Kobe Bryant (L) and Kevin Durant. (Photo : Getty Images)
The NBA rumors about Kevin Durant and his impending free agency would not stop, but at least one city would have better use of their time.
The Los Angeles Lakers has historically been a free agent destination. They have pulled off some of the biggest acquisitions in NBA history and most of them have led to titles. This is partly the reason why they have not been a bad team for an extended period of time, except for the past three seasons.
Have the recent string of non-playoff seasons and the departure of free agent Dwight Howard in 2013 permanently stained the Lakers' mystique as a franchise? That will be tested in the 2016 free agency when Kobe Bryant retires and the team mounts a search for the next face of the Purple and Gold team.
According to renowned hoops scribe Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical told Fox Sports Radio. His statements appear below.
"The Lakers are not front-runners for Kevin Durant, he wants to win a championship. If he leaves Oklahoma, he may end up staying there and I've written that. Golden State is a team that is worrisome for Oklahoma City -- that's a team that has Kevin Durant's attention. Kevin Durant wants to win a championship right away and either he wants to do that in Oklahoma City with the group they have or he's going to go somewhere where he can win a title right away," Wojnarowski said. "Kevin Durant doesn't care if they have the first pick, the second pick, third pick; no free agent cares. No free agent of his stature cares what draft pick a team has because that guy is not going to help them win championships in the next two or three years."
Wojnarowski says Durant's mind is very clear: He wants to win a title and the Warriors is the team that has set the "Gold" standard for him.
He added: "And if Kevin Durant leaves Oklahoma, he wants to be ready to win a championship right away. He's at a point in his career where he can't wait two or three years and hope that it happens. I think part of his criteria, sources tell me, will be, 'Is that team good enough to beat Golden State with me on it? Or is it Golden State? Or can I stay in Oklahoma and continue to be able to do that and compete for a championship?"
He concluded: "Listen, I just don't think that the Lakers are a real significant factor for Kevin Durant."
Those were very strong declarations by one of the more reliable sources in the industry, and he has been consistent with saying that Golden State is really being considered.
This is in stark contrast to the rumor that was started by Stephen A. Smith wherein Durant and teammate Russell Westbrook both plan to leave the Thunder and reunite in Los Angeles. CBS has also dismissed that as being "too unrealistic."
Kevin Durant will admittedly not make the Lakers instant contenders even if they win the draft lottery and take Ben Simmons, and maybe even if they sign other free agents, as no one, aside from Durant and LeBron James (technically a free agent) can be a better teammate than Russell Westbrook in OKC, or Stephen Curry of Golden State for that matter.
