Kevin Durant vs three Minnesota Timberwolves (Photo : Hannah Foslien | Getty Images Sport)
According to the season predictions of veteran NBA writer Chris Sheridan, Kevin Durant may force himself out of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Before this prediction is dismissed as misguided banter, let it be known that Chris Sheridan is one of the boldest writers who cover the NBA. He was with ESPN before he put up his own site, Sheridan Hoops.
It should also be known that he was one of the first who called that LeBron James will leave the Miami Heat and return to Cleveland last summer. We all know how that turned out.
In a video about season predictions, he was asked about the careers of Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant. For Durant, he said he may actually have demanded a trade.
Shocking as that may sound, he did cite several conditions. One, if Kanter, Westbrook or Ibaka are injured (and all of that have missed in the recent past) or if Billy Donovan can't put it together and the Thunder could not compete with the four other contenders in the West, Sheridan says Durant's handler Jay Z could approach Thunder GM Sam Presti for a trade.
It might even be a favor for Presti as Durant can actually walk away as unrestricted free agent. They could lose the former MVP for nothing.
If a trade is necessary, that means the team in question does not have available cap space to sign Durant outright, and that they have assets the Thunder may find consolation with.
One such team is the Golden State Warriors, who, despite being the defending champions, would drop everything not named Stephen Curry to take Durant.
In Golden State of Mind, it was proposed that a deal for Kevin Durant would have to start with Harrison Barnes. It would be understandable that the Thunder could ask for Klay Thompson. It should be recalled that the Warriors did not trade Thompson even for Kevin Love-but Durant is another matter.
To reiterate, this prediction is highly conditional and there is a huge chance that the Thunder may not have to face this dilemma and face the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals instead.
