Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant (Photo : NBAE via Getty Images)
The rumors about Kevin Durant and his impending free agency continue to trend around the NBA.
There are more factors that contribute to this recently. The Oklahoma City Thunder lost to the Golden State Warriors twice in the past week, raising doubts on whether they could really win a title with their current unit.
If the Oklahoma City Thunder fail to win the title, or even reach the Finals, it would really make KD to consider whether the team has reached its peak. After reaching the NBA Finals in 2012, they have failed to replicate their feat in three seasons. Granted, there were major injuries, but their stars are all healthy this season. Critics believe it may be their last chance.
Kevin Durant's hunger for a title as he approaches his tenth year in the NBA is the main reason why the Lakers are not considered as contenders for his services, as stated by Adrian Wojnarowski in a Q&A in Fox Sports, chronicled by The Big Lead.
"Washington and the Lakers, they are not frontrunners for Kevin Durant. 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(Lakers) 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."
That dismissive statement by a known hoops authority should have quelled any hope for the Hollywood team, but Basketball Insiders' Eric Pincus has scenarios that he believes could convince Durant.
There are two factors in play here. First, the Lakers will not be the same team they are next year with Kobe Bryant's departure and their cap space could lure free agents, not to mention if they keep their draft pick (top three). Second, most people around the league know that the Lakers are tanking. They are better than their current record suggests and their young core is developing.
One scenario that Pincus presented is if the Lakers trade their young core for a franchise player-someone like DeMarcus Cousins.
"For example, if the Lakers were able to move veterans Lou Williams and Nick Young, along with Randle and their 2016 first-round pick to Sacramento for Cousins, the Lakers would still have almost $60 million in spending power to build around Cousins, Russell, Nance, Brown and Clarkson (a restricted free agent with a $2.7 million cap hold)," Pincus said, but admits that predictions at the trade market in March are "foolhardy."
But that is only one scenario. The Lakers have cap space for two max players. They can lure Durant by saying he can handpick any other free agent he wants to play with, and the Lakers can still sign him. Rumors also mention that the Lakers are not making a coaching change so they can also sell that to Durant. KD can ask the Lakers to take former coach Scott Brooks, for instance.
It's a very long shot and certain things have to fall into place, foremost of which is the draft lottery. If the Lakers keep their Top 3 pick, that could hold more value in a trade. There are many directions that the Lakers can go and Durant may like one of them-perhaps even more than the direction that the Thunder is stuck with.
