The Washington Wizards have dreamed of signing Kevin Durant ever since 2014. They want him to come home, and they even hired one of his high school coaches as an assistant. Now, in just four short months, Kevin Durant will be a free agent. The Wizards may not have much of a chance to sign him though, as they are sitting at 25-28 and are 10th in the Eastern Conference.
Another young team that is interested in signing Durant to put them over the hump is the NBA’s most storied franchise, the Lakers. The Lakers are the worst team in the Western Conference, with a record of 11-45. They do have young talent though, with D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, and Jordan Clarkson all 23 years old or younger. Also, Kobe will be retiring after this season, so Durant would be able to take over the team. The Lakers will also have a strong chance to win the Ben Simmons sweepstakes this summer, and they may add him to the young talent in LA.
So, who is likely to get Durant? Do the Lakers or Wizards have a better chance? Neither, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of the Vertical who joined Jason McIntyre on his Fox News Radio show and discussed where Durant may land this summer.
Q: Let’s just say the Lakers win the lottery – right now, they have the 2nd worst record – what are the chances that influences Kevin Durant’s offseason decision? I know it’s early, but we’ve seen the Wizards struggle. They’re not a playoff team in the East. Will getting the #1 pick …
Woj: 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 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. If Kevin Durant leaves Oklahoma – if he leaves – he wants to be ready to win a Championship right away. He’s at a point in his career [where] he can’t wait 2-3 years or wait for a team to build or hope that it happens.
Part of his criteria, sources tell me: 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 compete for a Championship? The thing with the Thunder is, you never know how close you might be to a title. It’s very true … Are they good enough defensively?
[A few sentences later] I just don’t think the Lakers are a real significant factor for Kevin Durant.”
Lakers’ fans and Wizards’ fans will likely be unhappy with where Durant goes this summer, because neither team is a huge contender to sign him. Durant is 28 years old, and he doesn’t have time to wait for young players to develop to win a championship. He wants to win, and he wants to win now. Durant will either go to the Warriors, resign with the Thunder, or bolt to a team that he knows will be able to contend with the Warriors immediately for a championship.
Personally, I don’t think the Wizards would be a bad choice for Durant. With an extremely talented back-court of Bradley Beal and John Wall, Durant would definitely be able to contend with LeBron in the East right away, and would have a shot at beating the Warriors in the finals with a starting five of Wall/Beal/Durant/Markieff Morris/Marcin Gortat. If he went to the Lakers, I still don’t think they would be able to contend for a championship for a few more seasons.
