Kevin Durant: 5 free agency spots that would be more fun than the Warriors

4. Washington Wizards

Earlier this week, The Ringer suggested an intriguing sign-and-trade involving DeMarcus Cousins being sent to the Washington Wizards in a package built around Otto Porter Jr. It was such a fascinating idea, we decided to apply it to Kevin Durant within our little realm of fantasy (or in this case, KD could just opt in with his $26.3 million player option and request a trade).

Just picture it: Kevin Durant knows his legacy, while stuffed with accomplishments, titles and accolades, has taken a hit among the common people. What better way to repair it than to return home to D.C. and revamp an underwhelming Wizards team?

The homecoming angle was overplayed when Durant made his free agency decision in 2016, but it’d serve as pretty great damage control now, especially with how depressing the Wizards have become. Back then, Washington was a young Eastern power on the rise. Now, it’s pretty clear a team with its best player being either John Wall or Bradley Beal isn’t going anywhere.

The Wizards have had locker room tensions boiling up for awhile, but landing Durant in the offseason would immediately vault this team into the Eastern contender category. Winning cures all, and KD would inject life back into a franchise and fanbase that could really use it right now.

Meanwhile, the Dubs would get a package built around Porter to replace Durant on the wing. In the nightmare scenario where he leaves the Bay Area, that might be as good as it gets. The Warriors are weakened but still mighty, the Wizards add another quality contender to the East, Durant returns home, Beal and Wall get the ideal complement on the wing to take the pressure off themselves … everyone wins!