Kevin Durant Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Links: Thunder, Nuggets, T’Wolves, Jazz

October 4th, 2012 at 10:52pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK reports that Kevin Durant appears to have significantly added strength and bulk to his frame and could possibly find more playing time at the four spot this season. Mayberry also writes that an emphasis has been placed on rebounding at Thunder camp, and provides a collection of brief observations from practice today. Here are tonight's links from the Northwest division…

Brad Miller was invited by Rick Adelman to Timberwolves camp in Mankato for a few days as a special assistant coach, although Adelman is unsure if the former center will maintain a recurring role with the team once they return to Minnesota (Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune reports).
Randy Hollis of the Deseret News says that Mo Williams will bring much needed leadership to a Jazz locker room that features several players in their early 20s with limited NBA experience.
Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post takes note of Ty Lawson's development as seen by veteran guard Anthony Carter, who was a member of the Nuggets during Lawson's rookie season and finds himself back in Denver training camp after stints with New York and Toronto. In another article, Hochman says that according to George Karl, center Kosta Koufos has been the team's "best big guy in camp so far."
Even without Ricky Rubio in practices, the Timberwolves haven't deviated from the "corner offense" that coach Rick Adelman installed last season. Adelman also lauded the shooting prowess of rookie Alexey Shved and the surprising passing ability of center Nikola Pekovic during Thursday's scrimmages (Ray Richardson of TwinCities.com reports). On a side note, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune tweets that Malcolm Lee missed practice due to groin tightness.
Heading into his third year in the NBA, Jazz forward Jeremy Evans says that he understands his role and "knows what to expect now" (Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune writes).
Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune reflects on how youth basketball coach Sandy Pyonin helped turn around Randy Foye's life around, as well as provides some background on how the Jazz guard refined his shooting abilities.

Latest On Durant, Lakers, Magic

August 26th, 2012 at 6:29pm CST by Sean Highkin

Ever since the Lakers traded for Steve Nash and Dwight Howard earlier this offseason, many have been projecting them to reach the 2013 Finals and even win the title. However, this is being taken as a slight by Kevin Durant and the defending Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder. Here are Durant's thoughts on the newly retooled Lakers, as well as some early speculation about Durant's own free agency:

Durant told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that he understands why the Lakers are receiving the majority of the offseason buzz: "People outside, fans, media, of course they are going to say [the Lakers are the favorites] because on paper they have the best lineup in the league. But you still got to play the games. We respect everybody. We are going to go through the league respecting everybody as well. We already view ourselves as an elite team, but we have to prove it again. Last year is over with."
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel wonders whether the Magic plan to eventually target Durant, who is scheduled to hit free agency following the 2015/16 season.

Kevin Durant Says He’s Ready To Dominate NBA

August 26th, 2012 at 10:14am CST by Daniel Seco

Michael Lee of The Washington Post recently had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Thunder star Kevin Durant. Even though he's yet to turn 24, Durant says he's ready to take his game to the next level and dominate the league. Here are a few highlights from the conversation:

On where he's at in his career and how he sees himself within the league:

“I’ve heard a few times, in three or four years, this league is going to be yours. . . . I don’t like that. Because I think I’m established now. My time is now. I feel as though I’ve proved myself these last five years that I can be one of the top players in the league. I’ve got a long way to go to being the ultimate best, but I think my time is now. And I’m starting to enter my prime.”

On what it was like to play with the top players in the world during the Olympics:

“I always felt that I belonged on top with those guys and I just have to continue to keep working to maintain that. It feels good to be a part of a great group of guys, to do something special for the country. We all respected each other and they never looked at me as the younger guy coming up and waiting his turn. They were just, ‘Go out there and play, do what you do.’ And that’s what I did.”

On his decision to make a movie during the NBA lockout last summer:

“The thing that I was more concerned about is that I was just so shy. I didn’t want to look dumb. [My mom] told me don’t worry about that. You can’t let other people dictate how you live. She gave me a whole little speech. I said, ‘Why not?’ I want people to see another side of me that they don’t see on the basketball court."

On what not winning a championship would mean for his career:

“I’m not going to let people define my career as a player thus far if I don’t win a championship. They are going to say I’m a bust or I flopped or that I didn’t have a good career in the NBA because I didn’t win a championship in the time that they wanted me to do it? I’m just going to keep enjoying what I’m doing and hopefully I get there sooner than later.”

Thunder Notes: Redd, Ibaka, Durant, Harden

August 22nd, 2012 at 1:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, we heard that the Thunder may be one of a handful of teams with interest in Michael Redd. With James Harden, Thabo Sefolosha, and Daequan Cook at the two, the club doesn't have a pressing need for a player like Redd, but if he's willing to play for the minimum salary, adding another shooter to the mix certainly couldn't hurt. Here are a few more of today's updates out of Oklahoma City:

Serge Ibaka's extension is worth $49MM ($12.25MM annually), but that number could increase to $51.5MM based on Ibaka's performance. According to John Rohde of the Oklahoman, the $2.5MM in incentives are believed to relate to winning the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award and earning future spots on the All-Defensive first team.
Kevin Durant participated in a Q&A with ESPN.com's Marc Stein that focused on his upcoming film Thunderstruck, but also touched on a few other topics. Durant told Stein that he was excited about Ibaka's extension, adding, "He easily could have said no, waited for next summer, played well this year and got more [money]. But he sacrificed for us and we appreciate him for that. He's the ultimate team player."
Asked by Stein about a potential extension for James Harden, Durant replied: "I haven't asked [Thunder GM] Sam [Presti] about anything and I haven't asked James about anything. I'm just going to let that take care of itself, be the best teammate I can be and hopefully by the time camp starts we have him locked up."

Olympics Notes: Bryant, James, Popovich

August 12th, 2012 at 5:25pm CST by Daniel Seco

Kevin Durant's strong performance throughout the Olympics served as a major reason why Team USA's leaving London with gold. The three-time reigning NBA scoring champion averaged 19.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 2.6 APG over the course of the Olympics. Let's catch up on the latest news and headlines from London…

Doc Rivers endorses Doug Collins to succeed Mike Krzyzewski as head coach of Team USA.
One of the many secrets to Kobe Bryant's success has been Dr. Judy Seto, the Lakers' physical therapist, writes Mike Trudell of NBA.com. Dr. Seto's so important to Bryant that she's accompanied Bryant to the last two Olympics to ensure his health while playing abroad. Bryant wanted to have Dr. Seto's services entirely to himself during the 2008 Olympics so he didn't tell Lakers teammate Pau Gasol that she was in Beijing.
LeBron James joined Michael Jordan as the only players to win NBA title, Olympic gold, NBA regular-season MVP and NBA Finals MVP in the same year, tweets Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Durant stands as the most likely player to join this elite club in 2016 when the Olympics head to Rio.
With Krzyzewski set to call it an Olympic career, much conversation has come up regarding his replacement. Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports says both Rivers and James believe Gregg Popovich should be the next USA Basketball head coach (via Twitter).

Nine Assured Of Team USA Spot; Odom Withdraws

July 3rd, 2012 at 11:41am CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 11:41am: Blake Griffin is expected to take Chris Bosh's spot on the U.S. roster, tweets Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com. As Goodman adds in a second tweet, that would leave five players competing for the final two spots.

Poll: Build A Franchise Around LeBron Or Durant?

June 15th, 2012 at 9:13pm CST by Daniel Seco

The battle between superstars LeBron James and Kevin Durant has stolen headlines throughout the NBA Finals as the series heads to Miami tied 1-1. For James, winning his first ring in his third trip to the Finals would validate a career highlighted by individual achievement but lacking a Larry O'Brien Trophy. For Durant, winning a championship arguably ahead of schedule would start the dynasty chatter and make many wonder if James will retire as the best player to never reach basketball's pinnacle. With both James and Durant playing basketball at a remarkably high level, we ask you to consider tonight's poll question: Which player would you rather build a franchise around?

Who Would You Rather Build A Franchise Around?

Kevin Durant 71.59% (718 votes)

LeBron James 28.41% (285 votes)

Total Votes: 1,003

Odds & Ends: Bosh, Battier, Harden, Sixers

June 11th, 2012 at 8:30pm CST by Michael Pina

One of the most highly anticipated NBA Finals in recent history doesn't kick off until tomorrow night, but here are a few links relating to both teams involved—as well as some that, unfortunately for them, are not.

Odds & Ends: Celtics, Heat, Thunder, Spurs, Lakers

May 20th, 2012 at 12:15pm CST by Daniel Seco

Let's go coast to coast to catch up on the latest news and headlines before King James and the Heat look to make it a series against Indiana…

Celtics head coach Doc Rivers has been using whatever time off his team is afforded to allow them to rest and get healthier, reports the Associated Press (via the Boston Herald).
ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst says Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra needs to make adjustments to his strategy if Miami wants to have any chance of winning against the Pacers.
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have matured and proven that they can co-exist in Oklahoma City, writes Sam Amick of SI.com.
Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski believes the Thunder look like a team with legitimate title aspirations thanks to strong play by Durant and Westbrook.
The Spurs relied on heavily-efficient play to overcome a 24-point deficit to the Clippers on Saturday, writes Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com.
Tom Ziller of SB Nation says the Lakers should trade Andrew Bynum so that the 24-year-old center's talents don't go to waste in Los Angeles.
Gregg Popovich's decision to sit Tim Duncan during the 2000 NBA playoffs proved to be the right decision 12 years later, contends J.A. Adande of ESPN.com.
A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com believes the Celtics need to find a better balance in terms of getting Kevin Garnett more involved in the game on Monday evening against the Sixers.

Kevin Durant Signs With Rob Pelinka

March 19th, 2012 at 11:35am CST by Luke Adams

A month after parting ways with agent Aaron Goodwin, Kevin Durant has signed with Rob Pelinka of Landmark Sports Agency, reports Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal (Twitter link).

Pelinka represents a number of NBA stars, including Durant's teammate in Oklahoma City, James Harden. Landmark's list of clients also features Kobe Bryant, Carlos Boozer, Eric Gordon, and Andre Iguodala, among others.

Durant is in the first season of the five-year extension he signed in the summer of 2010, so Pelinka doesn't figure to negotiate a new contract for the Thunder star anytime soon. Durant's current deal expires in 2016.