NBA Rumors: Kevin Durant To Sign With Warriors If He Leaves Oklahoma City?

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The 2015-16 NBA season is officially over with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers walking off into the sunset with a title after upsetting the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. Now that the Finals are in the books, the attention turns to the NBA Draft later this week and NBA free agency which gets underway on July 1. The Kevin Durant sweepstakes have begun.

With free agency right around the corner, speculation Durant’s immediate future will dominate the headlines. Although it seems unlikely he’ll leave the Oklahoma City Thunder, if he does choose another team it might be the Warriors, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News:

The same source maintains that if Durant doesn’t re-sign with the Oklahoma City Thunder, he would prefer to join the Warriors, a team that has reached two straight NBA Finals and could rule the Western Conference for the next five years if Durant goes to the Bay Area.

There will be a few players on the open market this summer that can help bolster rosters for teams around the league. Al Horford, Hassan Whiteside, and DeMar DeRozan are among the most sought after players, but Durant is without a doubt the big-name every team is hoping to sign.

The Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards, San Antonio Spurs, and Miami Heat are among the teams expected to make a run at Durant. Golden State is the favorite outside of Oklahoma City to land the one-time NBA MVP.

The prospect of playing alongside Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green for the foreseeable future may be too good to refuse. Golden State will likely double their efforts after being beaten by the Cavaliers in seven games, but nothing is set in stone as Durant could simply return to the Thunder.