Kevin Durant Will Not Be On The Boston Celtics Next Year

Mar 16, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) drives the ball against Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) in the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 16, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) drives the ball against Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) in the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kevin Durant will be a free agent this summer and many teams are going to try to convince him to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder, but here’s why he won’t become a member of the Boston Celtics.

Kevin Durant is one of the most talked about players in the NBA this season because of how good he has been playing this year and due to the fact that he will be a free agent this summer. Durant is averaging 28.0 points and 8.2 rebounds per game this season, ranking third in the NBA in scoring while his partner in crime, Russell Westbrook, ranks ninth in scoring (24.0 PPG).

Durant has played with Westbrook for his entire career and the Oklahoma City Thunder have only made it to the NBA Finals once, which is why he might be thinking about leaving OKC after this season.

Every team in the NBA would welcome Durant, but he can only sign with one team. When Durant was in Boston last week, he talked about how he “liked” the city, and this started rumors about Durant wanting to be a member of the Boston Celtics next season.

Boston does not have a superstar on their roster, and they have been trying to convince star players to sign in Boston. The highest paid player on the Celtics is currently Amir Johnson, and he gets paid 12 million a year. Boston would be thrilled to sign a player like Durant to a maximum contract, but there is one problem: Durant will not come to Boston.

Why won’t Durant come to Boston?

The Celtics have a really young and talented team that is well-coached by head coach Brad Stevens. Boston is also in the Eastern Conference, which means that they do not have to face teams like the San Antonio Spurs or the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs. All of this sounds really nice for free agents, especially if they are coming from a Western Conference team, but Durant will not be taking his talents to Boston.

Durant wants to sign somewhere that has a real shot of winning a championship right when he joins the team. The Celtics can not win a championship with Durant and the roster they have now, and it would still be tough even if they added another free agent on their team. Also, just because Durant thinks a city is nice does not mean he wants to sign there in the summer.

Durant is going to sign with a team that he knows has a real shot of winning a title, he is not going to take a risk and come to Boston until they prove that they can contend for a title.

If the Celtics make the Eastern Conference Finals this season with the roster they have, Durant could entertain the idea, but he won’t forget the time that the Thunder totally dismantled the Celtics by 21 points on Mar. 16. Boston could have really impressed Durant if they knocked off the Thunder, but they fell way short without Jae Crowder.

Durant also thinks that Philadelphia is a nice city; does that mean he is going to play for the Philadelphia 76ers?

Overall

Kevin Durant has a choice to make in the offseason and his choice could be affected by how Oklahoma City finishes this year. Realistically, the Thunder are not going to win the championship this year, but they will be a lot closer to winning a title than Boston will be. Celtics fans should not even ponder the idea that Durant could end up in Boston, they should focus on making the playoffs and maybe winning a round or two in the postseason.

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Durant might sign with an Eastern Conference team to avoid the Warriors and Spurs, but he will not be playing in a Celtics uniform next season.