Rumors of Kevin Durant potentially leaving in free agency have plagued the Golden State Warriors all year long.
In today’s day and age, there is no telling what an NBA superstar will do. It seems like more and more All-Star players are changing teams than ever before. Loyalty is becoming rare and this is something that the Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors have both acknowledged.
There has been speculation that Durant could leave the Warriors in the 2019 offseason for quite some time now. However, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski recently commented that the Warriors are now bracing themselves for the scenario in which Durant actually leaves.
Lowe on Kevin Durant: “the Knicks noise is really loud.”
— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) February 6, 2019
Woj: “the Warriors are preparing for the possibility that he could leave... the Knicks are a real possibility... the Clippers could be if he wants to stay on the west coast, more so than the Lakers”
This might not be breaking news. Of course, any competent franchise will try to be prepared for any possible situation. There is no reason the Warriors shouldn’t be concerned about losing one of their best players and Durant hasn’t done anything personally to silence the noise.
However, the reason this situation is becoming elevated is that of the fact that multiple teams around the league are parting the sea’s to sign Durant this Summer. The New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers have both made big trades to open up cap space and allow themselves to sign a high caliber player.
The Knicks, in particular, have cleared enough salary to sign two max contract players this Summer. With this opening in the cap space comes rapid rumors of Kyrie Irving potentially being interested in joining NY. If Irving makes the jump to the Knicks, what would stop Durant from doing the same thing?
It certainly would be interesting to watch Irving and Durant team up in New York alongside rising stars such as Kevin Knox and Dennis Smith Jr. Furthermore, there is growing speculation that Anthony Davis or Kawhi Leonard could be moving teams soon, opening up more potential landing spots for Durant.
Durant’s free agency will be a hot topic for the next few months. It is guaranteed that the rumors will come in a nonstop fashion. All the Warriors can do is buckle down on their current roster and hope for the best. In the event that Durant does leave this Summer, at least the Warriors have a plethora of other star players to replace him.