NBA Free Agency: Kevin Durant’s meeting schedule, updates

Kevin Durant is the talking point of 2016 NBA free agency, and has meetings with several top teams, including the Golden State Warriors. Here’s an update on the schedule and how they are going.

While the rising $94 million salary cap and wild signings and max contracts galore will give us the most expensive NBA free agency yet, where Kevin Durant decides to play next season is still the vital story we’re all focused in. The general expectation is that he signs a one-year deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder with a player option for 2017-18, potentially putting all this speculation to rest. However, as he meets with five other teams, including the 73-9 Golden State Warriors, the chance of him leaving can’t be 100 percent ruled out (at least not quite yet).

He’s expected to make his decision soon, possibly within the first week of free agency.

Thursday, June 30: Thunder meeting

Durant met with the Thunder first for them to lay out exactly why he shouldn’t go anywhere. After trading Serge Ibaka for an exciting haul of Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilysova and rookie Domantas Sabonis, they have even more pieces to encourage him to stay (of course, the loss of Ibaka’s rim protection and defensive versatility will be missed).

Along with his connection to the city, their chance to contend, surprising success in the playoffs (despite losing the 3-1 lead to the Warriors), and his relationship with Russell Westbrook, there are plenty of reasons to think this talk is all for nothing.

According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the meeting went on for five hours and the team were pleased with how things went:

"A successful meeting with Kevin Durant and his closest confidantes Thursday has put the incumbent Oklahoma City Thunder in a strong position as Durant moves into meetings with five other free-agent suitors, according to league sources.Sources told ESPN that Thursday’s five-hour meeting with Thunder officials at Chesapeake Energy Arena “went well” before Durant, his agent and business manager Rich Kleiman and longtime friend and manager Charlie Bell boarded a flight to New York to start huddling with other teams on Friday."

Obviously, the Thunder officials would say the meeting went well, but a long-time friend also said Durant is “90 percent” made up that he’s staying in Oklahoma City.

Friday, July 1: Warriors and Clippers

So far today, as I sit back and think of all the wild Warriors fans speculating as I type this, the Warriors have had a meeting with Durant that went “very well”.

Sam Amick of USA Today Sports reported the apparent success of the pitch, but rightfully included that it may not even mean anything.

To further that comment, David Aldridge added that the meeting lasted for over two hours. It’s no five-hour chat, so OKC fans can feel free to talk smack, but it gave the Warriors a great chance to sell their title chances to a ring-hungry Durant and encourage him that he’s the final piece after they lost in the NBA Finals to Cleveland.

The Clippers, on the other hand, are waiting to pitch the idea of creating a Big 4. Rather than acquiring Durant with a Blake Griffin sign-and-trade, their aim is to sign Durant to play alongside Chris Paul, Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, while stripping back the rest of the roster in the process.

Saturday, July 2: Spurs and Celtics

As of right now, the Boston Celtics are eagerly looking to free agency to land a star. The constant trade rumors came to nothing in the draft, and it’s been reported that they won’t look into any other singings until they’ve addressed their top targets of Durant, Al Horford and Dwight Howard.

Meanwhile, the Spurs already have an incredibly talented roster and the chance to create a deadly forward duo of Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant. That talent, the arrival of LaMarcus Aldridge last season, their high championship chances, the leadership of Gregg Popovich, and the class of the organization from top to bottom will be their selling points if Durant wants to elevate his shot at a title without jumping to Golden State.

Sunday, July 3: Heat

Finally, the Heat will bring the meetings to a close on Sunday as they hope Pat Riley can work his magic and bring another transcendent small forward to South Beach. They’re one of the longer shots in the Durant sweepstakes, although everyone could be far away from actually signing him right now, so what does that matter?

They still have to work out their contract situation with free agent Dwyane Wade, but helped themselves by agreeing to re-sign Hassan Whiteside. What makes Whiteside’s agreement even more interesting is that it’s not necessarily a four-year max, and he’s willing for there to be adjustments if Durant wants to come to Miami, according to Ethan J. Skolnick of The Miami Herald.

Team sources will always say their meetings “went well” and there is absolutely no tangible degree to which we can measure exactly what “well” or “very well” means.

However, with Durant at least having enough interest in other teams to give them his time and a chance for them to pitch themselves, 2016 NBA free agency is giving us plenty to talk about, even if it’s all for nothing if he stays put.

Let’s wait and see what happens.

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