For someone who wanted to keep his free-agency process out of the public eye, Kevin Durant sure has a lot of stories written about his free-agency process. The latest report is not good news for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Oklahoma City Thunder forward does not want to lead a franchise's rebuilding effort, according to The Vertical's NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski, who appeared on Fox Sports Radio (42:30 mark) via The Big Lead.
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That means potentially bad news, not only for the Lakers but also for Durant's hometown Washington Wizards.
Wojnarowski was presented with a scenario in which the Lakers theoretically get the top pick in June's NBA Draft. Before even considering the possibilities of the young talent that could be in Los Angeles, Wojnarowski threw a wet blanket on the idea.
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"Washington and the Lakers, they are not frontrunners for Kevin Durant," Wojnarowski said. "He wants to win a championship. If he leaves Oklahoma -- he may end up staying there -- Golden State is the team that is worrisome for Oklahoma City. That's the team that has Kevin Durant's attention ... Kevin Durant wants to win a championship right away. Either he wants to do that in Oklahoma City, with the group they have, or he's going to go somewhere he can win a title right away.
"Kevin Durant doesn't care if they have the 1st pick, 2nd pick, 3rd pick ... no free agent cares. No free agent of his stature cares what draft pick the team has, because that guy's not going to help them win a Championship in the next 2-3 years. If Kevin Durant leaves Oklahoma (City) -- if he leaves -- he wants to be ready to win a Championship right away. He's at a point in his career [where] he can't wait 2-3 years or wait for a team to build or hope that it happens."
Durant repeatedly has said that he is not discussing his options after the season, so any reports about his future are premature.
And if the Lakers could somehow convince Russell Westbrook now to join Durant in 2017, Durant, Westbrook plus all the young talent might change Durant's mind.
It still seems to be overkill for Durant to join a team that already is the best team in the NBA and threating to turn in one of the best single-season performances of all time. Durant would seem to be too competitive to do that.
But if he is that driven to earn a championship ring, then, yes, Golden State is his logical destination when he becomes a free agent. The Thunder appear to be 2-3 players away from contending with the Warriors in a seven-game series.
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