Latest On Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant released his new KD9 signature shoe on Monday, and with reporters in attendance, the conversation eventually turned to Durant’s looming free agency. As Royce Young of ESPN.com details, the former MVP said that his free agency will be a “basketball decision.” Asked to clarify that answer, Durant explained that it’s not necessarily about moving to a bigger market, or landing the biggest contract.

[RELATED: Offseason Outlook: Oklahoma City Thunder]

“Just who I’m going to be playing with and the people I’m going to be around every single day, that’s what it’s all about for me,” Durant told ESPN.com. “You tend to hear about the market and the opportunities you can get off the basketball court, but I’m blessed, man, to be making what I make as a basketball player.

“And I’m doing this in Oklahoma City,” Durant continued. “I don’t care about commercials, I don’t really care about this s—, I just want to hoop. But this comes with it and I got all this being in Oklahoma City. So all that stuff doesn’t really matter to me. It’s all about who I’m gonna play with, what type of people I’m going to be around every single day and I’ll go from there.”

While Durant hasn’t been looking ahead to July 1st to figure out his plan for free agency, a number of teams around the NBA are hoping to make face-to-face pitches to him at that point, and it sounds like at least a few will have that opportunity. A source tells Frank Isola of the New York Daily News that Durant, who had considered holding meetings in New York, will likely meet with suitors in Los Angeles once the recruiting period begins.

That same source suggests to Isola that if Durant decides not to re-sign with the Thunder, the Warriors look like the biggest threat to land him. Isola also writes that OKC viewed the Knicks as a major threat for Durant at one point, but haven’t been as concerned about New York since Derek Fisher was ousted as the team’s head coach.

Wherever he lands in free agency, Durant plans on being a part of USA Basketball’s Olympic squad later in the summer, as we heard over the weekend.

View Comments (23)