Fansided

10 eventual free agents who could change the shape of the NBA

By Bryan Toporek

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 27: Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets speaks to media during Brooklyn Nets Media Day at HSS Training Center on September 27, 2019 in the Brooklyn Borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 27: Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets speaks to media during Brooklyn Nets Media Day at HSS Training Center on September 27, 2019 in the Brooklyn Borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images) /

5. Kevin Durant (2022 player option)

Among any superstar set to become a free agent over the next few years, Kevin Durant may be the biggest mystery box at the moment.

Durant was a clear-cut top-five player in the league before he tore his Achilles tendon during the 2019 NBA Finals, but those injuries are notoriously difficult for basketball players to overcome. Without having seen Durant in action since his injury, it’s impossible to know whether he’ll ever get back to his first-team All-NBA form.

Luckily, he’s still at least two years away from becoming a free agent again, so teams will have plenty of time to evaluate him before he does.

Prior to his Achilles injury, Durant ranked among the league’s most lethal three-level scorers. Armed with a silky smooth jump shot, a lanky frame and an enormous wingspan, he can light it up from anywhere on the court, as evidenced by his career scoring average of 27.0 points per game on 49.3 percent shooting.

Durant proved he could share co-billing on a title team when he won two rings alongside Stephen Curry on the Golden State Warriors over the past three seasons, even though that union fell apart perhaps quicker than expected. Next year, he’ll aim to accomplish the seam feat next to Kyrie Irving on the Brooklyn Nets.

If Durant can move past the Achilles injury and remain a walking bucket, teams will be lining up to sign him in 2022 (if he declines his $42.8 million player option for 2022-23) or the following offseason.

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