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Kevin Durant free agency rumors: Not signing with Lakers, Wizards

By John Buhler

Feb 24, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) during the game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. The Thunder beat the Mavs 116-103. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 24, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) during the game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. The Thunder beat the Mavs 116-103. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kevin Durant has begun to limit the teams he will talk to about signing with in NBA free agency. The Los Angeles Lakers and the Washington Wizards are out.

The Kevin Durant free agency sweepstakes just got a little tighter, as the highly coveted small forward of the Oklahoma City Thunder has essentially crossed off two teams on his board, but added another dark horse on Saturday afternoon.

According to USA Today’s Sam Amick, “despite years of speculation about Durant possibly signing with his hometown Washington Wizards or the Los Angeles Lakers, a person with knowledge of his situation told USA TODAY Sports that those two teams are not expected to land a meeting with the former MVP.”

Besides his current team in the Thunder, the two teams with the best odds of nabbing the former MVP remain the Golden State Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs. Their candidacy to land Durant comes as no surprise, as the Warriors and Spurs should vie for a NBA Championship in 2017.

The one team that has come on Durant’s radar of late has been the New York Knicks merely days after the Derrick Rose trade with the Chicago Bulls. According to Amick, “the New York Knicks have earned their way onto Durant’s radar, having traded for Derrick Rose recently to create quite the combination with Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis.”

Durant will meet with roughly six teams in Los Angeles during 2016 NBA free agency, where he makes his home in the offseason. It’s understandable why the Wizards and the Lakers won’t make the cut.

Durant keeps a tight inner circle and won’t want a friend from yesteryear mooching off his talents if he were to return home to the nation’s capital, even if his former head coach with the Thunder in Scott Brook is now on the job.

Los Angeles is not ready to contend for a championship with their rebuilding roster. The sole reason Durant would leave Oklahoma City would be to have a better shot at winning an NBA Finals than he currently has with the Thunder.

The Knicks coming on his radar is odd, as neither Rose or Anthony have really played a winning brand of basketball despite being immensely talented. While it would be an exciting team, Durant on the Knicks doesn’t make New York championship caliber overnight.

For more NBA free agency news, please check out our NBA free agency category page.

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