Kevin Durant’s Free Agency Destination Power Rankings

1. Oklahoma City Thunder

The Warriors would give Durant the opportunity to play with his most star-studded roster, but when you take into account the financial and emotional aspects of such a decision, the Oklahoma City Thunder should be considered the favorites to keep their MVP.

For starters, the Thunder are still a terrific basketball fit for Durant, especially after a draft-day trade sent Serge Ibaka to the Orlando Magic for Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and the 11th overall pick in this year’s draft, Domantas Sabonis.

The trade makes the Thunder a scary-good small-ball team, especially if Oladipo can make more of the open threes that Andre Roberson routinely bricked. Ilyasova is not necessarily a starting-caliber 4 anymore, but he’ll spread the floor well enough on an elite team that will pose so many different threats to opposing defenses.

Not only that, but even with Ibaka’s departure, can you imagine trying to score on a Westbrook-Oladipo-Roberson-Durant-Adams lineup? Good luck with that.

Sabonis is one of the more NBA-ready prospects in the draft and the Thunder’s balance between having enough talent to contend for titles and still having enough room for internal growth rivals that of any team in the league right now.

Steven Adams is only going to get better and at the tender age of 22, may already be one of the best centers in the association. Cameron Payne will get more run time to improve this season and make up for his disastrous playoff initiation.

OKC just added Sabonis to a group of youngsters that includes Oladipo, Adams, Payne, Andre Roberson and Mitch McGary. There will be tons of internal growth for that group, which is a scary thought considering that team already has Kevin Durant and freaking Russell Westbrook.

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Valley of the Suns

Speaking of Westbrook, is there any point guard with whom Durant is more comfortable than his brother in arms? These two have been going to battle together for years now and were painfully close to returning to the Finals after not one, but (what would’ve been) two of the greatest playoff upsets of all time.

Russ and Durant have a rapport that few other star tandems in the NBA have, and it’s entirely possible KD would rather remain the No. 1 on his own team than share the ball so often with the Splash Brothers on a team that just ousted him from the playoffs.

Then there’s the financial side to consider. If Durant wants long-term stability, it makes more sense to sign five-year, $149 million extension with the Thunder than a four-year, $110.6 million deal with a new team.

If Durant wants to maximize his potential earnings and take advantage of another massive leap in the NBA salary cap next summer, it still makes the most sense to sign a two-year deal (with a player option for the second year) with the Thunder.

That deal would be worth $25.9 million for the first year no matter which team he chose, but the Thunder would still have his Bird Rights and therefore, if he were to sign a long-term deal next summer, he could earn over $200 million with a five-year extension from the Thunder…as opposed to around $150 million on a four-year deal with another team.

If Durant takes a “1 + 1 deal,” he’ll make the same for the 2016-17 season no matter what. But all the financial incentives give the Thunder the edge after that, especially in the likely event that Durant signs a two-year deal with a player option, opts out next summer and then cashes in with a long-term max in 2017.

KD loves Oklahoma City. It’s where he’s played his entire career, it’s where he’s formed a bond with the fans and his superstar partner Westbrook, and financially, it’s where it makes the most sense for him to sign.

More hoops habit: NBA Trade Grades: Bulls Trade D-Rose To Knicks

The way that LeBron James was unfairly labeled a “championship chaser” after The Decision was not lost on anyone, and rather than stack the deck by jumping ship to another title contender, Kevin Durant might prefer to follow a later chapter in LeBron’s career by bringing a long-awaited title to a city that’s embraced him as one of their own.