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NBA Free Agency: Top 10 2016 Free Agents

By Ryan Blackburn

Apr 25, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) waits to be introduced prior to action against the Dallas Mavericks in game five of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 25, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) waits to be introduced prior to action against the Dallas Mavericks in game five of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 21, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) celebrates making a basket against the Dallas Mavericks during the second half in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Center. The Thunder defeated the Mavericks 131-102. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 21, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) celebrates making a basket against the Dallas Mavericks during the second half in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Center. The Thunder defeated the Mavericks 131-102. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Kevin Durant

Finally, the crown jewel of the free agent class: Kevin Durant is a transcendent superstar who will be taking calls from 30 NBA general managers this summer and there’s not much more to say about him than that.

OK, there’s a little more. Durant and Russell Westbrook have formed an incredible duo in Oklahoma City. Durant has allowed Westbrook to handle the ball a little more and head coach Billy Donovan has played the two in such a way that one of them is always on the floor.

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By doing so, the Thunder have been even more successful and both players have put up incredible numbers while co-existing nicely.

That said, they still have their issues. The Thunder play in the same conference as the Warriors and the Spurs and neither of those teams is getting worse any time soon with Stephen Curry and Kawhi Leonard in the fold. The Thunder will have to play the Spurs in the Second Round of the playoffs.

Then the true test for the Thunder begins, can they prove to Durant that the current cast is enough to beat Kawhi and the Spurs? If they happen to beat them, can Durant and Westbrook combat Curry and the Warriors? What are ramifications if the Thunder fall short?

Well, for starters, there are rumors circulating that both of those teams, the Warriors and the Spurs, would try and get Durant on to their respective teams this summer. That’s bad news for the rest of the NBA. Durant is a top-five player and adding him to a team with another top-five player on top of the deep benches that make those teams so good is a scary prospect.

A lot has been made of a return to Washington. The Wizards have done their part by signing Durant’s former head coach, Scott Brooks, to a long-term deal hoping to entice the superstar. He would be a clear No. 1 option there in front of John Wall and Bradley Beal and playing in the Eastern Conference, he wouldn’t see the Warriors or the Spurs in the playoffs every year.

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That being said, the best place for Durant to go is Oklahoma City. He can make more money because the Thunder own his Bird rights, he’s already established chemistry there and Russell Westbrook is perhaps the second-best player in the NBA at this point in time. Durant has built himself up with the Thunder and the Thunder are likely where he will remain.