It’s the Sunday before July 4th, and everyone is with friends and family enjoying the fact they’ll get Monday off. Except for NBA writers, that is. With a ton of agreements happening through the first three days of the free agency moratorium, the biggest prize in the summer of 2016, Kevin Durant, still hasn’t arrived at a decision after meeting with five teams over the weekend, including his own team, twice.
But, instead of keeping us in front of twitter all night long, reports have come in from Sam Amick of USA Today and David Aldridge of NBA.com that Durant is planning to put off announcing his decision until Monday, July 4.
Kevin Durant is now expected to make his decision tomorrow, I'm told.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) July 4, 2016
Kevin Durant will make his decision tomorrow, I’m told.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 4, 2016
Not only that, but Royce Young, the Thunder beat writer for ESPN, believes it’s come down to just two teams: The Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder, who just so happen to be the two Western Conference finalists this past season.
From what I understand, it's Thunder versus Warriors for Durant.
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) July 4, 2016
Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated says the Warriors’ pitch focused on the dynastic implications of a move to the Bay, and how their pass-happy attack — predicated on moving the ball and transcendent shooting from their backcourt — aligns perfectly with perhaps the most unselfish superstar in the NBA outside of their own, Steph Curry.
Whether Boston or Miami or San Antonio is even an option, remains to be seen. The only other team that actually got a meeting with Durant this past week, the Clippers, have already been eliminated from the running, says a report.
Even though Young is a trusted source, it would be foolish to totally rule out the other team’s in question, especially Boston, who signed Al Horford during their pitch meeting with the Thunder sharpshooter.
UPDATE:
A league source said to be “intimate” with Boston’s thinking tells A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com Durant is still “seriously considering” the Celtics as an option. Blakely adds that another league source believes this to be true. So, to recap, two unnamed sources, one of whom is familiar with Boston’s thinking, say that Durant is still thinking of the Celtics. Implicit in that information is that the Celtics think Durant is “seriously considering” the Celtics.
There’s a reason we call this the silly season.
The Boston Herald‘s Steve Bulpett adds that the Horfird deal could have swayed KD to give the C’s a closer look.
Key question for Celts' pursuit of Durant is how much Horford signing means to him. Source says it was between OKC and GS before that deal.
— Steve Bulpett (@SteveBHoop) July 4, 2016
UPDATE 2:
An unnamed source informed InsideHoops.com that Miami remains in the running for Kevin Durant’s services; although, Pat Riley and company are having a hard time meeting Dwyane Wade’s salary demands, so they’d have to perform something supernatural with their salary cap miracle to make the money work.
A source tells InsideHoops that the Miami Heat remain a finalist to sign Kevin Durant, that it's not just down to the Thunder or Warriors.
— InsideHoops (@InsideHoops) July 4, 2016
The Fourth of July fireworks just inherited a new meaning for NBA fans, and a massive announcement that will have ripple effects throughout the Association now appears to be coming on the same day as America’s independence. The only thing we can say for sure is that Bill Pullman will likely not be involved; although, maybe he should.
