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Golden State Warriors no longer the favorites to land Kevin Durant

By Justin Fried

TORONTO, ONTARIO - JUNE 10: Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors reacts against the Toronto Raptors in the first half during Game Five of the 2019 NBA Finals at Scotiabank Arena on June 10, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - JUNE 10: Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors reacts against the Toronto Raptors in the first half during Game Five of the 2019 NBA Finals at Scotiabank Arena on June 10, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /
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Based on a recent report from Bleacher Report, the Golden State Warriors are no longer considered the favorites to land Kevin Durant in free agency.

The Golden State Warriors have a critical offseason ahead of them with a number of major decisions that are going to have to be made. Chief among those centers around their superstar forward Kevin Durant.

Durant is set to hit the open market after three incredible seasons in the Bay Area and the Warriors will have to make a decision regarding his future very soon. But this issue is hardly as cut and dry as it may seem.

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Apart from Durant, the Warriors will need to decide whether they wish to give star shooting guard Klay Thompson a max contract as well making it very difficult to keep both of their superstars. Golden State could always continue to pay the luxury tax but their tax total will nearly double from last year after being repeat offenders for the past 4-5 years.

The issue was even further complicated when Durant and Thompson each suffered major leg injuries during the team’s run in the NBA Finals. Thompson’s torn ACL will likely keep him out until at least March while Durant’s torn Achilles is expected to sideline him for the entire 2019-20 season.

Still, that hasn’t stopped teams from showing plenty of interest ahead of free agency.

But while the Warriors and even the New York Knicks were considered to be favorites for a while, a new favorite has emerged from the pack. Per a recent report from Bleacher Report, that team is the Brooklyn Nets.

The Nets have done a good job of building a young core nucleus and have been tied to some of the biggest names on the market for quite some time now — mainly Kyrie Irving. And Irving hasn’t been coy about who he wants to team up with on his next team.

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He wants Durant — and it appears that both of them might want Brooklyn. And you best believe that Brooklyn wants them.

A report from Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report had the following to say about Irving and Durant potentially meeting up to discuss matters.

"“Durant and Irving, league sources say, have met twice in recent weeks to discuss their desire to continue their careers on the same team, an idea forged while playing together on the U.S. national team. The first meeting took place in the Bay Area while Durant nursed a strained right calf; the second occurred in New York shortly after Durant had surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.”"

If this is the case, it could very well mean that both Irving and Durant are Brooklyn-bound. But the Warriors could still offer him a few things that no other team can.

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Golden State could offer him more money and more years to return to the Bay Area while still offering him a chance to continue contending for a championship. While a Brooklyn team led by Durant and Irving seems great on paper, there still isn’t the security of playing with a proven winning formula like in Golden State.

At the end of the day, Durant is a hard guy to read and we might not know his final decision until he officially puts pen to paper. But the Warriors would love to have him back and his stay would likely keep the dynasty intact — albeit with an expected grace period next season.

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Unfortunately, Durant still has his fair share of suitors. And it’s looking increasingly likely that he heads east for the first time in his career.

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