NEW YORK — Less than 48 hours before NBA free agency begins, Kevin Durant's plans may be coming a little more into focus.
According to a report by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday night, Durant is planning to talk with four teams after free agency begins on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET — the Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors, the team with which he spent the past three seasons.
According to the report, the discussions will be a combination of face-to-face talks and other means of communications, and talks will include both Durant and his agent, Rich Kleiman. The report also stated that Durant's decision-making process could last "well into next week."
Durant, 30, tore his right Achilles tendon in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, a series the Warriors lost in six games to the Toronto Raptors. Prior to the injury, Durant was expected to be the most heavily pursued free agent this offseason. Now, he is expected to miss most, if not all, of next season.
The two-time NBA Finals MVP declined his $31.5 million player option with the Warriors and, according to reports, will get a max five-year, $221 million offer from the team. Other teams can offer him four years and $164 million. Durant has been in New York since undergoing surgery, and he and Kleiman reportedly will handle all communications from teams from there.
After spending the first nine seasons of his career with the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder franchise, Durant signed with Golden State before the 2016-17 season.
Durant won titles in each of his first two seasons, and was MVP of the Final each year, and the team looked poised to make it three straight this season. However, he sustained a strained calf in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Houston Rockets and missed more than a month.
After less than 12 minutes on the floor in his first game back, Durant sustained the Achilles tear. Durant has averaged 27 points and 7.1 rebounds in his career, hitting 49.3 percent of his field-goal attempts, 38.1 percent of his 3-point shots and 88.3 percent of his free throws.
In another development, while there is no shortage of speculation when it comes to the Brooklyn Nets' plans regarding the point guard position moving forward, one thing is now certain.
The team will have the final say on whether D'Angelo Russell remains in Brooklyn or goes to a new team. As expected, the team extended a qualifying offer to Russell on Friday, multiple outlets reported.
The move makes Russell a restricted free agent and gives the Nets the chance to match any offer Russell receives from another team. Without the offer, Russell would have become an unrestricted free agent when free agency begins Sunday.
Russell, 23, was a first-time All-Star last season, his fourth in the NBA. He averaged 21.1 points and seven assists, both career highs. He also set career highs in games (81), average minutes (30.2), field-goal shooting (43.4 percent) and 3-point shooting (36.9 percent).
Russell was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the No. 2 overall pick in 2015. The Lakers sent him to Brooklyn in June 2017 in a trade that landed the Lakers Kyle Kuzma and assured Lonzo Ball would be the Lakers' starting point guard.
With Ball now in New Orleans as part of the Anthony Davis trade, and with the Nets reportedly interested in signing free agent Kyrie Irving, numerous reports peg the Lakers as a likely landing spot for Russell should he leave the Nets. For his career, Russell is averaging 16.5 points, 5.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 272 games (224 starts). — Reuters
