The summer of Kevin Durant has hardly started and Durant wants it to end.
Durant is the headline act of the 2016 NBA free agency period after his Oklahoma City Thunder coughed up a 3-1 lead to lose to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. He’s seen his name mentioned in a little bit of everything, from sticking with the Thunder to joining the Warriors to considering the San Antonio Spurs to the Boston Celtics and beyond.
And he’s already done with it all.
Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead captured his thoughts on the matter:
But according to ESPN’s Chris Broussard, there are other issues that hadn’t previously been considered. Such as this: Broussard says that Durant doesn’t want to go through “this” again next year (even though he’ll sign a 2-year deal with a player option, which is the obvious financial move), which could mean any number of things.
For shame, because the fun has really just started ramping up.
Durant didn’t command headlines all year like other superstars have in the past, but the hype machine has gained momentum for some time now. Most recently, Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News wrote this about the Warriors giving chase:
Let’s be clear: The Warriors first and foremost still want to clear the decks for a run at unrestricted free agent Kevin Durant.
Oh, and Marc Stein threw the Houston Rockets into the fray:
PS: The Rockets, I’m told, remain hopeful they get a July face-to-face with Kevin Durant despite knowing they’re not presently in contention
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 11, 2016
It goes on and on and it’s not hard to see why Durant doesn’t want to have to deal with it again.
How does Durant end it? Does he ink the suspected two-year deal with the Thunder, a player option on the end and hit free agency with Russel Westbrook, doing it all again anyway? Or does he give up and sign a long-term deal with the Thunder? Or maybe somewhere else, not caring at all what his usual partner in crime does?
The complexities and intrigue Durant can’t seem to stand are the same things the rumors market loves. Enjoy it while it lasts, because it doesn’t sound like Durant will let it happen again.
