NBA Rumors: Brooklyn Nets to pursue signing Kevin Durant in 2016
By Josh Hill
The Brooklyn Nets are not having the season everyone envisioned when they acquired the majority of the Boston Celtics core over the offseason. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry haven’t panned out the way fans thought and that has many looking ahead to the future already.
By the time the 2016 offseason rolls around, it’s likely that at least one or two of the big three players the Nets acquired will either be retired or playing elsewhere. But if you’re expecting the Nets to slowly rebuild, you’d better think again as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News is reporting that as soon as Kevin Durant hits free agency in 2016, the Nets will be at the front of the line to offer him a deal.
While everyone in the NBA is thinking about Durant in 2016, the Nets may have leverage over everyone else. Durant is a client of Jay Z, who used to partially own the Nets and operates his agency Roc Nation out of Brooklyn. There’s also the cryptic quotes from Durant that he’s anxious to win a championship and may find himself chasing one in 2016 the way LeBron was in 2010. The Nets could realistically have cap space to pair a top free agent with Durant as well, which is something to consider.
The 2016 offseason is still a long ways away, and Russell Westbrook is one heck of a sidekick for Durant to want to leave behind. But if the Thunder continue to miss out on titles they may scare Durant to a larger market.