NBA Free agency is approximately nine months away, and yet the Kevin Durant sweepstakes are already underway.
This is to say, the rumor mill is alive with speculation.
Mostly Stephen A. Smith’s.
ESPN’s foremost authority on loud articulation has already alleged that Carmelo Anthony is pitching KD on joining the New York Knicks. He even introduced the possibility of Kobe Bryant syncing up with Melo and KD in New York for good measure.
Now, as relayed by Larry Brown Sports’ Steve DelVecchio, Smith is apparently hearing that, should KD decide to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder, his preference is to join the Los Angeles Lakers:
Kevin Durant has gone on the record as saying he would like to spend his entire career with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but is there a chance he could replace one of the greatest players of all time if he decides to leave?
On ESPN’s “First Take” Tuesday morning, Stephen A. Smith said that sources have told him Durant’s preferred landing spot is the Los Angeles Lakers if he does not re-sign with the Thunder next summer.
“Regardless of how senseless it may (sound), in one breath I’m hearing that if Kevin Durant doesn’t stay in Oklahoma City, L.A. is his primary objective and landing spot as opposed to South Beach or even his home of Washington, D.C.,” Smith said.
The face of First Take didn’t stop there. He circled back to his Knicks-KD rumor as well, per DelVecchio:
That wasn’t the only seemingly far-fetched theory that Smith tossed out. He also said he has heard rumblings about Durant possibly teaming up with Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant with the New York Knicks. Smith thinks Phil Jackson may have been hinting at that when he recently said Kobe could play for a team other than the Lakers.
“I heard Melo, Kevin Durant, Kobe,” Smith added. “And when you take into account that Phil Jackson is on the record saying it might be Kobe’s last year in L.A. — opening the door that there are possibilities for him to go elsewhere. All I’m saying is you just never know.”
Love that last line from Smith: “All I’m saying is you just never know.”
No, we don’t know. Because free agency is nine months away, and so much can change between now and then. The Thunder could win a title, making Durant’s decision a no-brainer. The Knicks and Melo could decide to part ways via trade, essentially removing them superstar contention. There’s just too much time remaining on Durant’s free-agency clock to glean any insight from anyone—including Smith, and, most importantly, including Durant himself.
The one I will forever call “Slim Reaper” can refute rumors all he wants. He can parrot his loyalty to the Thunder and his desire to remain in Oklahoma City. But even he cannot say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, he won’t leave in free agency.
Only when the season is over, when almost every mitigating factor has fallen into place, will rumors start to hold weight and KD’s words start to mean something.
Until then, we wait, wading through a minefield of rumors that hasn’t yet reached its peak.
