged 27 points and 7.1 rebounds in his career, hitting 49.3 percent of his field-goal attempts, 38.1 percent of his 3-point shots and 88.3 percent of his free throws.
—Field Level Media
