The Philadelphia 76ers could be one of the dark-horse teams to land Kevin Durant next summer, but Philly may not need to wait until next year to get their hands at the two-time scoring champion.
The Durant free agency saga is on and rumors around the league on who has the better chance of landing OKC Thunder's superstar is spreading.
While many consider the Washington Wizards, Houston Rockets, and the Thunder as strong candidates to sign Durant, the 76ers may actually have the upper-hand for snatch KD as early as this season.
Durant has announced his focus today is playing his best with the Thunder, speculations for a superstar like him could not be helped, especially for desperate teams that are needing marquee signings to turn around their franchise 180 degrees.
Durant needed plenty of time to recover from a fractured foot suffered in December last season. The setback has clearly put Durant's stability with the Thunder in limbo due to his impending free agency and the continuous rise of Russell Westbrook as OKC's alpha male.
The main point, the Thunder would rather have a replacement for Durant instead of losing him come free agency season, which leads us to the question, what team is the frontrunner to acquire Durant via trade?
The more realistic answer for the Thunder office is the 76ers.
CNS Philly reported in July that the 76ers have added former University of Texas strength and conditioning coach Todd Wright to the team's staff as an assistant.
Durant has close ties to Wright, whom the former described as one of the reason he "picked Texas as a school."
Another hint is that the Thunder's recent roster moves suggest the franchise is preparing for the worst after trading for Dion Waiters, and trading for and re-signing Enes Kanter to a max-level, reports ESPN.
In an interview with Tom Penn back in March, the former NBA executive claimed that Thunder general manager Sam Presti "has proven that he does not ever want to lose anybody for nothing" and "he'll look to trade" Durant if he does not get the commitment from the 2014 NBA MVP.
Durant did not sign a contract extension with the Thunder, hence his impending free agency next year. It simply is becoming a dejavu like the James Harden to Houston Rockets trade in October of 2012.
The 76ers have all the pieces to acquire Durant and may have all the factors to get him to Philadelphia, including a surplus of future lottery picks they earned through the years of tanking and plethora of young and talented players.
Durant could also have the chance to lead the 76ers' franchise into an instant contender, where he would once again be the main man.
More importantly, Philadelphia would have the cap room to accommodate a star or two to join Durant in making the 76ers relevant in the NBA map.
However, a report from Philly News noted that the 76ers lack of relationship with agents could hinder the team's ability to attract max-level free agents.
"Whoever thinks Kevin Durant is coming to the Philadelphia 76ers is absolutely out of their mind. There's no way . . . in any scenario," a league source said.
The statement makes sense, although if Durant would be traded to Philadelphia, it would be the start of a new hope for 76ers fans.
There is no confirmation yet whether Durant would actually entertain the idea of getting traded before the deadline, but it looks like the Thunder will keep Durant for now and see if their core roster could lead them to their first NBA championship.