The Clippers will be one of the first teams to sit down with Kevin Durant on his free agent tour, with KD on track to meet with the Clippers and Warriors on Friday. And according to Dan Woike of The Orange County Register and Ramona Shelburne and Arash Markazi of ESPN.com, the Clippers will attempt to sell Durant on a scenario that would see him playing alongside Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan in Los Angeles, creating a “big four.”
[RELATED: Kevin Durant’s schedule for FA meetings]
It has long been assumed that, if they were to land Durant, the Clippers would have to jettison one of their top three players for cap purposes. However, Los Angeles is exploring scenarios that would allow the team to keep Paul, Griffin, and Jordan, while adding Durant. Per ESPN’s report, all three players have been invited to the Clips’ meeting with Durant in The Hamptons, which will be led by owner Steve Ballmer and coach Doc Rivers.
Selling Durant on such a scenario may not be easy, and it won’t be simple to actually execute either. Even if the Clippers were able to trade J.J. Redick, Paul Pierce, C.J. Wilcox, and the rights to Brice Johnson without taking any salary back, and renounced all their pending free agents, the team wouldn’t have enough cap room to offer Durant a maximum-salary contract. By my count, Durant would have to start at around $23.5MM in that scenario, and the Clippers would be left with only the $2.898MM room exception – and minimum-salary deals – to fill out their roster around their “big four.” A max salary for Durant is expected to start at approximately $26.6MM.
As the Clippers prepare their pitch to Durant, the Thunder’s brass is meeting with the former MVP today. However, since teams aren’t permitted to discuss contract parameters prior to July 1st, Oklahoma City is seeking a second meeting with Durant in The Hamptons next week, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter links). Those contract discussions likely wouldn’t take long – there’s little doubt the Thunder would offer a full, five-year max – but a second meeting would allow the team to get the final word after Durant has heard pitches from all his other suitors.
If Paul Pierce doesn’t retire would that make it a big 5? LOL. Probably yes, according to Paul Pierce and only Paul Pierce. Remember when he said he was the greatest in the world? So funny.
So the option is to have Paul, Griffin, Jordan, Durant and….no one? Hasn’t that been their Achilles heel in the past is the lack of depth? One guy goes down like Chris Paul and the team takes a dive? The Clippers are the least ideal situation of the teams he is meeting with. Teams like Miami and Boston have playing in the East as a shining beacon for FAs while SA, GS and OKC all come with upside like team success or familiarity.
What do the Clippers really offer over any of the other teams? From the time they announced the meeting, I haven’t understood why the Clippers have gotten any consideration.
Sure but warriors can say the same thing, except their big 4 would be better and they wouldn’t have to get rid of all depth to make it happen.
Who is the 4th on the Warriors in this scenario? Obviously not Barnes
I assume he’s referring to Steph, Klay, and Draymond (plus Durant as the fourth). And I agree that that foursome looks a little better on paper.
Curry, Thompson, Green, Durant
Kinda obvious don’t you think?
Not all, but Barnes, Ezeli and probably Bogut would have to go. Livingston maybe (but probably not) depending on if the Warriors have trouble getting rid of Bogut.
The Celtics should pitch a big 4 as well in that with all their cap space, they will do whatever it takes to acquire whoever durant wants to play with as far as the other three stars.
They wouldn’t have the cap space I believe. They definetly don’t have the cap space to sign 3 max guys. I’m too lazy to check their cap situation but at best, I imagine they would only be able to sign Durant and one other star while trading for a 4th. But that would completely deplete their depth as they would probably have to get rid of most, if not all of (via trade for aforementioned star and subsequent cap clearing trades) Johnson/Bradley/Crowder/Smart/Sully/Olynyk.
First off the only way they could afford to put all four on the team they have to release Pierre and Durant would have to take on hell of pay cut because there right now at $ 78,344,508 the cap will be 94 million this means they have$ 15,655,492 to spend on free agents and pay there draft picks. So that means they would have to let pierce go in his 3,527,920 most likely have to trade redrick and his $7,377,500 and wilcox trade 1,209,600 that would give them $ 27,770,502 which he have to agree to take 24 of it this season so they can sign there draft pick and then they could sign there own free agents to either vet min, or two assumptions and they have to let green go to so
It says that in the article…
Was thinking the same thing as I read it.
Atleast its not another trade proposal from this guy