NBA Rumors: Kevin Durant will not consider joining Rockets
By Tom West
Not that it was going to happen anyway, but it’s now been reported that Kevin Durant will not consider signing with the Houston Rockets when he hits NBA free agency this summer.
Well, this isn’t remotely surprising, except for Houston Rockets fans who have been ignorantly optimistic in believing that Kevin Durant could actually choose them in free agency. He’ll be the talk of the NBA this summer and regardless of whether or not teams have a realistic chance of luring him away from Oklahoma City, everyone wants to make their respective pitches to Durant.
It’s essentially standard protocol for NBA franchises once July starts. Take a shot with signing Durant, and if by some miracle you do, your team can be turned around overnight. However, in completely unsurprising fashion, ESPN’s Marc Stein has reported that the Rockets have already been eliminated from Durant’s consideration:
"Sources told ESPN.com that Harden’s Houston Rockets are not a team Durant plans to consider when he becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1, despite Harden’s presence there and the Rockets’ long-known intent to chase him."
A spark of belief in Houston arose from rumors that Durant and James Harden (former OKC teammates) had been hanging out together this week, which Stein confirmed. Perhaps, in the minds of those blindly optimistic fans, that created a chance for Durant to join the Rockets, taking over as the new star beside Harden as Dwight Howard surely makes his exit in free agency.
But it won’t happen. It never was going to and now Stein has simply confirmed it.
Durant is by far the best player hitting the market and after the Thunder lost their 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors, hot takes flew that Durant may be done with OKC. From the Warriors themselves to the San Antonio Spurs, many teams have been appeared as potential destinations with those to West powerhouses emerging as the supposed frontrunners.
In fact, Stein added in his report that many NBA executives believe the Warriors and Spurs are the favorites if anyone can lure him away.
Until a rumor emerges that Kevin Durant is on the brink of signing with one of these teams, though, it still seems most likely that he’ll re-sign with the Thunder on a one-year deal and then reconsider free agency in 2017. Even then, him simply re-signing on a new long-term max contract seems like the best bet.
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