All will be copacetic with the Golden State Warriors tonight when they play the Houston Rockets … or so we are told. Kevin Durant and Draymond Green are best buddies again, Durant’s impending free agency is a non-issue for now … blah blah blah.
Whether you believe them or not, The Elephant in the Room in Oakland is Durant’s future. Check the billboards in every major NBA city where there is a team with loads of salary cap room next summer .
Durant will be playing basketball somewhere next season, and the Los Angeles Lakers are considered the favorite for obvious reasons: The LeBron factor; the two max contract room factor; the El Lay factor; the 82-0 factor, etc.
But take a step back for a second and consider this:
What would prevent Durant from joining forces with Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler and J.J. Redick in Philadelphia to form an Eastern Conference superteam to compete with whatever is left of the Golden Dubs, whatever Danny Ainge has assembled in Boston next season and whatever Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Rob Pelinka and Jeannie Buss put together in Los Angeles.
It is not as farfetched as it sounds.
Durant will be the most sought after free agent on the market next summer, and the two Los Angeles teams, the two New York teams and one or two Texas teams will all be viable candidates.
The Lakers may or may not have the cap room depending on what they do at the trade deadline.
The Clippers will have the cap room but will not have a championship caliber supporting case.
The Knicks will have the cap room and the allure of playing in the Big Apple … and the same goes for the Nets.
But let’s get back to the Sixers.
Philadelphia has only $71.7 in committed salary for 2019-20 when Butler’s $19.8 million player option is included. If Markelle Futz can be moved, that creates another $9.7 million in cap room. Players on expiring contrasts include Wilson Chandler ($12.8 million), Redick ($12.8 million), Mike Muscala ($4.5 million) and Amir Johnson ($2.4 million) — all of whom can be re-signed if the Sixers spend their room on free agents.
So that right there is the makings of a superteam, even if Danny Ainge can lure Anthony Davis to Boston from the Pelicans via a trade.
Related: WHERE WILL ANTHONY DAVIS PLAY NEXT SEASON: N.O., L.A. N.Y. BOSTON OR PHILLY?
Related: CARMELO ANTHONY TO SIXERS BEING CONSIDERED IN PHILADELPHIA
Having a Big Three has been considered the formula for an NBA championship for decades, but particularly in the past decade since Pay Riley put one together in Miami with Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade and LeBron.
A Big Four? The only place we have seen one of those is Golden State, which is why the Warriors are the prohibitive favorites (-175) to three-peat as NBA champions.
A Big Five? Depending on your thoughts on Redick, one could be possible in Philly without too much heavy lifting.
With that being said, let’s look at a few of the other options Durant will have, and each team’s respective odds:
Lakers (+150): They are going to get a much longer look at Lonzo Ball now that Rajon Rondo is out 3-5 weeks with a with a hand injury, and what has been said before bears repeating: What the Lakers look like today means nothing. What they look like on March 1 when the trade deadline and February free agency has passed is something entirely different.
If Kawhi Leonard forces his way out of Toronto, L.A. is his preferred landing zone. About 250 other NBA players would trade their firstborn (joke) to play with LeBron, so we’ve got to wait and see on this one.
Knicks (+750): Kristaps Porzingis probably will not play this season, while will allow Kevin Knox and Mitchell Robinson and a few others to get some mileage on their tires. An overhaul will happen next June (when they will have a high lottery pick) and July (when two max slots can be filled either through trades or free agency).
The elephant in the room if players’ desire to play for an organization that has a reputation (more true in the past than it is today) of being micromanaged based upon the whims of owner Jim Dolan. The allure of headlining at Madison Square Garden and ending a championship drought that dates to 1973 cannot be discounted.
Mavericks (+2500): They have a little less than $52 million in committed salaries on the books for next season when Harrison Barnes and Dwight Powell’s players options are included, and impending free agents include DeAndre Jordan, Wes Mathews, Dirk Nowitzki, J.J. Barea, Devin Harris and others. Durant played at the University of Texas for a year, which may or may not count for anything.
The lack of a state income tax in Texas could be a factor, but when you are signing for $200 million or so, you just deal with the taxes. There will be plenty of money left over.
Spurs (+3000): Durant is tight with coach Gregg Popovich due to their time together with Team USA, but Pop would have to move mountains (of contracts) in order to make this happen. On the books for next season are DeMar DeRozan ($27.7 million) LaMarcus Aldridge ($26 million), Pau Gasol ($16 million), Patty Mills ($12.4 million), Davis Bertans ($7 million), Marco Belinelli ($5.8 million) and others. A whole bunch of money would need to be moved to bring Durant in.
Clippers (+5000): Other than playing in L.A, what is the allure?
Nets (+1500): One way or another, they are going to get two max guys. Durant may be a pipe dream, but a wise man once said: “That which is difficult is not necessarily impossible.”
And of course, we always have the possibility of remaining in Golden State. And that truism will keep the “What Will Kevin Durant Do” question headlining the NBA Speculation Industry for the next 6 1/2 months.
Wizards: They have $110 million tied up in John Wall, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter and Ian Mahinmi, so that sort of makes it difficult to move forward unless you trade a couple of those guys and try to lure Durant back to his roots. He grew up in Maryland.
