5 teams Kevin Durant should sign with next season

One of the more intriguing possibilities for Kevin Durant to continue his NBA career would be to join up with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and the rest of Steve Kerr’s Golden State Warriors.

Since nearly all the players on the Warriors are homegrown talent from well-executed NBA Drafts, Durant would stand as the franchise’s biggest free agent acquisition to date. He would in theory replace Harrison Barnes at starting small forward and either Barnes or his backup Andre Iguodala would have to play somewhere else in 2016-17.

By joining the Warriors, Durant would have arguably an even better shot to win an NBA title than he currently does with Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka on Billy Donovan’s Oklahoma City Thunder. On paper, it would be hard to see the Warriors doing worse than 75-7 in the 2015-16 NBA season.

While this move to sign to play with Golden State would almost certainly ensure that Durant will win an NBA Championship, his decision to play with the Warriors would transform the NBA’s favorite team into public enemy No. 1. The lovable Splash Brothers era of the space-and-pace Warriors would become the most reviled team in the NBA since the late 1980s, early 1990s “Bad Boys” Detroit Pistons.

If Durant is willing to have his reputation as a likable guy compromised for selling out at a better shot at a title with the already juggernaut Warriors, he could conceivably sign with Golden State this summer. It’s a move that would help Durant win a title, but would it ultimately serve Curry and the rest of the Warriors in the process?

Does Durant choosing Golden State over Oklahoma City make the Warriors better? That’s hard to say, but the television ratings in the NBA would increase because the league would have something it has lacked since LeBron James left the Miami Heat: an enemy, which is what Golden State would become if Durant goes to the Bay Area this summer.

Next: 4. Boston Celtics