NBA Free Agency 2016: 5 destinations for Kevin Durant

After the Clippers came back from a 17-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter against the Thunder on Wednesday night, Kevin Durant will have just received another first-hand experience of how good Chris Paul’s team can be. Without Blake Griffin, everyone else has taken it as a chance to rise up. They lead the NBA in both defensive efficiency and net rating since the All-Star break, and they’ll be even stronger when Griffin returns.

Durant knows how good this team can be and even though he’s not weighing up his free agent options yet, the Clippers won’t go without thought. In fact, a sign-and-trade with Griffin could be something that emerges. If Durant wants to sign with the Clippers, the Thunder can orchestrate this move in order to balance the salary cap of both teams, while bringing in Griffin in return for Durant.

To add some emphasis to the idea of Durant joining the Clippers, Adrian Wojnarwoski has reported that Doc Rivers and Co. won’t hesitate to move Griffin if they have a chance to land KD:

"If the opportunity comes to move Blake Griffin and replace him with Durant, the Clippers won’t hesitate, sources said."

For Griffin, he gets to return home to Oklahoma where he also spent his college days. Such a personal connection to the town can cause distractions which isn’t for everyone, but there’s no doubt that Griffin would still appreciate this side of the deal and enjoy the talent the Thunder have.

For Durant, he gets to play with the best floor general and top defensive point guard in the NBA in Chris Paul. He’s the perfect running mate to get Durant the shots he wants at just the right times, and an All-Defensive first team center in DeAndre Jordan, J.J. Redick to help spacing, and an improved bench (that will ideally be tweaked again this summer) are more incentives alongside the draw of L.A. itself.

Plus, unlike the Warriors, Durant can enter full win-now mode to help a team on the cusp of really contending already.

All things considered, though, this still isn’t the best potential championship-winning scenario for Durant, especially as Paul is almost 31. Clearly the Warriors and probably the Thunder are still better off in this regard, which makes this Clippers theory an uncertain one.

Next: 2. Would Durant want to take his talents to South Beach, too?