Multiple teams around the NBA still consider Kevin Durant a talent worth investing max money in, despite the ruptured Achilles that will sideline him through 2019/20. Ben Golliver of the Washington Post weighs in on several franchises that could entertain the idea this summer.
Golliver writes that the Clippers, backed by billionaire Steve Ballmer could afford to sign Durant, tinker with the impressive lineup that led them to the postseason this spring, and then hit the ground running with Durant in 2020/21. That’s a scenario that would be ever dreamier if they were able to land Kawhi Leonard this summer as well.
Of course Durant’s absence next season will still have some impact on his value. Could the revelation that Durant won’t play in 2019/20 derail a potential pairing with Kyrie Irving in New York? Would Irving prefer instead to work with a different star in Brooklyn?
These are questions we’ll get answers to eventually but for now one thing is clear, Durant’s value remains high but that’s not to say that his Achilles hasn’t still thrown the league for a loop.
There’s more from around the league:
- Is this the beginning of the end of the Superteam Era? Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN wonders as much in a video released on Instagram, suggesting players around the league are showing a greater interest in leading their own teams. For the past decade, star players have seemingly gravitated to one another to stack the deck and win championships but that wasn’t always the case. In fact, if the Raptors’ 2019 title plays a small role in the ushering out the Superteam Era, they’ll be walking right back into a climate that saw former Raptor star Tracy McGrady bolt the franchise for the chance to get out of Vince Carter‘s shadow and lead his own Magic squad.
- Former Knicks forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas has received interest from a number of NBA teams and has several offers to join teams on non-guaranteed pre-season camp deals, international basketball reported Donatas Urbonas tweets.
- The preliminary French national team for the 2019 World Cup has been revealed and a number of household NBA names will fortify a competitive roster. As seen at Sportando, Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum and Evan Fournier are the biggest names on the preliminary roster but they’re not the only ones with big league credentials.
Such an impressive lineup the clippers have that made the 8th seed… these writers are absolute garbage
Everything okay Shawn?
They made the 8th seed without an All-Star…
And didn’t make it out of the first round so?
Still good I as many thoughts clips were done when they traded Harris. But no they made the playoffs and did better than probably what most expected vs the warriors
It was impressive. They lost probably their best player (Harris) and backup center (Marjanovic) and were able to challenge GSW a little bit
They made the playoffs even when they trade their best player. What they did no matter how far they got is still impressive and might be doc best coaching
I understand Tony Parker’s retired from the NBA, but he taken his name off the list from the French national team? That’d be an impressive lineup. The other team that could impress at next year’s Olympics [if it qualifies without its stars playing some or all of the preliminaries] is Cameroon. The starting lineup would include Joel Embiid, Pascal Siakam, Luc M’bah A’ Mouté, and Darryl’s son DJ Strawberry at the point. I believe Pascal’s brother would be off the bench.
During the 1990 World Cup we used to shout across the warehouse CAMA-ROOOOOOON! They had a rowdy side.
Also DUUUUUUKE