Hoops Habit
Fansided

Kevin Durant’s Free Agency Destination Power Rankings

By Gerald Bourguet

May 24, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) reacts during the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors in game four of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
May 24, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) reacts during the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors in game four of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 9
Next
Kevin Durant
May 8, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) brings the ball up the court against San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) during the first quarter in game four of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

4. San Antonio Spurs

At first glance, this may seem too low for a contender of this caliber. The San Antonio Spurs were defeated by Kevin Durant’s Thunder in the playoffs, but they were a 67-win juggernaut that boasts a dynamic duo of Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge for the foreseeable future.

Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili may be nearing their ride off into the sunset, but a new era for the Spurs is already underway.

San Antonio’s biggest need may be finding a long-term replacement for Parker (Mike Conley, anyone?) or Duncan (Al Horford, anyone?), but if Durant has expressed interest in joining your team, you set everything down and make that meeting your No. 1 priority.

Though Leonard and Durant both play the 3, that’s hardly a main concern when your two wing players are Kevin Freaking Durant and Kawhi Freaking Leonard. If anything, it could represent the birth of another small-ball juggernaut.

However, there’s no question that building a Kawhi-KD-Aldridge trio would come at the cost of one of San Antonio’s perpetual strengths — its depth.

In order to clear out the requisite cap space to add Durant, the Spurs would have to renounce the cap holds of free agents Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Boban Marjanovic; waive Jonathon Simmons; release the cap holds of former first round picks Livio Jean-Charles and Nikola Milutinov; trade Boris Diaw without taking on addition salary; and possibly trade Danny Green or Patty Mills to free up more space.

That’s quite a hefty toll for one player, even if that player is Kevin Durant. It would probably require Duncan and Ginobili to walk away from the game of basketball and San Antonio would need to really score in the bargain bin to replace some of their depth.

Again, a Kawhi-KD-Aldridge trio would probably make it all worth it, and Durant joining the Spurs would automatically knock OKC out of the title contender category out West.

But it’s hard to see KD joining his Western rival after battling them for so long, and the Spurs might be just as deadly by keeping their depth relatively intact and just pursuing Mike Conley or Al Horford.

Next: No. 3