Kevin Durant Hits The NBA Free Agent Market

Kevin Durant suffered a ruptured Achilles Tendon during the NBA Finals but that hasn’t stopped him from becoming the hottest property in the Summer free agent marketplace. On Wednesday, Durant declined his $31.5 million player’s option to return to the Golden State Warriors for the 2019-2020 season. As a result, he’s now an unrestricted free agent and even though he might not be able to play at all next season he’ll still be in serious demand.

Durant hasn’t entirely ruled out a return to Golden State but the prevailing wisdom was that were that a serious option that he would have picked up the aforementioned option year. In addition to a decent $31.5 million payday Durant would be able to ‘test the market’ one season later. Essentially, he’d be ‘kicking the can’ down the road a year where he’d presumably be recovered from his injury and a more viable commodity on the free agent market. In other words, he was in a position where he could have pocketed $31.5 million for spending the majority (if not all) of the 2019-2020 season rehabbing his Achilles Tendon. Instead, he’s confident in his ‘marketability’ and wants to go ahead and get a new deal done. Golden State has one thing working it’s favor–they can pay Durant more than any other team in the league. The Warriors can offer Durant a five-year, $221 million deal while any other NBA team would be limited to four years, $164 million.

With Durant being the highest profile free agent of the Summer it’s not surprising that there’s a NBA betting odds market on his next destination. The list of betting interests is significant since only three teams are mentioned–the Brooklyn Nets are a -150 favorite followed by the New York Knicks at +150 and the Golden State Warriors at -400. Notably absent from the list–both of the Los Angeles area teams which at one point were considered to be on Durant’s ‘short list’. The Lakers are probably out of the market anyway since they really can’t afford Durant after acquiring Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans. They did clear some salary space today but the expectation is that they’ll use it to put some complementary pieces around Davis and LeBron James.

So what about the Clippers? They’ve got the cap space but there are signs that Durant has his eyes set on New York. One ‘behind the scenes’ point of interest–Durant sold his $12.5 million oceanfront home in Malibu earlier this week. It would have made a perfect crib were he interested in the Clippers but it’s sale suggests that he’s headed out of state. The Knicks are reportedly concerned about Durant’s injury and the year in which they’d have to cut checks and not have his contribution on the court. They also picked RJ Barrett with the third pick in the NBA draft and he’s got a similar game as Durant.

That makes the Brooklyn Nets the most likely option. They’re in New York, they’ve got the cap space and they’ve got high profile celebrity fans like Jay-Z and Beyonce. They’ve tried for years to raise their profile so that they’re on the same level as the Knicks among area fans and media. Whether or not that’s possible is debatable but the bottom line is that they’re less likely to balk over Durant’s current injury situation.

BET KEVIN DURANT TO START 2019-2020 NBA SEASON WITH BROOKLYN NETS -150

For up to the minute NBA basketball betting odds and props, follow BetOnline.ag on Twitter!