5 teams Kevin Durant should sign with next season

If there is any situation that Kevin Durant could go to besides back to Oklahoma City that he won’t draw a tremendous backlash from, it would be if he joined Brad Stevens’ Boston Celtics. While Boston seems like a massive long shot to land a player like Durant, he could be the star player Stevens and general manager Danny Ainge are looking for to build another championship team around.

The truth is that the Celtics covet more of a stretch four/stretch five than anything else. They’ve inquired about players like the Atlanta Hawks’ Al Horford, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kevin Love, and the Sacramento Kings’ DeMarcus Cousins.

Not that Durant wouldn’t consider becoming the next Celtics great, but it may be too late in the race for him to consider the Celtics as a realistic free agency destination in 2016. However, it would be very foolish and short-sided for Durant to not consider the Celtics as a potential free agency landing spot.

Ainge has done nothing but stockpile the best collection of trade assets of any team in the Association since blowing up the Big Three/Four a few years back. Stevens is on the fast track to becoming the next elite head coach in the NBA. If anybody is going to be able to get the absolute maximum out of a championship level Durant, why couldn’t it be Stevens in Boston?

By signing with the Celtics, Durant’s annual path to the NBA Finals is a bit clearer than it would be in the Western Conference. He’d really only have to deal with LeBron James’ Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals and could stand as the main focal point for both Ainge and Stevens to build a winner around. In a nutshell, he’d have as close to free reign as James has in Cleveland should he want to get the Celtics another title in the next few years. Boston has the assets to satisfy Durant’s needs for a championship caliber roster.

Next: 3. Los Angeles Lakers