By all accounts, the one thing Kevin Durant wants in free agency this year is to win.
It’s not the money Oklahoma City can offer him, Miami’s paradise weather, the celebrity of Los Angeles or the legacy of Boston. He simply wants a ring; and as many of them as possible at that.
With that in mind, USA TODAY Sports’ Sam Amick reported Saturday that both the Los Angeles Lakers and Durant’s hometown Washington Wizards likely have no chance of landing the Thunder superstar in free agency next month.
“Despite years of speculation about Durant possibly signing with his hometown Washington Wizards or the Los Angeles Lakers, a person with knowledge of his situation told USA TODAY Sports that those two teams are not expected to land a meeting with the former MVP. …
“Barring an unforeseen change in which a meeting is granted as a way of helping a franchise save face, this development will come as quite a blow to the Lakers group that spent the past few years planning with Durant’s free agency in mind. There are other free agency fish in the sea, to be sure, but none with the star power of a Durant. As for the Wizards, they’re taking the two-track approach: patiently waiting on Durant’s call with hopes of being surprised while moving on with their non-Durant free agency plans so as not to be slowed down by a pipe dream.”
Amick added that the New York Knicks peaked Durant’s interest after acquiring Derrick Rose last week, but “as of now, it remains to be seen how that particular scenario will be handled.”
Overnight Friday, The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that six teams would be granted a meeting with Durant when free agency opens, and that other interested teams — including the Lakers and Wizards — could get lucky and land a meeting, but it was highly unlikely.
Just 24 hours later, it seems those chances have diminished.
Thumbnail photo via Mark D. Smith/USA TODAY Sports Images
