Kevin Durant has become the talk of the town this week, but not necessarily for his on-court prowess.
As we near the second half of the season, it’s all hands on deck for teams like Cleveland, Golden State, San Antonio, Toronto and Oklahoma City, who could all be referred to as serious title contenders as we creep upon the All-Star break. However, one of those teams, OKC, could be playing for more than just an NBA title; they could be trying to prevent their star player and sure-fire Hall of Famer Kevin Durant from walking away from the team that drafted him this summer. Rumors have swirled relentlessly over the last couple weeks, fueled by reports from NBA insiders Stephen A. Smith (ESPN) and Adrian Wojnarowski (Yahoo!), involving KD potentially taking Kobe’s place in Los Angeles, or going for 82-0 in Golden State. Those reports are in addition to the pre-existing murmurs that he’ll take the leap for a chance to play for his hometown Wizards, or form a deadly “Big 3” with Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis in New York.
With all that going on–and still 6 months left until any of these rumors become actionable–Durant might be a little distracted, right? Wrong. He brought the ball up the court last night in a tied game against the Magic, and shortly after it left his hands, the game was over. See above.
The fans in whichever city he ends up can bank on that being a movie they’ll see over and over.