Kevin Durant Free Agency Meetings Update

Where could Kevin Durant end up as a free agent this summer? Here is an updated list of teams he will meet with and where the meetings will happen.

Kevin Durant is the top free agent available this summer. Many people will point to LeBron James as being the best player available, but there is almost no chance that he leaves the Cleveland Cavaliers after winning an NBA championship with them.

The Oklahoma City Thunder look like the favorites to retain Durant, but anything can happen once free agency begins.

NBA free agency begins July 1, as teams will line up to talk to Durant. There has been a number of rumors swirling about which teams will and will not be getting a meeting with Durant.

With only two days until those meetings begin, we finally have some clarity about who will be getting those meetings with Durant.

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While every team in the NBA would love to have Durant on their team, there are some teams that he has already crossed off his list. Two prominent ones that will not be receiving meetings with Durant are the Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Lakers.

The Wizards had the homecoming angle working for them, but that was about all they had going for them. While the chance to play alongside John Wall and Bradley Beal is appealing, the Wizards have a lot of holes on their team, especially in the frontcourt.

Sam Amick of USA Today first reported that the Wizards weren’t expected to get a meeting with Durant, which Adrian Wojnarowski went more in depth with.

According to his sources:

"“Durant’s public and private criteria for the free-agent selection process have pertained to a singular focus: the chance to win titles immediately,” which the Wizards do not currently present after missing the postseason."

While the Wizards are moving onto other targets, the Lakers are not letting go as easily. Despite not being on Durant’s list, the Lakers are still confident that they are in the running, according to ESPN’s Chris Broussard.

They believe they will at least get a meeting with the superstar small forward despite reports to the contrary.

While the Lakers are not currently on his list, six teams are scheduled to meet with Durant other than the Thunder. The Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs were the first teams reported to be getting a meeting with Durant, along with the Thunder.

It should come as no surprise that the Warriors and Spurs want in on Durant, as they want to keep the other from improving their team in the competitive Western Conference.

Both teams would have a lot of work to do to get enough cap space to offer Durant the max, but he is the type of player worth doing it for.

Broussard then added three more teams to that his, as his sources said that he is also slated to meet with the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers.

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The Celtics are an intriguing landing place, as they are one of the only teams that would not have to blow up their roster to bring Durant onboard. They would have to make some minor moves, but a majority of their core would remain intact.

The Heat are always dark horses when top players hit the open market, but they have their own players to worry about, as Dwyane Wade, Hassan Whiteside and Luol Deng are all unrestricted free agents.

Add in the uncertainty surrounding the health of Chris Bosh, and the Heat may have too much on their plate to land Durant this summer.

The Clippers have come a long way that they will be getting while the Lakers look like they will be left out in the dust. But, they are a long shot at best at landing Durant. They have a lot of money tied up in Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, making it difficult to sign Durant.

The only realistic way for the Clippers to acquire Durant would be in trading Griffin, but that seems like an unlikely path for the Clippers to go down.

Where will Durant be meeting with these teams? At the onset it seemed that the meetings would take place in Los Angeles, but Durant has moved them cross country to New York.

Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times said that is where the Clippers will be meeting with Durant, while Wojnarowski also said the meetings will take place there, in the Hamptons on Long Island.

While they are not currently on the list, another team to keep an eye on is the New York Knicks. With the meetings happening in their state, they should be able to land a meeting with Durant.

But, if you ask Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks do not need a formal meeting, as he has already began recruiting Durant to the team according to Marc Stein of ESPN.

The two have been seen going out to dinner and hanging out in New York City over the last couple of days, and will be teammates with Team USA this summer.

While the Knicks may not be on Durant’s list, it seems as if Anthony is working hard to convince Durant that New York is the place for him to play. It will be a tall task for Anthony, but the Knicks look improved with Derrick Rose at point guard and Kristas Porzingis as a building block.

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July 1 will be a hectic day for Durant and all NBA free agents as that is when all the free agent frenzy will start. Where will Durant land? We will have to wait and see beginning this weekend.