Washington Wizards point guard John Wall reiterated they did not hire Scott Brooks to convince Kevin Durant to move to his hometown this summer.
Durant will become a free agent in the offseason and is continuously being linked to the Wizards because his connection to Washington. Most analysts believe the Wizards have started their recruiting pitch to Durant with their decision to hire Brooks to replace Randy Wittman.
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Durant and Brooks spent eight seasons together with the Thunder franchise, including the latter's run as assistant head coach. The two developed strong bond with previous reports suggesting Durant was disappointed when the Thunder opted to fire Brooks last year.
However, Wall does not think the relationship between Brooks and Durant has something to do with his team's decision to hire the former NBA Coach of the Year. Instead, Wall is convinced that Brooks was hired in order to improve the team's chances of winning an NBA title in the coming years.
"We didn't get Scotty Brooks just to get Kevin Durant," Wall told Washington Post. "That's not what Scott is on board to do. And I hope everybody doesn't expect just because we got Scotty Brooks, he's automatically going to get K.D., he's going to automatically jump."
The Wizards, who failed to make the playoffs this season after finishing with a 41-41 record, are expected to make a strong push to sign Durant this summer but will be facing strong competition.
Aside from the Wizards, big-market teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors could also try to lure Durant. According to the Washington Post report, the Thunder are also in a strong position to sign Durant to a two-year deal with a player option in the second season.
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Sources close to Durant's thinking also indicated that the former NBA Most Valuable Player does not want to play for his hometown team to avoid having too much distraction and burden on his shoulders.
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