NBA Rumors: Lakers Still In The Running To Sign Kevin Durant?

With the NBA offseason drawing near, superstar Kevin Durant’s immediate future has become a hot topic of discussion. Although Durant hasn’t given any indication as to what his intentions are once hitting the free-agent market in July, the speculation persists with a few rumors floating around the league.

According to ESPN’s Calvin Watkins, Durant could ultimately land with the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency:

Durant hasn’t given any hints he’ll leave the Thunder. But speculation ranges from him playing close to home in Washington, D.C. or Los Angeles, where one Rockets official believes he’ll reside if he leaves Oklahoma City and doesn’t choose Houston.

The Lakers are one of many teams that will aggressively pursue to the one-time NBA MVP this summer. The struggling franchise is desperately looking for their next franchise player with Kobe Bryant set to retire once the 2015-16 NBA season comes to a close for the Lakers.

Durant will likely be the team’s top target in free agency this summer followed by Al Horford and Hassan Whiteside. The Oklahoma City Thunder are expected to be the favorite to land Durant in free agency with the Golden State Warriors also rumored to be high on the list of potential destinations for the superstar forward.

If the Thunder are able to win an NBA title this season or, at least, make a deep run in the NBA playoffs, the franchise may greatly increase the team’s chances of getting Durant to re-sign. If not, Oklahoma City may fall behind other teams like the Warriors and Lakers.

Needless to say, Durant’s return to Oklahoma City is anything but guaranteed at this point. It’ll be interesting to see how things pan out over the next few months with his future very much up in the air.