The Kevin Durant sweepstakes, long hyped as the main event in this summer’s NBA free agency period, is starting to live up to the dramatic expectations that come with a top superstar’s availability on the market. After reportedly walking away emotionally moved from a meeting with the Los Angeles Clippers, Durant has now seemed to rule them out in his decision:
Clippers wanted to know today where they stood in the KD race and apparently got their answer. They now turn their attention to their FAs.
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) July 3, 2016
While the Clippers were always a dark-horse contender in this race, at best, their pitch to pit Durant against the world with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan in a Big Four arrangement certainly made for some compelling, if totally fleeting, basketball fantasies. In the end, it was probably the Clippers’ relatively limited financial flexibility that made acquiring another maximum-salary player too much of a long shot.
Durant will now pivot back to the Oklahoma City Thunder and his remaining suitors, with the Boston Celtics emerging as a surprisingly appealing option for the 2014 MVP. While it’s still largely believed that he’ll return to attend to unfinished business with the Thunder, Durant’s flirtation period has given OKC cause to sweat, and the rest of the NBA world enough clues to speculate about his potential departure.
Stay tuned as we learn more about Durant’s intentions.
