Kevin Durant May Sign With the Lakers So He Can Play With... Russell Westbrook?
Kevin Durant is going to be a free agent this summer. Will he stay in Oklahoma City? Go home to Washington? Choose to play for your favorite team? Or maybe some other thing, like sign with the Los Angeles Lakers for a reason that makes no sense? If only Stephen A. Smith were here. Oh, wait, here’s something he said in an interview on ESPNLA 710. (Transcription via the LA Examiner)
"“Keep in mind this, one of the biggest reasons I’m told, that Kevin Durant may have the Lakers at the top of his list, is because the Lakers have been led to believe, by whom specifically I do not know, but the Lakers have been led to believe that it is a very good chance that the following year Russell Westbrook is coming.”"
Now, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love signing in Los Angeles has been a rumor for many years. Durant picking Los Angeles so he can play with Westbrook in the future – that’s a fun new twist. Does it make any sense? The idea of Durant leaving Oklahoma City where he is currently playing with Westbrook and wasting a season in his prime so he can maybe play with Westbrook again seems kind of silly, doesn’t it? If Durant’s main goal is to play with Russell Westbrook then the option that makes the most sense is probably staying in the place where he is already doing so. Right?
I mean, I haven’t spoken with an anonymous source who in turn got his information from another anonymous source. I just listened to an interview with a guy who talked to someone who talked to someone.
Another fun footnote for this story is that a few months ago when Stephen A. Smith threatened Kevin Durant on national television.