Those hoping Kevin Durant’s exit interview with the Oklahoma City Thunder would reveal details about his future ahead of free agency need to keep hoping.
Durant’s Thunder got the boot after an epic collapse in the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors. Storming to a 3-1 lead, Durant and the Thunder suffered from Golden State adjustments and simply watching as Stephen Curry and Co. got hot from all ranges outside the paint.
Now Durant heads to free agency this summer with his options open. His exit interview confirmed this in a big way, according to Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman:
That he truly doesn’t know what he’s gonna do and the next month-plus will be massive for this franchise. Don’t think it’s gonna be a huge spectacle, but I’d expect him to take visits and weigh his options. Gonna be brutally hard for him to leave OKC — and the Thunder is clear favorites to retain him — but it’s not a sure thing.
Maybe it’s not what Thunder faithful want to hear. In a perfect world, Durant hit the exit interview, proclaimed his love for the city and got on with negotiations. Knowing his character and how little hype has surrounded this whole ordeal in the first place it wouldn’t have been a major surprise.
But folks have to know from a business standpoint Durant will take his time. He’ll have major options on the table from any range of teams, including perhaps the outlandish such as the San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics to the outright desperate such as the Los Angeles Lakers. Odds seem strong Durant inks a one-year deal with the Thunder with the option for one after and goes to market with Russell Westbrook—making next offseason, not this one the period to worry about.
Worried? Not someone such as Serge Ibaka:
Serge Ibaka is quite confident Kevin Durant will return: pic.twitter.com/RJI8klSYUB
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) June 1, 2016
The man has a point—this could all be white noise after what the Thunder managed in the playoffs this year. Going somewhere else and starting over doesn’t make a ton of sense if Durant wants to fight for titles.
Alas, the exit interview was one of those markers on the journey, though folks didn’t get much out of it.
