Kevin Durant has praise for Celtics and incentive to join them

Kevin Durant had nothing but high praise for the Boston Celtics after his last game against them. Could they catch his attention in free agency?

When NBA fans and teams alike think about the future of Kevin Durant, any theories are essentially based on speculation and nothing more. Unless anything changes, fans still have to contain their thoughts and believe that the favorite team to enter 2016-17 with the prolific scorer on their roster will still be the Oklahoma City Thunder. That being said, perhaps when free agency does roll around, he’ll start weighing up his options and other teams will emerge into his consideration.

One noteworthy team for any free agent that has plenty of potential for the future is the Boston Celtics. And after Durant’s game against them on Wednesday night, he had nothing but high praise for the team and the city of Boston (per Chris Forsberg of ESPN):

"“You can feel the tradition walking in here. You see all the [Celtics legends] plastered on the walls as you walk into the locker room,” said Durant. “The tradition of being a Boston Celtic is second to none. So it’s amazing playing here. The fans, they’re very energetic and they cheer for their team. It’s amazing to see as a player, to have fans that care about the game so much. It’s an amazing sports town and they have a great team to cheer for.”"

It goes without saying that everything Durant had to say is blindingly true and there was no reason he had to be so complimentary of the franchise if he didn’t want to be. The Celtics’ 17 championships are more than any other team in NBA history, and they have so many great eras to their name. Specifically, Bill Russell’s dominance during the league’s earlier days from the late 1950s through the ’60s to Larry Bird’s three championships in the ’80s, there are countless legends in the team’s storied history. Even the more recent title-winning team from 2008, featuring Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo, gave the Celtics more iconic figures.

Those days are obviously over, but as the Celtics sit at an impressive 5th in the Eastern Conference with one of the league’s best perimeter defenses and the 5th best team in terms of points per game (106), they have a lot going for them.

From first-time All-Star Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder to their talented bench, Brad Stevens is coaching an excellent unit of hard-working, overachieving players. Even after their crushing 130-109 loss to Durant’s Thunder on Wednesday, they have plenty of draw to free agents as they approach next season with even more promise.

And after fans chanted Durant’s name in Wednesday’s game, cheering that he should come to Boston, it’s clear that everyone is invested in taking another leap in 2016-17.

All things considered, both past and present, Boston has a lot going for it even if they haven’t always brought in superstar free agents before. With Brad Stevens, a treasure chest of high draft picks and a plethora of talented players, maybe they have a better chance than we think to catch the attention of 2016’s most sought after free agent.

Kevin Durant clearly has a high opinion of the Celtics, and that will at least enter his mind when he’s weighing up his offers and pitches from every team in the NBA. His remarkable go-to scoring ability is a missing piece that would easily take them to a new level, and they offer him the chance to eventually win a title for a franchise who need the help, rather than tagging along with the Golden State Warriors for an easy ring.

Even if the Celtics are a dark horse in the free agent race for KD and OKC remain as the favorite, they could (and should) be a team to keep an eye on.