When the 2^nd best basketball player on the planet hits the free agent market everyone grabs a ticket and hopes he will grant them a meeting. Kevin Durant, who was originally drafted by my beloved Seattle Supersonics (R.I.P.), has developed into the best offensive player in the world. His unnatural size and length allots him the ability to post up and shoot over virtually any defender thrown at him; he also has the rare combination of speed, athleticism and ball handling skills to take opposing players off the dribble. He’s an unstoppable monster, who makes the game of basketball look so easy. Whichever team he ends up signing with will be immediately placed among the favorites for the 2016/2017 NBA championship.. The wildcard in this situation is what does KD want the most?  Does he value winning/success more than anything else? Does he have any plans or ambitions to market himself on a bigger stage? Who are his NBA friends? Would he be interested in playing with said friends? What type of coach/system does he feel best suits his playing style? The biggest question might be how does he feel about Russell Westbrook? These are all important factors to think about. I can pretend to play amateur psychologist all I want, but only KD knows what’s really important to him.

Oklahoma City Thunder-Staying in OKC seems like the best choice for Kevin Durant, at least, in 2016/2017. He has a familiarity with the players, coaching staff and media members. I don’t know what kind of voodoo Sam Presti did to turn a reportedly disgruntled Serge Ibaka into dynamic 2-guard Victor Oladipo, stretch 4 Illyan Erasova, and 11^th pick Domantas Sabonis, but he gave the Orlando Magic the business. To me, this trade signals the Thunder & Presti are looking towards a possible KD-less future.

Washington Wizards-Look what winning a championship for his hometown Cavaliers did for LeBron James and his legacy. He will be forever immortalized & revered in Cleveland. KD now has the opportunity to go the route of LBJ and win a championship for his hometown Wizards. A John Wall-Bradley Beal-Kevin Durant trio is intriguing and would be dynamic, but they have little else on the roster to supplement them, especially in the front-court. Out west, KD had to go through Golden State, San Antonio, Los Angeles, Memphis, etc to reach the NBA Finals. In the east, he would only have to go through LBJ & Cleveland and, possibly, Dwayne Wade & Miami to make the NBA Finals. As appealing as it sounds, going home is always tough. Sure, it’s great to be amongst family and friends, but what happens when they ask for tickets or worse; money. At that point, the player must have a strong support system around him or have a strong will to say no to people he loves and cares about. I wouldn’t blame or chastise Durant if he shied away from a return home.

Boston Celtics-Bomani Jones summed it up best on his radio show/podcast “The Right Time“; the Boston Celtics roster is a handful of low spades. I love Isaiah Thomas & Avery Bradley due to their connection to my hometown Tacoma, Washington but they aren’t superstars like KD. You need a genuine star leading your squad to compete for a championship in the NBA. I look around the NBA today and don’t see many teams constructed like the 2003-2004 Detroit Pistons. What I mean by this is they didn’t have a true superstar but, instead had a cast of very good players who knew their roles and played those roles to perfection.

Los Angeles Clippers-This is one of the more unlikely destinations because GM Roc Divers (thanks Nate Duncan) would, most likely, have to trade away Blake Griffin in order to create enough cap space to offer KD a max deal. Although, I do see Sam Presti being intrigued by Griffin because he is an Oklahoma native and played his college ball at OU, plus, if KD really intends to leave this off-season or next, trading for a player of Griffin’s caliber would ease the pain.

Los Angeles Lakers-Kobe Bryant is now retired and, if I were Mitch Kupchick, this would be what my entire presentation revolved around. I feel like “being the man” is something KD values highly and he would certainly be the guy with the young Lakers roster. Various reports have mentioned KD lives/trains in LA during the off-season, so this seems like an entirely plausible destination. If Durant values winning more than anything he won’t end up in Tinseltown until after the 2016-2017 season. I don’t see the young Lakers core of D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Brandon Ingram and Julius Randle competing for a championship next season, especially with 1^st year head coach Luke Walton at the helm.

New York Knicks-Kevin Durant called Carmelo Anthony “his big brother” and have been friends since high school, so there is a substantial connection between the two, Phil Jackson also has the ability to dump a bag full of rings (13 to be precise)  on the table. If growing the KD brand is something Durant wants then playing in NYC will boost his global popularity. I think the Knicks are my dark horse candidate for KD’s services. Jackson’s trade for Derrick Rose was a gamble and a gutsy move, but if he can stay healthy and perform at 75% of his MVP season this will be one helluva deal. New York has been starved for a premier PG. You remember the insane Linsanity coverage? It was off the charts. If KD signs with the Knicks I’m sure the New York media would go bananas. Can you imagine a Rose-Durant-Anthony-Porzingis lineup? They would be considered the most talented starting group in the Eastern Conference, if not the entire NBA.

San Antonio Spurs-How could KD not want to play for the Spurs? They are the most consistent and, in my opinion, best run organization in the NBA, have a legendary coach, Gregg Popovich, and provide a small market feel while being wildly successful. I think the market size is a real selling point for KD. The media in OKC has gone relatively easy on him during his career and a jump to somewhere like LA, NY or BOS would be a total shock. Those media markets have no problem criticizing and asking the tough questions of their franchise superstar. We have seen KD get snippy when asked about his performance or a teammates performance from the local OKC media and, to an extent, national media. He seems like a soft-spoken, low-key kind of guy who likes to remain anonymous and focus only on basketball.

Miami Heat-How could you not want to live on South Beach? The sun and the beach are something I value highly, so I could only imagine how attractive this destination would be to a mid-20’s NBA superstar with millions of dollars. Pat Riley, like Phil Jackson, has the ability to toss a bag full of rings on the table. This is the man who persuaded LeBron James to spurn his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers and sign with Miami. Don’t ever count the Heat out when a big-name free agent hits the market.

Golden State Warriors-NBA Twitter would literally explode if KD headed west and signed with Golden State. The backlash against the Dubs is a real thing and I could see Durant becoming the villain a la LBJ did when he infamously rebuffed Cleveland and took his talents to South Beach. Having Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson on the same team as Durant would be unfair but, this is the new NBA where players team up instead of going head-to-head. Something I’m 100% against and not a fan of in the slightest. I only see one problem, who’s taking the last shot?

Gun to my head, I would say Kevin Durant will stay with the Oklahoma City Thunder for 1 more season and then re-evaluate his options. They were this close to making the NBA Finals, up 3-1 against the Golden State Warriors,  but ended up collapsing like the Kingdome. Admittedly, I’m not the biggest Russell Westbrook fan. I wish he would slow down and play more like a traditional PG, instead of a tasmanian devil–road runner hybrid. Even though I don’t like the way he plays. His frenetic energy mixed with his out-of-control, balls-to-the-walls style of play has been wildly successful and immensely popular.

Factor in the Serge Ibake trade and OKC has gotten deeper & younger. The back-court of Westbrook and, newly acquired, Victor Oladipo will devastate defensively, but struggle spacing the floor as both players are sub-35% career 3-point shooters. I’ve watched Domantas Sabonis for the entirety of his Gonzaga career and believe he will develop into a player like Steven Adams. That’s to say I see him becoming a tough, rugged, physical player with a penchant to mix it up underneath the hoop and set hard screens. Ersan Ilyasova is a nice piece off the bench and should add some much needed 3-point shooting. Sam Presti made the wrong choice trading James Harden when he did, on the other hand, he made the right choice in selling Ibaka. His contract is up after the 2016/2017 and will be in-line for a massive payday. $12,225,000 per year is what he currently makes, a bargain in my opinion, however I see that doubling due to the cap increase. I like Ibaka’s game and believe he is a valuable piece on a championship contender, but $25 million dollars a year for him? I’ll take a hard pass.

The world is your oyster, Kevin Durant. You hold all the power in this situation. Take your time, meet with all the teams who interest you and make this decision based on those meetings. People will be upset with you no matter which city you end up in, so make sure this is the decision that makes you happy. It would be ashamed if you chose  your next destination based on other people’s wants. Good luck, KD.